Philippine Secrets...
Things don't get much better than floating at 5 metres, mesmerised by the ever shifting patterns created by the dappled sunlight reflecting off thousands of sardines in a bait ball - just one of the long list of highlights of our first experience of diving in the Philippines.
Our 'safari' trip was a new approach promising a blend of resort based diving, high-energy currents and a taste of liveaboard as we moved around the islands to maximise diving time and different environments.
Within two hours of landing in Legaspi via Manila, with its perfect volcano as a backdrop, we were in a boat at Donsol with snorkel, fins and masks at the ready to get into the water as soon as one of the four-man crew spotted a whale shark. Over the course of the next couple of hours, despite poor visibility, we were privileged to encounter 4-5 different individuals, some as close as 1/2 a metre away. A great way to start our holiday. After lunch we expected to be transferred to our first resort by commercial ferry, so were pleasantly surprised to find we'd be travelling on a side rigged boat (which also proved to be our dive boat for the next few days) and were the only guests. The three hour trip to Ticao Island Resort was across a flat calm deep blue sea; the perfect decompression after the tiring long haul flight from Europe.
Arriving in the bay, our view was a small group of wooden cabins (our home for the next three nights) and our welcome party with drinks and cool flannels. The combination of the setting, accommodation (verandas and hammocks included), plentiful food served in the open-sided eating area, excellent dive and support team provided simple comfort in which to relax and great diving at the Manta bowl, which delivered close encounters with Mantas on two consecutive days.
Our early morning departure to Malapascua was the point at which the true 'safari' element of the trip kicked in. Rather than the prospect of a long ferry ride, we had 12 hour personalised transfer with three dives along the way offering a variety of experiences - a fast current Superman flight across fresh water thermoclines, a macro dive with numerous nudibranchs and finally a remote drop off with good shoals of fish. After which our arrival at Malapascua and the hustle and bustle we encountered at Thresher Shark Divers and along the main drag (memories of Sharm) proved a bit of a culture shock.
Our pre-paid package was for 6 boat dives, but we took the opportunity to extend this and maximise our chances of seeing the threshers and our “David Attenborough” moment of the trip. Our strategy paid off. On both mornings (5:30 starts) we were diving specifically for the threshers we saw them. We also took advantage of one of the longer day trips out to the Islands (Gato) where corals were pristine, fish were in abundance and the macro proved worthy of more famous sites. With a good “Après” diving experience involving beer and sundowners and a range of dining experiences, the location catered for all requirements both above and below the water.
After four nights it was again time to move on to our third and final location of the trip. This 10 hour transfer involved a short boat trip followed by two overland drives to get to the Turtle Bay Resort in Moalboal, giving us a chance to experience some of the sights and sounds of one of the main islands with the speed dictated by toc-tocs and steep inclines rather than distance. With its on-site dive operation and quick and easy access to numerous wall sites as well as Pescador Island, we couldn't resist the opportunity to take up the option of two dives in morning and one in the afternoon exploring the wonderful coral landscapes, the close encounters with turtles and giant frogfish as well as "Looking into the Blue” for the shoaling fish and larger hunters (no sharks) and, of course, the one special site with the bait ball. With only two other divers on the boat and just the four of us in-resort we were spoilt by both the in-house and dive team - two divers per guide!
So overall a trip with nearly 30 dives, across 3 different environments each with experiences that could be classed and “once in a lifetime, coupled with that day´s 'cruise n dive safari' made this a memorable experience and one we can´t recommend more highly.
Experience the wonders of the Phillipines for yourself. Contact a member of our Dive team for more information.