thresher sharks - Malapascua Exotic Island Dive and Beach Resort

destination
by Scott D Tauson
T
he island of Cebu is the place where
Magellan first landed in the Philippines.
Today, Cebu and nearby islands are
famous for sweet mangoes and stellar
dive sites.
Malapascua Island, just off the northern
tip of Cebu is world-renowned for being
the only place on the planet where you
can reliably dive with elusive thresher
sharks. Moalboal, on the central west
coast of Cebu, is a regular stop on the
Philippines diving circuit and is known
for amazing dropoffs.
Paradise in the Visayan Sea
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Aside from diving, Cebu offers a great
mix of culture, food and entertainment
to keep you busy during surface
intervals. There’s enough variety in Cebu
to offer something for all levels of diving
and interest — from thresher sharks to
pygmy seahorses, sea snakes to wrecks.
In fact, there’s so much that you’ll no
doubt want to make more than one trip
to the area!
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Manta rays (Manta birostris) at
Monad Shoal cleaning station
Malapascua Island
A three-hour scenic drive and a twentyminute boat ride from Mactan Cebu
International Airport puts you on one of
the most scenic islands in the Philippines.
Aside from the great beach and quaint
atmosphere, Malapascua has something
really special — thresher sharks.
In 1997 Dik De Boer visited a shoal called
Monad and chanced upon a thresher
shark. As it turns out, Monad Shoal is a
cleaning station for the elusive sharks,
and since 2000, when I first wrote an
article about the threshers, it’s been hard
to book a room at Dik’s resort.
A typical dive day in Malapascua would
be to get up at 4:00am, sort out your
gear and camera, get on the boat by
5:00am and be in the water an hour later.
There are three main cleaning stations
on the shoal, and the best way to see
the sharks is to commit to one of them.
With patience and a bit of luck, they’ll
show up and put on a spectacular
show. The sharks’ grace and elegance
is unrivalled. I usually plan for two
dives at Monad — one before other
boats get there, and a second dive
as other boats finish their dives.
After Monad, I head back to the resort,
grab some breakfast, and then head out
to Gato Island — a great place for both
macro and wide-angle subjects. Pygmy
seahorses, frogfish, sea snakes and
nudibranchs are just some of the critters
to be found there. At the right time,
mating cuttlefish and bamboo sharks
can also be seen. Soft coral covers most
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of the reef, making it a great place to
shoot wide-angle photos.
For the last dive on a typical day, I
either go to the back of Malapascua
to shoot mandarinfish in four metres
of water, or to one of my personal
favourite areas — the house reef of
Malapascua Exotic Dive Resort.
This is a gem of a reef, loaded with
frogfish, flamboyant cuttlefish, bigfin
reef squid…just to name a few of the
resident critters. There are also wrecks
in the area — one WWII boat just 10
minutes from the island, and a passenger
ferry boat about two hours away. Even
an entire week in Malapascua wouldn’t
be enough to take in all the sights.
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This unique diving experience can
only be done in Monad shoal just
off Malapascua Island. The trick to a
successful dive is to be early, which
means getting up at 4:00am.
Once down at the cleaning station,
minimise movement and be prepared
to wait. It’s highly recommended
to be on Nitrox so you have more
bottom time, and you should plan to
be at depths of between 21 and 25
metres. Once a thresher shows up,
it’s ok to start inching your way in,
especially if you’re taking photos.
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Painted frogfish (Antennarius
pictus) in Moalboal
Tiger cardinalfish (Cheilodipterus
macrodon) with eggs inside its mouth
Shoal of golden trevally (Gnathanodon
speciosus) in formation
Here you’ll encounter giant frogfish,
shoals of pelagic fish and friendly
lionfish. The visibility is often good,
making the dropoffs especially
spectacular. On the walls are colourful
and abundant sea anemones, as well as
pelagics roaming off in the blue.
Moalboal
On a recent dive there with Philippine
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,
we chanced upon one of the biggest
frogfish I’ve ever seen; the photo I shot is
in my book Bahura, for which she kindly
wrote the foreword. All the dive sites
around Pescador Island are no more than
five minutes from each other.
Two-and-a-half hours’ drive from Cebu
city is the seaside town of Moalboal,
where diving is just off the beach. There
are dropoffs and a wide variety of marine
life, but the prime site is Pescador Island,
just 20 minutes away by boat.
About an hour’s boat ride from Pescador
is Sunken Island, a seamount rising up
from the ocean floor to 25 metres. This is
the place to see pelagics like barracuda,
trevallies and with a bit of luck, whale
sharks and hammerhead sharks.
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Longlure anglerfish (Antennarius
multiocellatus) at Gato Island
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Painted frogfish (Antennarius pictus) waiting
for prey at Sumilon Island
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Fauziah Latiff
Coral Ambassador - CoRal Malaysia
c.
It’s a well known fact that our reefs are
under immense pressure from fishing.
Since most dive spots are located in and
around populated coastal communities,
some resorts feature diving on their
house reefs.
These small patches of protected reef,
usually in front of the host resort, offer
some of the best diving in the area.
One such reef is located in front of the
Malapascua Exotic Dive Resort. It’s home
to such diverse animals as dragonets,
cuttlefish, frogfish and squid. I highly
recommended that you spend at least
a whole day exploring all its hidden
treasures!
d.
a. Only in the Philippines will you see a
broadclub cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus)
using a sunken jeepney as an artificial reef.
b.Fingered dragonet (Dactylopus dactylopus)
combing the sand for food
c. Mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)
seeking a mate at the shallow rubble reef
behind Malapascua Island
d.A resident flamboyant cuttlefish
(Metasepia pfefferi) on the Malapascua
Exotic Dive Resort house reef
SAY NO TO SHARK FIN
No matter where we build our world-class dive
resorts, we always emphasise Mother Nature’s needs,
and that of our divers, first.
So, long before the decision was made to give Sipadan
a breather by disallowing overnight visitors, we had
already begun building other resorts where the interests
of divers and conservation are unified.
For instance, at Lankayan, turtle hatchlings find a place
of refuge, while at Kapalai, our low-touch approach means
we ship everything in and out, trash and all, to minimise
any impact on our splendid coral reefs.
PSRT RESORT
Kapalai
All employees and shareholders of have chosen — we abstain from consuming sharkfin.
email: [email protected]
http://www.sipadan-resort.com
PULAU SIPADAN RESORT & TOURS SDN BHD
(Co No 190571-V)
Tel (6089) 765200. Fax (6089) 763563
1st Floor, No 484, Block P, Bandar Sabindo,
PO Box No 61120, 91021 Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia
Lankayan
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PHILIPPINES
b.
a.
Malapascua Island
Moalboal
Cebu City
Fact File
Sumilon Island
SilkAir flies to Cebu from Singapore. From Manila,
Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, Asian Spirit and
Air Philippines have several flights to Cebu each
day. There are also direct flights to Cebu from Hong
Kong, Malaysia and South Korea.
Malapascua is another three-hour drive from
Cebu airport, and a twenty-minute boat ride.
Moalboal is a two-hour drive from the Cebu airport.
For Sumilon Island, it’s actually shorter to fly to
Dumaguete city from Manila. From there, it’s 30
minutes by boat.
Tropical climate, with diving all year round. The best
months are between February and November. The
water is generally warm, but can get a bit chilly on
long dives. A 3mm wetsuit should be sufficient.
AVG TEMP
25˚c
For visitors from most countries, visas are issued
at the airport for 21 days at no charge. There’s a
departure tax of 750 pesos or USD 15 for international
flights, and 200 pesos for domestic flights.
Sumilon Island
Located on the southwest tip of Cebu,
Sumilon Island was the first marine park
established in the Philippines. The area
suffered damage from illegal fishing in
the eighties, but has made a remarkable
comeback. The island is surrounded by
a dropoff lined with seafans and black
coral, and there’s a good chance of
sighting pelagics too.
Cebu is a big island, and the area has a
lot more diving that what I’ve described
here! If you have the luxury of time, it’s
worth exploring the lesser-known places.
And who knows? You may discover your
own little paradise.
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a. Seram blenny (Salarias ceramensis) at Malapascua Island
b.Mating bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana)
c. Tube anemone at Malapascua Island
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special thanks to the following parties for their
assistance in preparing this feature: Malapascua Exotic Dive
Resort, Dik and Cora De Boer and my dive guide Totong.
Domestic GSM network and international roaming
available, but the smarter and cheaper way is to get
a local SIM card. Internet access widely available.
220V, 60Hz
From the author
www.imagequest3d.com
“From the very first time I went to Malapascua in
2000, I knew it was a special place. Through the
years I have made many friends there and have
returned time and time again to experience
some of the best diving in the Philippines, if not
Scott D. Tauson in Southeast Asia.”
PLUGS
Philippine Peso.
US dollars are also
accepted at most resorts but not at small stores or
shops. Tipping is widely accepted.
Most areas of the Philippines are malaria-free, but
there are isolated cases of dengue fever. Mosquito
repellent is highly advisable.
GMT + 7 hrs.
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