Getting there (Ex SIN to Anilao/Apo Reef):
We flew by Philippine Airlines & took 3 & ½ hrs from Singapore to Manila, pick-up as soon as we arrived by our Filipino friends, Kiko & Norman from Scuba1.Net. Another 3 hrs land transfers to Anilaos Outrigger Resort before boarding our live-a-board, MY Stella Maris. The boat departed at 11pm & overnight journey (about 10 hours) to Apo Reef.
Apo Reef is off the west coast of the island of Mindoro in the province of Occidental Mindoro. It is about 32 kilometres off the coast in the South China Sea. To the south is the Calamian Island group, which is to the north of Palawan. It is known to have some spectacular drop offs and walls with some of the best visibility in the country & big fish action diving.
MY Stella Maris (http://www.explorerfleet.com/explorer/stella/index.html)
Accommodation: The 3 of us shared the room A1 on the top deck. It has a double bed & a single bed. The room was carpeted, fully airconditioned with en-suite bathroom (hot shower but never hot). Clean towels & warm blankets were also provided.
Staff: Very friendly, helpful & accommodating
Food: Buffet style meals comprising a mixture of Filipino & Western cuisine. Free flow of hot/cold water, hot beverages (coffee, tea, Milo) & biscuits/bread with spread. Verdict: Ample & Appetizing.
Diving/ Sea Conditions :
The DM & boatman were very helpful but too obliging at times that I thought the diving got kind of disorganized. Gearing up took 15-20 minutes & there was hardly any dive briefing. Upon arriving at the dive site, the DM would jumped into the water, checked the currents & tell us which side is the reef & we would then back-rolled into the water. Strange!!
Apo Reef- The sea was calm at most time despite big surge on the surface, kind of like surfing while riding the dive boat. The corals & reefs at most sites (most top reefs almost dead) were quite badly damaged by past dynamite fishing & havent recovered fully although Apo Reef is protected and was declared a National Park in 1996.
We did a total of 12 dives & were expecting more interaction with the big pelagic but were disappointed with the scare fish life. Feedback from the others that the dives were nothing compared to the previous years- was just wondering if some illegal fishing is still going on??
The visibility was about 10-25m & water temperature at 30°C.
Nevertheless, we saw a couple of white tips, a manta ray, few turtles, small school barracudas & tuna, moray eels, few nudibranchs & gobies.
San Agapito- We did two dives & both were the highlights of the LOB. San Agapito is a big dome of corals, amidst some pretty strong currents. The reefs were flourishing with so many colours & life. The temperature was slightly colder at 28°C. We saw few different types of nudibranchs, mantis shrimps, lionfishes, trumpet fishes, hawk fishes & many more macro critters. Simply Awesome!!
After our LOB, we made our way to our much-anticipated Anilao in search of the little critters paradise. We stayed at Aquaventures Reef Club (just like previously) & my comments would be the accommodation/food/staff were great.
Diving/ Sea Condition (Anilao):
We did a total of 10 dives: Kirbys Rock, Daryl Laut, Mainit, Basura (Nite), Twin Rocks, Dead Palm, Koala, Twin Rocks (Nite), Arthurs Rock, Cathedral Rock.
Most of the diving in Anilao consists of coral slopes or steps of small drop-offs & shallow coral gardens among sandy patches. The smaller fish & invertebrate life is profuse & this region was already known for its macro-photography. Marine critters of all shapes, sizes & colors make their home amidst rocks, feather stars & coral tables. Most sites are 20-30 minutes banca ride from the resort & entry to the water via backward roll over the side.. Most sites have good visibility of 15-25m & the water temperature average at 28°C. All the sites are excellent for macro photography & despite fewer nudibranchs this time round, I did managed a surprise find of a pygmy seahorse on a huge sea fan at the Cathedral. My favorite dive was the nite dive at the Basura (garbage site), where shrimps were littering everywhere. Patrick found a very strange 15-20cm slug/cuttlefish looking creature, possibly a sea hare. We saw more than 10 different types of nudibranchs, anemone shrimps, squat lobsters in the feather stars, moray eels, many strange looking crabs, a star gazer, gobies, blennies, lionfishes, scorpion fishes, schools of colourful fusiliers, cardinal fishes & many more .Just cant get enough!!
Overall, I had a great diving week in the Philippines made some wonderful new friends & bonded with the old ones. Special thanks to Scuba1.Net team (Kiko, Patrick, Norman, JP & Ren) for their hospitality, & everything that theyve done to make this trip a memorable one, once again.
here is the link to my pixs gallery...
http://sg.homeunix.com/jovin/Apo-Reef-San-Agapito-Anilao-Oct-05
Till my very next splash, happy bubbles..
jovin-
We flew by Philippine Airlines & took 3 & ½ hrs from Singapore to Manila, pick-up as soon as we arrived by our Filipino friends, Kiko & Norman from Scuba1.Net. Another 3 hrs land transfers to Anilaos Outrigger Resort before boarding our live-a-board, MY Stella Maris. The boat departed at 11pm & overnight journey (about 10 hours) to Apo Reef.
Apo Reef is off the west coast of the island of Mindoro in the province of Occidental Mindoro. It is about 32 kilometres off the coast in the South China Sea. To the south is the Calamian Island group, which is to the north of Palawan. It is known to have some spectacular drop offs and walls with some of the best visibility in the country & big fish action diving.
MY Stella Maris (http://www.explorerfleet.com/explorer/stella/index.html)
Accommodation: The 3 of us shared the room A1 on the top deck. It has a double bed & a single bed. The room was carpeted, fully airconditioned with en-suite bathroom (hot shower but never hot). Clean towels & warm blankets were also provided.
Staff: Very friendly, helpful & accommodating
Food: Buffet style meals comprising a mixture of Filipino & Western cuisine. Free flow of hot/cold water, hot beverages (coffee, tea, Milo) & biscuits/bread with spread. Verdict: Ample & Appetizing.
Diving/ Sea Conditions :
The DM & boatman were very helpful but too obliging at times that I thought the diving got kind of disorganized. Gearing up took 15-20 minutes & there was hardly any dive briefing. Upon arriving at the dive site, the DM would jumped into the water, checked the currents & tell us which side is the reef & we would then back-rolled into the water. Strange!!
Apo Reef- The sea was calm at most time despite big surge on the surface, kind of like surfing while riding the dive boat. The corals & reefs at most sites (most top reefs almost dead) were quite badly damaged by past dynamite fishing & havent recovered fully although Apo Reef is protected and was declared a National Park in 1996.
We did a total of 12 dives & were expecting more interaction with the big pelagic but were disappointed with the scare fish life. Feedback from the others that the dives were nothing compared to the previous years- was just wondering if some illegal fishing is still going on??
The visibility was about 10-25m & water temperature at 30°C.
Nevertheless, we saw a couple of white tips, a manta ray, few turtles, small school barracudas & tuna, moray eels, few nudibranchs & gobies.
San Agapito- We did two dives & both were the highlights of the LOB. San Agapito is a big dome of corals, amidst some pretty strong currents. The reefs were flourishing with so many colours & life. The temperature was slightly colder at 28°C. We saw few different types of nudibranchs, mantis shrimps, lionfishes, trumpet fishes, hawk fishes & many more macro critters. Simply Awesome!!
After our LOB, we made our way to our much-anticipated Anilao in search of the little critters paradise. We stayed at Aquaventures Reef Club (just like previously) & my comments would be the accommodation/food/staff were great.
Diving/ Sea Condition (Anilao):
We did a total of 10 dives: Kirbys Rock, Daryl Laut, Mainit, Basura (Nite), Twin Rocks, Dead Palm, Koala, Twin Rocks (Nite), Arthurs Rock, Cathedral Rock.
Most of the diving in Anilao consists of coral slopes or steps of small drop-offs & shallow coral gardens among sandy patches. The smaller fish & invertebrate life is profuse & this region was already known for its macro-photography. Marine critters of all shapes, sizes & colors make their home amidst rocks, feather stars & coral tables. Most sites are 20-30 minutes banca ride from the resort & entry to the water via backward roll over the side.. Most sites have good visibility of 15-25m & the water temperature average at 28°C. All the sites are excellent for macro photography & despite fewer nudibranchs this time round, I did managed a surprise find of a pygmy seahorse on a huge sea fan at the Cathedral. My favorite dive was the nite dive at the Basura (garbage site), where shrimps were littering everywhere. Patrick found a very strange 15-20cm slug/cuttlefish looking creature, possibly a sea hare. We saw more than 10 different types of nudibranchs, anemone shrimps, squat lobsters in the feather stars, moray eels, many strange looking crabs, a star gazer, gobies, blennies, lionfishes, scorpion fishes, schools of colourful fusiliers, cardinal fishes & many more .Just cant get enough!!
Overall, I had a great diving week in the Philippines made some wonderful new friends & bonded with the old ones. Special thanks to Scuba1.Net team (Kiko, Patrick, Norman, JP & Ren) for their hospitality, & everything that theyve done to make this trip a memorable one, once again.
here is the link to my pixs gallery...
http://sg.homeunix.com/jovin/Apo-Reef-San-Agapito-Anilao-Oct-05
Till my very next splash, happy bubbles..
jovin-
