jigo
Contributor
how do you get to tawi tawi from zamboanga? isnt the turtle islands also in that area?
Pristine Reefs of Southern Mindanao
- Thread starter World Wide Diver
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rab1412000
Contributor
haha sorru bout thate mate, was maybe a lil too tipsy yesterday so i missed the whole first page!
great descriptions and pictures.
me and a couple of buddies were thinking of doing apo reef mid to late may.
maybe we could look into this as another option...
thanks for the info
OP
World Wide Diver
Contributor
The Turtle Islands are not far from here.
To get to Tawi-Tawi, you can take the Weesam Fastcraft (more about this later on the Malaysia-Philippines Tourist Bridge thread), the Aleson Lines 'Danica Joy II' or simply fly there with SEAIR (will post full flight schedule, prices, etc on the other thread when we have rested).
We just arrived in Davao from Zambo with PAL (Air Philippines) - 55min flight. Flight to Bongao is 1hr15mins (daily). Think there are good timings for connections from Manila, Davao and Cebu. Again, need to check the schedules.
We met a few locals and some good people posted in Tawi-Tawi that are connected to the Governor and the local dive club. We also met the owner of a resort on Sibutu Island (the island with the long channel - see Google Earth). We know one person in Davao who dived there and told us it was better than Palau (but will need to check this out for ourselves).
We heard many tales of shark and whales (we think humpback and killer whales). Shark tales include hammerhead, black tip, white tip, thresher and also whalesharks. We saw a large school (poss hundred+) dolphin near Bongao. Again, need to check this out.
There are several true atolls amongs the islands, shoals and many offshore reefs.
Many things to be looked into and info to be gathered, but it is very possible to go there, stay and dive. The local dive club also organise and do their own liveaboard diving from time to time.
I really hope to make a seperate post about how to travel to and dive/stay in Tawi-Tawi later, as I am aware that some fellow divers/travellers are (like us) very interested to go there, but there is very little info about this. In fact, we hope to plan a trip back there in the near future. Anybody interested in joining, then please PM me. Think the diving could be quite challenging in some areas and it could mean using tents here and there.
For info, we were the first Brits there in several years and just a handful of 'foreigners' (est. less than 10) visited the area in the past year.
dingho
Contributor
wow, too good to be true, you mean, we can compete with Palau? sure like to join, how, where, when? weather situation? wind direction? logistic base?
OP
World Wide Diver
Contributor
We are now making provisional enquiries into this regarding sites and logistics and will post more information later regarding Tawi-Tawi. However, initial indicators are all excellent.
To be clear about this place, the Sama peoples are extremely hospitable and friendly and there is great diversity of many cultures here. There is already great interest from some people to travel here and dive the area. The place is 'gobsmackingly' beautiful. Check the Malaysian Philippines Tourist Bridge thred out for information on our trip and how to get there.
In the meantime, Davao and Gensan offer excellent diving and now is a great time to come.
We dived Babu Santa (Talikud, Davao) yesterday and within 25 minutes saw 5 ghostpipe fish (including three pure whites together), spiny devilfish, many snake eels etc, etc. One fan has minimum 8 bargibanti pygmy.
Note that we have previously seen as many as 18 ghostpipe fish (including robust) on a single dive at the same time of year before. Babu Santa seems to be a gathering place for these creatures in April for some reason.
1. 40,000 US Military stationed in Japan 2/3rds on Okinawa
2. No Crime (I have not locked my house nor my car since 1997)
3. You can drink the tap water and never get sick
4. Never a case of Swine Flu, Bird Flu, E-coli, or Mad Cow
5. You can eat blow fish and not die
6. Okinawan's carry cash not credit cards
7. Children still walk to school in the dark
8. Fountain of Youth--Okinawa has the most people aged 100 years + than any other place in the world
9. Bank truck are simple Toyota Vans
10. Okinawa has never had a terrorist attack
Oh and no dynamite fishing
As far as scuba diving we have everything that the Philippines have as the Kursho current (4 times bigger than the Gulf Stream) flows from the Philippines/Indonesia and all of the tropical life also flow to Okinawa. If you don't believe me check out my photo's all of them taken in Okinawa.
Plus we have:
Hammer Head Sharks
Orcas
Humpback Whales
Spinner Dolphins
Whale Sharks
Manta Rays
Eagle Rays
Sting Rays
If you don't see them in the ocean you are guaranteed to see them in the Chunami Aquarium the worlds second largest, and has the largest viewing area.
2. No Crime (I have not locked my house nor my car since 1997)
3. You can drink the tap water and never get sick
4. Never a case of Swine Flu, Bird Flu, E-coli, or Mad Cow
5. You can eat blow fish and not die
6. Okinawan's carry cash not credit cards
7. Children still walk to school in the dark
8. Fountain of Youth--Okinawa has the most people aged 100 years + than any other place in the world
9. Bank truck are simple Toyota Vans
10. Okinawa has never had a terrorist attack
Oh and no dynamite fishing
As far as scuba diving we have everything that the Philippines have as the Kursho current (4 times bigger than the Gulf Stream) flows from the Philippines/Indonesia and all of the tropical life also flow to Okinawa. If you don't believe me check out my photo's all of them taken in Okinawa.
Plus we have:
Hammer Head Sharks
Orcas
Humpback Whales
Spinner Dolphins
Whale Sharks
Manta Rays
Eagle Rays
Sting Rays
If you don't see them in the ocean you are guaranteed to see them in the Chunami Aquarium the worlds second largest, and has the largest viewing area.
Hi BS,
Okinawa sounds like a nice place. Feel free to start a thread over at the Zen Divers forum about Okinawa diving. I will make sure to go check it out for more info.
CODMAN
Contributor
BS, that's nice to know about Okinawa. Sounds pretty cool as far as marine life is concerned. But this is the PPD forum and that info is irrelevant (it's not about the Philippines), unless you are trying to start a peeing contest... 
And I must warn you, the PPD drink a lot of beer. It is unwise to start such contests with them...
As for the "security" topic in the southern PI... I think you all (and I mean all) need to give it a rest. I understand that it sparks passionate responses, especially when people are in/from the area. But you all (and I mean ALL) need to be a bit more "Zen" when discussing it. The objective of these posts isn't to bash other people or their oppinions. It's to learn and share new information.
Go have a beer or two...
You're going to need it for the contest...
Peace out guys (and galls)...
And I must warn you, the PPD drink a lot of beer. It is unwise to start such contests with them...As for the "security" topic in the southern PI... I think you all (and I mean all) need to give it a rest. I understand that it sparks passionate responses, especially when people are in/from the area. But you all (and I mean ALL) need to be a bit more "Zen" when discussing it. The objective of these posts isn't to bash other people or their oppinions. It's to learn and share new information.
Go have a beer or two...
You're going to need it for the contest...
Peace out guys (and galls)...
OP
World Wide Diver
Contributor
As for the "security" topic in the southern PI... I think you all (and I mean all) need to give it a rest. I understand that it sparks passionate responses, especially when people are in/from the area. But you all (and I mean ALL) need to be a bit more "Zen" when discussing it. The objective of these posts isn't to bash other people or their oppinions. It's to learn and share new information.
Go have a beer or two...
You're going to need it for the contest...
Peace out guys (and galls)...
:ignore:
OP
World Wide Diver
Contributor
Aw sorry ....
Just got to reply to Mr BS (apt!) to say our side - and we have tried to be nice about this (me and others).
Wow - you must feel safe there and this is a good reason to trust you.
Fantastic for you. I never locked my tent in places in Mindanao. Maybe you had a 'big, strong door'? We have Nylon sheet and we have always been safe.
Surprise, surprise - Mindanao has some of the best quality drinking (tap) water in the World.
Just got to reply to Mr BS (apt!) to say our side - and we have tried to be nice about this (me and others).
Wow - you must feel safe there and this is a good reason to trust you.
Fantastic for you. I never locked my tent in places in Mindanao. Maybe you had a 'big, strong door'? We have Nylon sheet and we have always been safe.
Surprise, surprise - Mindanao has some of the best quality drinking (tap) water in the World.
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