wicked_innit
Registered
Hi ,
Trip report 30th - 6th Jan 2007, on board: Ian,Paul,Ben,Claire,Anton & Eileen
Ian
Trip report 30th - 6th Jan 2007, on board: Ian,Paul,Ben,Claire,Anton & Eileen
- super pristine corals
- the soft corals blew us away. Hardly any white patches of sand or even brown/bleached coral on the reef. (pl keep your bouyancy control to the max or this place will go the same way as Sipidan degradation)
- i mean it was like a turner landscape - smudges of different colours everywhere and that was just the corals ! of course there were plenty of fish to keep your id busy
- stunning looking lionfish - see paul's photos
- www.sogodbayscubaresort.com - homely, very welcoming and friendly staff unlike Peter's Dive Resort which charge the same price for horrible looking accomo not to mention their wierd attitude.
- Big thumbs up to Ron, Phil & Pedro (DM)
- basic but decent cosy rooms
- great food esp phillipino home cooking by Alisha. British tucker was a bonus.
- the weather - wasnt that great on the 30th - 31st Dec 2006 but everyday after eventually improved tremendously
- Phil mentioned it would be 40m vis around march.We will def return for that season March til May 2008.
- Travelling : It was a bit rough but worth it.Arrived Cebu from Singapore with http://www.cebupacificair.com/ at 4am!
- minivan from cebu airport to pier 1 was 450 Pesos.quite reasonable for 6 ppl and dive bags.
- we took oceanjet cebu pier 1 to hilongos (best to prebook by calling them or get SBSR to help. (http://www.oceanjet.net/ and mail response sucks). SBSR will then pick you up for a lovely padi fielded 1 and half hour drive thru the mini towns incl Massin & Bato to sogod bay.
- return was kingswell ferry (http://www.whaleofadive.com/tools/qref/), bato to cebu pier 3 but it took almost 4 hours.Both singles work out to be 350-380Pesos each. (SBSR will help you out on bookings)
- If u get stuck in cebu for some reason then i highly recommend to stay at http://www.kiwilodge.org/. Again great pies.
- The taxi from the KiwiLodge to cebu piers is around 55-70 pesos
- THERE ARE NO AIRPORT TAX/EXTRAS with METERED taxis coming from cebu city to airport . Should cost around 125 pesos from Kiwilodge. One of our group almost got stiffed on 400 pesos due to this "tax". If in doubt , flag the airport security at the entrance.
- the Cebu PacificAir plane from Manila to Tacloban,S.Leyte might come in handy for some. We didnt know before our trip...gulp..
- for more travel info :http://www.tagbilaran.gov.ph/get.php
- Night dive at the Pier - YOU HAVE TO DO IT! though it can be unappealing before u descend. Only for the hardcore...8m max depth
- very wierd stuff , a red octopus ,4 inch seahorses,couldnt find most stuff in the indo-pacific id books!
- beautiful varieties of lionfish (not seen in my dives in malaysia,PG,Indonesia waters)
- There are lots of fun SB dive sites but i must admit we were there to see the Whalesharks. They certainly didnt disappoint. 1 & half hours to reach the other side of the bay but on the way we hit a huge school of dolphins (50 at last count).
- For us , snorkelling was a better option - faster into the water after the spotter's shouts
- Diving is a hit and miss though it really depends on your luck. I heard the second last group hit 2 feeding .
- if eric doesnt mind, i have posted the link of his vid here (awesome vid you lucky bugger )
- DIVE PICTURES: thanks to Paul from our group for this. Next time amigo,we geeks will win Pictionary against the designers http://www.flickr.com/photos/pauldub...7594476752052/
- Our group's additional info : http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=172311&page=12&highlight=sogod+bay
Ian
