Tag Archives: coral

Philippines, Travelinds

Moalboal Reef

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30 July 2014

Moalboal is one of the best dive spots in Cebu and arguably in the Philippines itself.  H not being a diver, we did a snorkel tour instead and were amazed at the breathtaking underwater world we discovered here.

There are reefs that run from beyond White Beach all the way around the Moalboal ‘islet’.  We snorkelled as Pescador island, near Talisay and in the fish sanctuary beyond Kasai Point. We saw sea kraits (large ones!), psychedelic schools of purple, orange, blue, yellow and green fish, stone fish, puffer fish, sea needles and also a whole lot of Green Turtles in various sizes, including one that was large enough for our boatman to sleep on!

We did an early snorkel tour 8am – 1pm to try and avoid the sun, wind and rain. It was a fantastic underwater experience with so much vibrant colour and life.  The coral in the Talisay reef was stunning and we couldn’t believe how many interesting little sea creatures we saw.

Our boat skipper was very helpful and made sure that we were in an easy position to enjoy the snorkelling without having to fight strong currents.  We tried to discourage him from touching the turtles (it seems some tourists enjoy when the turtles are brought to them to touch and take photographs) and eventually he realised that we frowned on him disturbing the creatures and left us to enjoy them in their natural environment.

Overall, a fantastic snorkelling day!

Moalboal Reef
Moalboal Reef
Malaysia, Travelinds

Mabul Island

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08 February 2014

Day trip snorkelling tour to Mabul Island with Scuba Junkie. The most inhabited of all the surrounding islands, Mabul gives off an energetic vibe and it was clear to us that all tourists and locals here were passionate about the ocean and its mysteries, as well as protecting their environmental treasure trove.

Mabul Island

We snorkelled in three different spots for the day and ate lunch at the Scuba Junkie cafeteria (buffet style) at the beach resort. There were no swimming beaches on Mabul but there is a small white beach where you can suntan or rest in the shade of a few umbrellas.  The resort itself looked very nice – small wooden bungalows and pretty gardens.  Swimming is not advised as there as too many sea urchins, but you can snorkel with the dive operators from off the boats, a little further out.

The rest of the island contains other resorts, dive operators, local houses and some home stays – this is another option for staying on Mabul cheaply. It is advised to check out the home-stays in person before deciding and/or paying for your accommodation.  We were warned repeatedly that home stays are strictly “very basic” accommodation (bamboo huts/shared bathrooms/sleeping on floor) etc.

Best sightings for the day:

Hawksbill turtle, Blue spotted ray, a school of very large Trumpet fish, a group of Puffers, very large Green turtles (at least 20 of them for the day) and so much more!

Snorkelling spots:

We snorkelled along the drop off and also in the artificial coral garden. Lobster Wall and Panglima Reef were wonderful, so many turtles and many other interesting fish.  Artificial Reef was completely boring and the visibility was poor.

Transport tips:

If you are staying on Mabul, but not diving/snorkelling through Scuba Junkie, you can still use their boat as a shuttle between Semporna and Mabul.  It was only about MYR 50 and they do regular trips.  You can take your luggage with you on the boat to Mabul (and back again).

See more about Scuba Junkie here.

 

Malaysia, Travelinds

Sibuan Island

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06 February 2014

Nicknamed “Sunburn island”, Sibuan is like something out of a dreamy beach romance.  White sandy beach, cobalt clear water, reefs right off the island and a couple of palm trees dotted here and there.  The military base building is the only sign of life here and life seems to creep past at a suitably slow island pace.

The snorkelling here was fantastic, colourful coral, turtles, all kinds of colourful fish and other interesting sea creatures.  It is close enough to swim back to the beach if you get tired and the visibility was good that day.

Favourite memory:

Due to the military presence of these islands (mostly for environmental protection and immigration law enforcement) it is common to see a couple of soldiers, with big guns, lying around on hammocks or patrolling the islands checking for illegal activity. One of the Swedish tourists was in his skimpy speedo (only) and demanded a photo shoot with the soldier and his large weapon, to which the soldier of course, happily complied. They were having a whale of a time doing a photo shoot of “the soldier and the speedo” – hilarious to watch!

Weird experience:

We were on our third snorkelling spot of the day around Sibuan when we heard two loud bangs in a row.  It was enough to get us to lift our heads out of the water suddenly and look around expectantly. Apparently, this area has a problem with fisherman using dynamite for fishing purposes and unfortunately, these explosions occur pretty regularly.  This particular one was apparently about two kilometres from us, but unbelievably loud for being that distance away.  There is a system to report explosions (time,date, location) in the area so that officals can investigate and hopefully catch the offending parties.

TIP:
Take suncream with you. It sure is hot, with little to no shady spots on the island. As a result, we spent most of our downtime at Sibuan in the shade of the speedboat.

See more about Scuba Junkie here.

Malaysia, Travelinds

Scuba Junkie

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5 February 2014

If you ask anyone in Sabah which dive operator they would recommend in the town of Semporna, Scuba Junkie is usually the first name on the tip of their tongues.  Semporna is the gateway to the underwater beauty of Borneo and its beautiful islands – among them the world-famous Sipidan island, said to be one of the world’s top diving sites!

Although there are a wide range of other dive operators in Semporna, we only had a few days here and did not want to waste precious hours looking at other options.  We went straight to Scuba Junkie when we arrived in Semporna and set up our next few days of snorkelling tours.

Upon arrival, we hadn’t done much research about which islands we wanted to see, but Kay at Scuba Junkie patiently took us through the options, cost and details of the trips so that we could decide on the best course of action.  Scuba Junkie

We ended up choosing to do three day trips – to Mataking, Sibuan and then Mabul.  Not being divers, we obviously couldn’t get in to Sipidan itself because this is a prime diving spot (only) and generally requires special permits, applied for ahead of your trip.  The other islands, however, are more than enough to provide breath-taking underwater scenes and a vibrant mix of colours in the reefs that are teeming with beautiful and odd ocean creatures.

The full day snorkelling trip cost MYR120 (as at February 2014) and included tea, lunch, transport, environmental fee, wetsuit, snorkel, fins and your dive master. Snorkellers go on the boat with the divers and snorkel in the same spots as the dive group.

After three days of AMAZING snorkelling, turtles, rays, acute sunburn, happy memories and so much more, we definitely recommend Scuba Junkie if you only have a couple of days in Semporna.  Our favourite island trip was to Mataking (a ‘northern’ island) as this was the most beautiful underwater scene of the three.  Mabul Island was also wonderful for seeing many large turtles, including the rare hawkbills!

You can find out more about Scuba Junkie online on their Facebook Page, TripAdvisor or the website.

See more on these snorkel day trips to Mabul Island, Mataking Island and Sibuan Island.

Philippines, Travelinds

Chilling in Panagsama, Moalboal

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26 December 2013

There was a welcome break for one week over New Year’s, so we jetted off to Cebu for the week on a $200 return flight (Air Asia X) direct from Incheon International Airport to Mactan International Airport.

A three hour air-conditioned taxi ride later (at 2000 pesos, shared between four tourists we managed to round up) we arrived at Panagsama, Moalboal.  On the way back we took the local bus back to the Cebu City South Bus Terminal (open windows, less than 200 pesos, 4 hours) and enjoyed it much more than the crazy taxi driving. And then took a taxi from the bus terminal to the airport (220 pesos).

Sumisid lodge was everything we had hoped for and was well worth the trip.  With clean rooms and cosy facilities, it is a lovely little place with its own strip of beach sand and snorkelling spots right off the shore.  There are tables, chairs, sofas and beach loungers available and the adjacent dive center offers alternative activites, as well as motorbike hire options.  The breakfast options at Sumisid Lodge were great and the american breakfast (with REAL, crispy bacon) was our main preference for the week.

As this was a week between the end of semester and English Winter Camps, we literally did nothing for the entire six days. Two novels, a nice tan, plenty of delicious food and a lot of sleep left us feeling completely refreshed and ready to head back to work the next week.

We did take a walk along the coastline from Panagsama towards White Beach, but could only get as far as the Kasai Resort (read more here).  We didn’t do the trip to the nearby waterfall, or snorkel, or do any other ‘day trips’ that can be done to other parts of Cebu. We did take a short motorbike trip one morning to see White Beach, but after seeing our accomodation options (New Year’s week is quite full so not much was available), we quickly retreated back to Panagsama to lounge around at Sumisid lodge. Next time!

Panagsama strip is a great place for restaurant choice too and top three were:

1. Czech In (European cooking, fine-dining, high price) – try “fish of the day” and the tuna steak. The desserts were really delicious too!

2. The Pleasure Principle Resto (Mixed cuisine, reasonably priced) – great for lunches and excellent mango shakes!

3. Chilli Bar (Mixed cuisine, reasonably priced) – don’t miss out on sunset drinks and dinner to look over the bay at the turtles popping up all around.

Panagsama really impressed us with its chilled out vibe, friendly locals,reasonably priced restaurants and lodges and the many options to either relax or do a range of different activities.  We definitely hope to be back there soon!