The Philippines has some of the world’s best scuba diving – and Tubbataha Reef and Sogod Bay are two of the Philippines’ most awesome places to dive, promising face to face encounters with some of the biggest pelagics of the ocean
I’m in the middle of packing for the Phillipines, where I’m headed in the early hours of tomorrow morning for two weeks of solid scuba diving. It’s been nearly four months since I was scuba diving last in Bali and Komodo, so I can’t wait. It’s also my first visit to the Philippines, so I’m excited about seeing somewhere new and meeting some Filipinos too!
I’m not really going to be doing much sightseeing above land as I’m going to underwater for most of the two weeks. First off, I’m heading down to Sogod Bay in Southern Leyte to spend five days diving with Sogod Bay Scuba Resort. I’m hoping we’re going to see some whale sharks which are famous for making regular appearances in Sogod Bay. I’m trying not to anticipate seeing them too much otherwise I’ll jinx my chances…
After that I’m getting the ferry to Cebu and then flying to Peurto Princessa on the island of Palawan, from where I’ll be getting a liveaboard boat out to Tubbahata Reef with Expedition Fleet. Tubbahata is one of the most remote reef systems I’ve ever had the chance to visit, only accessible for 3 months of the year. It’s an uninhabited coral atoll that is also a unique bird sanctuary – indeed, it’s such a unique marine environment that it was made a UNESCO World Heritage site back in 1993. The official Tubbahata Reef website has some great pix in its underwater gallery.
Once the liveaboard returns to Peurto Princessa, I’ll be heading out to Manila and then back to Bangkok. I imagine I’ll be in need of a rest by that point! I’m taking my Nikon digital SLR with me so I’m hoping I might get some decent underwater photos, but I’m still very much a newbie when it comes to using an SLR so it might be practice time instead (ie lots of really bad photos). Either way, I can’t wait to get back under the water again and see what the Philippines has to offer.
