South-East Asia
MALAPASCUA ISLAND, CEBU, THE PHILIPPINES
An adventurous divers paradise
Season: Year round diving
Visibility: 10-20m/35-70ft
Water Temperature: 25-29°C/77-84°F
Thresher Shark (Ibrahim Roushdi)
Malapascua Island is world renowned as being perhaps the only place that you can expect to reliably see the often elusive and mysterious Thresher Shark. The island itself, which sits just off the northern tip of Cebu in the central Philippines, is a mere two kilometers long and a half kilometre at its widest point, hardly impressive in size compared to the underwater riches that you can find here. The population of about 4000 rely on tourism and boat building. Malapascua is not especially developed and the island only received reliable 24 hour electricity in mid-2010. Divers have only really been venturing to Malapascua for the last fifteen years and it remains well off the beaten track, a small, sleepy and unspoiled island with some marvellous diving right on its doorstep. There are no five star hotels or luxury spas here. Accommodations are small, family run guest houses with a very welcoming charm to them.
The dive sites around Malapascua offer a great variety of topography and biodiversity. Even well traveled divers can hope to discover something new under the water here. You can spend long dives on sandy “muck diving” areas seeking out strange critters, or drift gently along coral gardens, sloping reefs, walls, caves and even wrecks. A number of great sites are a mere five minute boat ride from the shore and for those seeking to go further afield there are regular trips to Gato Island which is around a half hour away. Even further afield is Calanggaman Island which is around an hour and a half away. Some of the areas with the most prolific soft coral will sometimes be subject to currents and periods of reduced visibility due to nutrient rich waters that allow these areas to thrive.
Monad Shoal is perhaps the most famous location to dive off Malapascua. This is what draws the divers in! Here the Thresher Sharks can be seen year round and are often visited by Manta Rays and Hammerhead Sharks too. It is an underwater island on the edge of a 200 metre drop off that also attracts Eagle Rays and Devil Rays. The Thresher Sharks can be skittish so it is vital that you dive carefully when in their presence.
Gato Island often steals the show over Monad Shoal! It is a marine reserve and a seasnake sanctuary where sharks and seahorses, nudibranchs and a plethora of colourful reef fish live in close proximity. Swim-throughs and rock formations add to the wonder and at The Cave you might find Bamboo Sharks, Cat Sharks and Whitetip Reef Sharks as you enter a tunnel running through this underground island. Between them, Nudibranch City and Guardhouse offer the chance to spot critters galore as the name may suggest! Here you can seek out pygmy seahorses, Spanish Dancers and Painted Frogfish and of course a lot of nudibranchs!
Lighthouse is home to the famous ‘Randy Mandy’ dive where as dusk falls, you can expect to see the beautiful and psychedelic Mandarinfish in all their sexual glory! Octopi are regularly spotted here including blue-ringed octopus. At Lapus Lapus and North Point you can get lost amongst the soft corals as you observe Giant Frogfish, commensal shrimp and porcelain crabs.
Bantigi is a great muck dive. The sandy bottom at about 12 meters is where you can find all sorts of unusual critters. Mantis shrimp, gobies, frogfish and moray eels all make their homes here as well as large anemones with their famous and unforgettable orange fishy inhabitants! The guides will help you to make the most of this site as they can often point out some remarkable macro life.
Calanggaman Island is the picture postcard desert island, actually chosen from over 7,000 islands to grace the cover of Jens Peters’ ‘The Definitive Philippines Travel Guide’. Calangaman Island has palm trees and a pile of white sand surrounded by crystal clear water and steep walls dropping off into the blue. Visibility is usually good and fish life is plentiful. Drop down the walls which are covered in hard corals and gorgonian fans and inhabited by many varieties of fish. Look for pelagics out in the blue including sharks, rays, tuna and barracuda, or unusual fish like clown triggers on the wall. Dolphins are often seen on the way there or on the way back. Often divers stop on the island for a beach barbeque during a surface interval and overnight stays can also be arranged.
If you were not already enjoying the wonderful variety of diving on offer, there are a small number of wrecks to explore. The wreck at Lighthouse was a Japanese World War II landing craft. It was bombed just before landing with a large shipment of cement destined for a gun emplacement. The wreck is in very shallow water of about 3 meters and is broken up with the hull in two pieces. The ‘rocks’ that you will see are actually bags of cement! Life that you can see around the wreck include yellow-tailed barracuda, hermit crabs, octopus, pipefish, juvenile harlequin sweetlips, and banded sea snakes. Pioneer Wreck is a wreck lovers wreck! Sitting at 42 meters and lying in an upright position, this Japanese World War Two wreck is still in great condition. As you descend you’ll see her guns pointed straight towards you! Sharks, rays and barracuda make this their hang out and only the adventurous diver gets down there!
TEPANEE RESORT
The Tepanee Resort is a relatively new resort which Divequest believes is the most reliable and best run accommodation option on Malapascua. The resort comprises a small number of cottages which are basic but clean and pleasant with a small balcony and en-suite bathroom facilities. Rooms have small fridges and safes and are all air conditioned. The resort is tucked away in a quiet corner of the island about a five to ten minute walk away from the dive centre. Should you wish for evening entertainment you may have to wander a little way to find the nearest karaoke hotspot. The Tepanee has no restaurant or food preparation facilities. Meals are normally taken at Oscar’s at the dive centre.
THRESHER SHARK DIVERS
Located on the southern tip of the island is Thresher Shark Divers, owned and operated by British couple Andrea Agarwal and Trevor Holmes who arrived for two days and decided to stay indefinitely! Six years later and Thresher Shark Divers is an award winning PADI 5 Star IDC centre with an impeccable safety record. Andrea places great emphasis on personal service and has fostered a welcoming and friendly atmosphere at the dive centre, and runs an efficient operation for keen divers and photographers. The dive centre is clean and well organised and your kit will be looked after attentively for the duration of your stay. Up to four dive boats may used throughout the day. Two small flat bottomed shuttle boats can quickly transport divers to and from nearby dive sites. A larger 'bangka' style boat with shelter is used for day trips. Usually boats depart four times a day, including the opportunity to do a night dive.
The dive staff comprise local guides who know the waters around Malapascua well, as well as international Divemasters and Instructors, for whom nothing is too much trouble. The staff are thoroughly adept at handling camera equipment, finding subjects for photographers or even modelling.
Rinse tanks are available for dive equipment and cameras. Outside freshwater showers are available at the dive centre for that all important post dive rinse! A bathroom and changing room are also located at the dive shop. Several Marine Life ID books are available in the dive shop. The dive shop is modest, with a small selection of items to purchase including batteries, t-shirts, rash vests and other small items. Plans are afoot for a dedicated camera room with charging facilities, however at the moment, cameras need to be taken back to your bedroom in order to download images or charge batteries. Dive staff are always very willing to help you back to The Tepanee with your equipment.
Thresher Shark Divers is about a three and a half to four hour road and boat journey from Cebu airport. There are few shops on the island and it is recommended that you take anything that you think you may need with you as you may not be able to buy items which are readily available at home.
Nitrox is available. A full range of equipment is available to hire by pre-booking. For the hardcore diver Thresher Shark Divers offer technical diving and Trimix. There is even a speciality Thresher Shark course you can take. The PADI Thresher Shark Diver Specialty course is exclusive to Thresher Shark Divers. It was written by the owners of Thresher Shark Divers in conjunction with PADI. The course will teach you many fascinating facts about sharks in general, and specifically Thresher Sharks. For full details please contact the Divequest office.
It is of great advantage to make the boat crossing from Cebu to Malapascua in the day time. As such we recommend that you arrive into Cebu no later than 1300 on your day of arrival.
As many of the accommodations on Malapascua do not have dining facilities on-site, Thresher Shark Divers have their own ‘Pub and Restaurant’. Oscar’s has a distinctly British feel to it, complete with British beers and a big screen television showing Premier League football matches! Located above the dive centre, Oscar’s offers a range of international dishes and is a great place to get breakfast before the diving day begins. Great emphasis is placed on hygiene and food safety standards. A small number of other local restaurants are nearby including Angelina’s, an Italian restaurant that will deliver to Oscar’s!
Price from about $907 for 7 nights. Includes: 7 nights room only accommodation in an air conditioned room at Tepanee Resort; 6 days of diving (up to 4 boat dives per day); dive guide. Road and boat transfers: about $103. These transfer costs are based on 2 people. Double rates apply for single travellers. Reduction for non-divers. Single Occupancy Supplement: from about $256 for 7 nights.
