Leaving leafy Hertfordshire and setting off to the airport, we were thinking: 'Great another dive trip to the Sunshine'. But this one was different…
14-hour flight on Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Beers in the Sky Bar and then connecting flight to Cebu Airport.
Stepping off the plane, the first thing that hits you is the wall of Humidity. A quick sim card swap and we were whisked off in 2 minibuses for a 4-hour drive to our destination for week 1.
Tucked away on the southwestern coast of Cebu Island lies a quiet town with an extraordinary underwater secret: Moalboal. It's like stepping back in time. Think Thailand circa 1990. Motorbikes buzz through dusty uneven tracks, that just add to the charm and make you realise "We're not in Kansas anymore".
This small coastal destination has earned its place on the global diving map, thanks to its vibrant coral reefs, warm turquoise waters, and the spectacular sardine run just meters from shore.
The main event in Moalboal is the sardine run – a year-round phenomenon where millions of sardines form massive shimmering bait balls. It is now actually illegal to fish for Sardines due to the tourist attraction of diving with them.
We had 5 days diving on various islands and reefs. Most notable was Pescador Island, a marine sanctuary revered for its rich biodiversity and dramatic underwater topography. It's got cathedral-like caverns, drop-offs, and overhangs that are home to everything from colourful reef fish to elusive frogfish, huge turtles, pink and yellow nudibranchs, pygmy seahorses, lionfish, spider crabs, cardinalfish, and scorpion fish.
The evenings consisted of basic restaurants with well-prepared incredibly good value local food. A now legendary bar called 'The Chilli Bar', that sells 7% lager called Horse and serves 'free pour' cocktails, always seem to delay the journey back to the accommodation.
After a great week we packed up and headed on the next adventure — a full 8-hour day in the minibuses, travelling from Moalboal in the South to Malapascua Island in the North.
After a short boat journey from the Port to the Island we were greeted with a much more exclusive, quieter atmosphere. This truly is a Paradise Island. White sand beaches, crystal clear water and blue skies. The resort was everything you could ask for.
So, onto the main event: The Thresher Sharks! Leaving at Sunrise we travelled out to sea for 45 minutes. The Sharks hunt at night so come to a particular reef to be cleaned by the fish early in the morning. We all had close encounters with beautiful, graceful, sometimes inquisitive Thresher Sharks. It is certainly something none of us will forget.
Gato Island and Kalanggaman Island also provided spectacular dives with us experiencing frogfish, nudibranchs, whitetip reef sharks, black tips sharks and sea snakes, sometimes all in 1 dive. One standout dive was a night dive that exposed us to a Blue Ring Octopus and upon surfacing a stunning lightning storm across the sky.
15 dives later and with memories that will last a lifetime, it was time make the long journey home via Cebu, Hong Kong and finally to Heathrow.
All in all, this is a bucket list trip and something we can all feel incredibly lucky to be a part of. Enormous thanks go to Russell for putting together a very organised itinerary and a very special mention to Nathan who was invaluable in providing us with his knowledge of the areas we visited.