Wantonmien
Contributor
Hi All,
Destination Mactan island
Having had the few days diving in MoalBoal, http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...ber-2-4-2010-some-pics-words.html#post5635291 a friend had convinced me that while on Cebu I should also check out the diving up near Mactan (close to Cebu airport) - thus afternoon 4 Dec it was back on the road and the long drive back up to Mactan. Incase it helps anyone thinking of heading to Mactan, here's a quick summary of my few days there ..
Headed to Kontiki Divers scuba diving in cebu | PADI dive courses cebu where we said our hellos late Saturday and booked ourselves for dives on following two days
And have to say after 6 dives I was suprised, I hadn't heard a lot about diving in Mactan from anyone but it was actually pretty good all round, viz not fantastic ~ kind of 10~12 metres, but plenty of varying life ~ Lot's of Macro subjects, plenty of fish, corals, some small wrecks, wall diving, reefs, a great cave in a wall (around 25 m + depth) to enter, some protected reef areas full of life, no noticeable currents - no problem, glad we went there.
I also I felt there was some pretty unusual fish and macro life in the waters ~ some pics below (and more in ScubaBoard Gallery - Mactan, Philippines Dec 2010 ) - that's the first yellow finned lionfish I've seen, the little morays with yellow markings aren't in my fish ID book, the large snake eel with his head out of the sand (I thought they only appeared at night ?) - and the big blue jellyfish, almost a metre diameter -- ah so many things. 6 dives over two days (including my logging my 100th dive) all good.
The set up at Kontiki divers, no problem, it's on the beach, has a bar and restaurant, has it's own boat, good bunch of local divers taking you out to the dive sites, nitrox available and checked, facilities for washing gear a little small, but room there to hang gear and keep it safe etc, so overall no problem, and we'd use Kontiki again.
Dare I say that I actually enjoyed the diving at Mactan more than MoalBoal :shocked2:?
The downpoints - well we stayed a night in only room available in Kontiki resort, and next couple of nights at far better 'Whitesands' hotel about 10 mins up the coast, but outside the Kontiki or Whitesands - there is very little, unless visitors want to go really local style ?
The other down point, on one site a group of South Koreans were diving (or should I say were in the water wearing equipment), and I have never seen before such destructive, mindless stupidity as seen in that group - fins demolishing trails in corals, useless buoyancy so stirring up total clouds of sand, poking & prodding any life they could get to, turning over rocks ... really, seeing divers like that I can only hope that they run out of air or meet some hungry sharks in the not to distant future. :shark:
Enjoy the photos
.
Destination Mactan island
Having had the few days diving in MoalBoal, http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ph...ber-2-4-2010-some-pics-words.html#post5635291 a friend had convinced me that while on Cebu I should also check out the diving up near Mactan (close to Cebu airport) - thus afternoon 4 Dec it was back on the road and the long drive back up to Mactan. Incase it helps anyone thinking of heading to Mactan, here's a quick summary of my few days there ..
Headed to Kontiki Divers scuba diving in cebu | PADI dive courses cebu where we said our hellos late Saturday and booked ourselves for dives on following two days
And have to say after 6 dives I was suprised, I hadn't heard a lot about diving in Mactan from anyone but it was actually pretty good all round, viz not fantastic ~ kind of 10~12 metres, but plenty of varying life ~ Lot's of Macro subjects, plenty of fish, corals, some small wrecks, wall diving, reefs, a great cave in a wall (around 25 m + depth) to enter, some protected reef areas full of life, no noticeable currents - no problem, glad we went there.
I also I felt there was some pretty unusual fish and macro life in the waters ~ some pics below (and more in ScubaBoard Gallery - Mactan, Philippines Dec 2010 ) - that's the first yellow finned lionfish I've seen, the little morays with yellow markings aren't in my fish ID book, the large snake eel with his head out of the sand (I thought they only appeared at night ?) - and the big blue jellyfish, almost a metre diameter -- ah so many things. 6 dives over two days (including my logging my 100th dive) all good.
The set up at Kontiki divers, no problem, it's on the beach, has a bar and restaurant, has it's own boat, good bunch of local divers taking you out to the dive sites, nitrox available and checked, facilities for washing gear a little small, but room there to hang gear and keep it safe etc, so overall no problem, and we'd use Kontiki again.
Dare I say that I actually enjoyed the diving at Mactan more than MoalBoal :shocked2:?
The downpoints - well we stayed a night in only room available in Kontiki resort, and next couple of nights at far better 'Whitesands' hotel about 10 mins up the coast, but outside the Kontiki or Whitesands - there is very little, unless visitors want to go really local style ?
The other down point, on one site a group of South Koreans were diving (or should I say were in the water wearing equipment), and I have never seen before such destructive, mindless stupidity as seen in that group - fins demolishing trails in corals, useless buoyancy so stirring up total clouds of sand, poking & prodding any life they could get to, turning over rocks ... really, seeing divers like that I can only hope that they run out of air or meet some hungry sharks in the not to distant future. :shark:
Enjoy the photos
.
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