Anilao - seriously superb

destination report | anilao | philippines

Alan Wiggs © 2014

This page: The marble shrimp is rather bizarre; I often think of it as the shrimp designed by a committee, each with a different brief – nothing seems to quite match up in this weirdly patterned crustacean!; David Reinhard, long time dive buddy of 30 years plus, photographs the glorious orange basslets of Sombrero Island. Anilao has both kinds of diving – from biodiverse muck for dedicated macro freaks to pretty coral reefs thriving with life and colour.

Opposite page: A young spotfin lionfish poses on the Aiyanar House Reef, which has all the rich life of a healthy coral nursery. The pattern in the eye, caused by the reflections of a strobe, is referred to as ‘asterization’, similar to the patterns found in an opal.

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sportdiving magazine

2015 Issue 168

Just after 5:30 am on a freezing Melbourne morning, 33 bleary-eyed travellers gathered at Melbourne airport. After negotiating the slowest check-in queues I’ve ever endured, we headed out to Manila.

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first became interested in Anilao when I started researching different diving destinations in The Philippines. Well known to the locals, Anilao has been a well-kept secret guarded by a faithful following of dedicated underwater photographers. Scott Tuason’s superb co-authored book Anilao was enough to convince me that this had to be added to my bucket list. Located about 150 kilometres south of Manila, across the strait from Puerto Galera, Anilao is regarded as the hub of biodiversity in centre of the Coral Triangle. It’s also convenient for international travellers as

it cuts out an overnight stop in crowded Manila – you’ll be sipping a San Miguel beside the pool only a few hours after arriving in the Philippines.

Anilao ticks a lot of boxes. It has a plethora of small dive resorts scattered rag tag along its pebble beach coastline, though most are small scale and suited to local travellers. Owing to the rugged nature of the Peninsula, the area still has an intimate feel with no overcrowding as such – many resorts can only be accessed by a steep hillside descent.

We quickly settled in to our resort and discovered one of the best diving operations I’ve ever seen – and with a reassuring level of organisation and efficiency. The dive centre includes a well fitted airconditioned photographer’s room and two briefing lounges with sketches of all dive site profiles. A board lists the dive menu for the next day and divers sign up around dinner time for the various dives on offer. Gear storage is brilliant – every diver has a designated hanging space and nothing goes astray. We easily swung into the routine of early morning breakfasts; checking and preparing gear; www.spor tdiving.com.au

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Top Left to Right: Hairy squat Lobsters were often found in the nooks and crannies of vase sponges. Other macro delights included crinoid and soft coral shrimp; orangutan and xenia crabs and way too many nudibranchs; Beatrice Rocks near Sombrero Island pulses with life. Here a fluid school of convict blennies flows across a delightful reef dotted with vase sponges and green tubastrea coral.

Bottom left to Right: Banded sea kraits were seen on most dives around Aiyanar Resort. More venomous than a cobra, they’re placid and non-aggressive and generally too busy exploring the ledges to worry about divers; Phyllodesmium colemani is one of the cryptic mimic nudibranchs of Anilao. Most nudibranchs advertise their toxicity with extravagant colouration; these prefer camouflage which imitates their habitat and prey; The wreck of once-floating casino Darri Laut is now home to a resident school of batfish, a large Queensland groper, and rich life covering the structure. Expect to see varied frogfish, longnose hawkfish and thorny seahorses on this entertaining dive.

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sportdiving magazine

2015 Issue 168

diving until lunchtime, then spending the afternoon by the pool or snorkelling the house reef. An occasional late afternoon game of volleyball tested us in the heat and humidity.

The water was 30° celsius and the diving was superb, with an amazing array of weird and interesting critters – every dive yielded new discoveries. Our guides were experts at finding wellhidden rarities and we soon learned to stick close and pay attention. Highlights included some very rare nudibranchs, tiny hippocampus barbiganti seahorses the size of your pinky fingernail and laconic sea turtles grazing in the shallows. Both peacock and giant mantis shrimp were seen along with jawfish and more varieties of decorator crab than you can poke a strobe at. One of the weirdest sights were the mimic nudibranchs. These phyllodesmium nudibranchs adopt clever mimcry camouflage rather than bright colours for their protection – p. rudmanii was stunning and indistinguishable from the xenia coral it frequented. Without the discerning eyes of Bhok our trusty guide, we’d never have found them ourselves.

In fact, dive guiding in Anilao is big business with several freelance guides (Bhok amongst them) being in huge demand. Most are accomplished photographers themselves and will help their divers set up the shots (sometimes it’s hard to tell which end of a mimic nudi is which!) Never before have I had conversations with dive guides who knew the scientific names of the various species we encountered.

The diverse sites had something for everyone. A unique experience was our dive on the wreck of Darri Laut, a former floating casino teeming with friendly fish of all shapes and sizes including a giant Queensland groper the size of a small car. A resident school of batfish escorted us around the wreckage and longnose hawkfish and frogfish were found sheltering from the gentle current. Other favourite sites included Sombrero Island and Beatrice Rocks, only 20 minutes from the resort, which had healthy coral reefs, colourful crinoids and masses of butterfly and angelfish. Orange basslets in their thousands crowded every scene – the density of life was something to behold,

> www.spor tdiving.com.au

with movement and colour everywhere. Further afield, Verde Island is definitely one of the best dive sites in the Philippines, with giant trevally contrasting with masses of bright yellow sun and whip corals flailing in the brisk current. Also accessible from either Puerto Galera or Anilao, Verde is stunning, but it’s for advanced divers only – a site named ‘the washing machine” gives a clue! Personally, I thought it was more like a tumble dryer! It was exhiliarating but Verde is definitely not to be taken lightly.

Anilao really has it all, from tiny macro miniature delights to blue water coral reefs teeming with fish life. Keen photographers will probably opt more for the ‘muck’ diving end of the spectrum; the abundance of critters is believed to rival Lembeh Strait.

My group was mostly interested in fun ‘pretty’ dives and they experienced great coral reef slopes and walls which would satisfy any blue water diver. Where else can you dive the wreck of a once floating casino in the morning and the wreck of a helicopter in the afternoon?

Every dive is an experience in biodiversity in this, the centre of The Coral Triangle.

We did manage to fit in a sidetrip climbing a volcano at Lake Taal. Here we discovered a ‘world within a world’ as we ended up looking down into a crater lake after climbing a volcano inside a massive caldera ringed with yet more volcanoes.

It was fascinating and totally undersold! At the peak we found blazing heat and stifling humidity but also views to rival Santorini with a superb rainforest panorama. There is also an interesting cultural heritage in the area – Taal cathedral has a quirky museum from the colonial past.

> LINKS www.aiyanar.com Also look for Scott Tuason and Eduardo Cu Unjieng’s superb book Anilao.

Anilao is a serious diving destination for underwater photographers in particular – and a favourite with the Manila dive fraternity and deservedly so. Resorts that may be quiet during the week will fill up for weekends – there are lots to choose from.

Aiyanar Beach and Dive Resort We stayed at Aiyanar Resort which is situated on a steep hillside with panoramic views of the superb sunsets across the Verde Strait. Aiyanar is a new option for Anilao – larger, upscale and with everything necessary for a discerning international market.

PADI Courses: from Scuba Review to Nitrox Dive packages to sites in and around Anilao, Batangas, including Verde Island and Puerto Galera Underwater: Reefs, sandy slopes, caves, wrecks, and piers Topside: Camera room: Equipped for 18 photographers plus.

Facilities include air guns for drying equipment, nonslip camera tables, plenty of charging outlets. Locked overnight.

Dive boats: Four fast custom-designed boats are longer and wider for UW photographers and their equipment make Verde Island and Puerto Galera easily accessible.

Dive Center: The 120 sq. well-designed and efficient space has gear and tools for all needs.

Environment: With a rich marine biodiversity within an environment maintained and protected by the local communities, Anilao is one of the foremost marine conservation and diving destinations of the Philippines. aiyanar.com

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sportdiving magazine

2015 Issue168

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