Diving Guide to the Philippines 2015

(Barry) #1

along the coast. The
owners have guarded the
reef, which starts right off
the seawall (there is no
beach here). Kon Tiki
House Reef is a showpiece
of marine conservation
and small sanctuaries have
popped up in other areas
due to the success seen at
Kon Tiki. Kon Tiki is situated in
between the other sites of Tambuli
to the north and Agusto the south.
The top of the reef is covered in
coral bommies and it gently slopes
to a wall. This wall falls down into
the depths of the Hilutugan
Channel that separates Mactan from
nearby Olango Island. Thus, these
waters are often visited by large
pelagics, including occasional
whale sharks. The shallow part of
the reef offers corals and sea
grasses. There is an artificial reef
that is a giant iron clam which was
sunk by Kon Tiki in the ‘90s. The
clam is now totally overgrown with
hard and soft corals.
Other good diving areas that are
local marine sanctuaries are
Shangrila Marine Sanctuary, Talima
Marine Sanctuary and Hilutungan
Marine Sanctuary. The Hilutungan
Marine Sanctuary is one of the
oldest in the area, and fish
populations have thrived there.
Talima has a small shipwreck.


62) Marigondon Cave
Icons:
Location: East of Marigondon
Depth: 16-115 ft. (5-35m)

Marigondon Cave is one of the
most famous dive spots of Cebu,
strictly for advanced divers only.
Usually divers drop in well before
the cave and drift with the current
to the cave mouth at 90 ft. (27m).
The cave entry area stretches from
90 to 130ft. (27 to 39m). There are
lionfish at the mouth and some
black corals growing as well as
encrusting sponges and bottom-
oriented fish. And the highlight is
deeper inside there is a school of
flashlight fish blinking in the
darkness. The cave is also known to
have some very large crabs crawling
about or hiding in the crags.
NITROX is strongly recommended
for this dive. Divers must watch
bottom time as it is necessary to
descend several meters to get out of
the entrance. This is a dive for
experienced divers.

Barber pole shrimp
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