43ABOVE Bring your
macro lens so as not to
miss shots of treasures
like this pipefishBELOW A red frogfish
on the safety stop at
Chocolate IslandThe reefs surrounding this
island are resplendently
healthy with magnificent
soft coral gardens covering
a jagged, rocky seascapevirtually guaranteed sighting. We were
so taken by this spectacle that we would
return later in the week and spend a
whole dive in the cave, just watching the
whitetips going about their business.CAVES AND SNAKES
After breakfast, we made our way to
Gato Island. In Spanish, this means “Cat
Island” but perhaps “Snake Island”
would have been a more apt name. This
small outcrop is a haven for banded
sea krait and was discovered in 1933 by
two Japanese fishermen. They taught
the locals how to hunt the snakes and
process their skins and an industry soon
developed around Gato.
Luckily, this was abolished in 1997
with the declaration of a fish and snake
sanctuary, which today stretches
two nautical miles around the small
island. Whilst banded sea kraits are
highly venomous, they show no signs
of aggression towards divers. Indeed,
watching these black and white bandits
raid the reef for food is a mesmerising
sight to behold.
The reefs surrounding this island are
resplendently healthy with magnificent
soft coral gardens covering a jagged,
rocky seascape. But the real star of
the show at Gato is the underwater
cave system which takes you from one
side of the island to the other. As we
made our way through the underwater
tunnel, hermit crabs scuttled away
from our light beams and shrimp’s eyes
glimmered back. As we started to see
the blue light at the end of the tunnel,
we were amazed to find the silhouettes
of whitetip reef sharks patrolling the
exit. These sharks are residents and a
A CHOCOLATE BOX OF DELIGHTS
Rainstorms continued above and the
visibility was dipping. We decided to
switch to macro lenses and head to
nearby Chocolate Island. Our guide
soon pointed out a delicate pipehorse,
nestled in amongst the rubble. A few
minutes later and we would find its
more famous cousin, the seahorse.
According to the fish I.D. books this was
a common seahorse but its name hardly
did it justice. Delicately patterned in soft
pastels, I was entranced by its stunning
eye, watching me as I lined up a shot.
Seahorses feed over 30 times a day and
rely on their sharp eyesight to find tasty
shrimp meals. This macro treasure hunt
was exhilarating and the variety
of creatures almost overwhelming.
As our dive came to an end, our guide
had one last treat in store, beckoning
us over he showed us a gloriously ugly
red lump – a painted frogfish! These lie-
in-wait predators are a photographer’s
dream and after a few minutes I had
to be reluctantly dragged away for a
safety stop!
Our time was up in Malapascua and,
whilst we had come to this destination
for the threshers, we left talking about
the memorable dives at Kallangaman,
Gato and Chocolate Islands! AD