TRAVELSPECIAL
Coron Bay , Palawan
Palawan is sometimes described as Asia ’ s final frontier . It lies 364 miles southwest of Manila between Mindoro and North Borneo and can be accessed via an internal flight from the capital . The region of Palawan consists of a staggering 1,780 islands and islets , many of which are covered in thick forests and the whole area is surrounded by a coral shelf , so it will be no surprise that the entire region is a nature reserve .
Club Paradise on Dimakya Island is a good place to stay if you want to be close to the incredible drop offs synonymous with Apo reef , plus you can do day trips to the wrecks of Coron Bay . If it ’ s only the Second World War Japanese shipwrecks that you are interested in then best to stay to at Sangat Island Beach Resort in Coron Bay itself so that they will be right on your doorstep .
During the Second World War , Coron Bay was a harbour for Japanese warships , 11 of which were sunk during an aerial attack in September 1944 . The largest of these wrecks is the Okikawa Maru , 160 metres in length and yet with its top a mere 10 m under the surface . These mostly intact wrecks have corridors and galleys that can still be explored , but they have been salvaged and some of the engine blocks removed . Still , there are plenty of features and artefacts to see , and Coron Bay is widely regarded as offering the best wreck diving in South East Asia .
An oceanic thresher shark greets the dawn at Monad Shoal , Malapascua
PHOTO : SIMON ROGERSON
The jittering movement of a juvenile sweetlips
PHOTO : ALEX TATTERSALL
Malapascua Island , Cebu
With its impressive blend of shark encounters , classic coral walls , muck diving and even a smattering of shipwrecks , the island of Malapascua is one of the best value dive destinations in the world . First and foremost , it is the nearest resort centre to the deep water seamount , Monad Shoal , the best place in the world to dive with thresher sharks .
In fairness , you can see oceanic threshers – known for their outsize , whippy tail-fins – at locations in the Red Sea and the Maldives . But encounters are rare and typically distant . By contrast , Monad Shoal yields lasting encounters on an almost daily basis . The dives take place at dawn , a time when the deep-dwelling threshers rise to visit the cleaning stations after a night of hunting squid in abyssal water . Unwilling to tolerate daylight for long , the sharks appear just as the resident half-moon wrasse are rising from their own sleep – there is a brief window in which this symbiotic relationship can be seen , then the sharks retreat to the shadows .
Otherwise , Malapascua ' s great draw is Gato Island , a photographer ' s dream with its critter-rich coral environment . The variety to be seen on a single dive is simply extraordinary , with turtles , reef sharks , nudibranchs , cuttlefish , dragonets and Commerson ' s frogfish all thick on the ground , among many more . Gato is a marine reserve for sea snakes , but don ' t worry - they are too busy mating and hunting to worry visiting divers . Malapascua also has a good choice of local muck or seagrass dives for when you want a shorter boat journey , or just a cheeky dive .
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