2009 has been a fantastic diving year so far in Malapascua. As well as plenty of thresher sharks and manta rays we have seen some other amazing things:
• A pod of pilot whales with babies swimming past Calangaman Island
• Hammerheads at Kimud Shoal sometimes coming close
• Oceanic Whitetip spotted at Kimud
• Whale Shark 300 meters offshore at Lighthouse in only 10 meters of water
• Ornate ghost pipefish everywhere
• Bombs and bones uncovered on the WWII Tapilon Wreck
We have started diving several new sites and discovered several more with further exploration to come:
• Bugtong Bato, an underwater mound close to Malapascua with beautiful corals, frogfish, pygmy seahorses, harlequin shrimp and a school of 50 batfish
• Deep rock with its frogfish and pygmies
• Overhanging Gardens – soft corals, an array of marine life, rock formations, swim throughs and lots to see, similar to Gato
• Special Branch – another great muck dive with several new species nudibranchs, some of them up to 20 cm long