Post Covid International Breakout !

It seemed to go on forever, borders would open, borders would close…..

There would be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel, big trip planning would begin, then in an instant, that light would snuff out…

Pygmy Seahorse

Crossing state borders within Australia was a risky game, but a game that could be played if you were careful and stayed up to date with the Health Directives. International travel was a different story. Only for the brave !

Anilao Sunset

My last visit to the Philippines was to the Blue Ribbon Dive Resort, Anilao in early 2019. Unfortunately I didn’t have much time to spare. Only 5 diving days were available. Definitely not enough for me and my macro photography intentions.

Crinoid Shrimp

Since then I had upgraded my camera gear and was super keen to return and try and capture all that Anilao macro goodness !

Peacock Mantis Shrimp

Eventually the terms and conditions for entering the Philippines and returning to Australia became manageable. Now I could book that flight !

Banca Boat

July 2022 soon came around. Time to pack those bags and jump on the planes. It is a long day, departing Cairns for Sydney, then the big bird from Sydney to Manila. The passage through the airport at Manila took only 20 minutes ! Covid screening, Immigration, Bags pickup and Customs….

Amazing !

Paddle Flap Scorpion Fish

The evening drive from Manila down to the Blue Ribbon Resort was free flowing, and in a couple of hours it was time to make my way down the steep stairs to the resort.

Morning departure from Blue Ribbon Dive Resort

3 years had passed and it was like I never left. I checked in to the same room as last time, set up my camera gear ready for an early start the next morning.

The tiny Hairy Shrimp

First it was breakfast then meet the team, do the paperwork and setup. The “dive shop”and camera room are on the bottom level, just below the restaurant. Everything is so close. This time around nitrox was on the menu as there were many dives to do over many days.

Flabellina Nudibranch

And so it started…. Wake up, Breakfast, Setup camera and dive gear, 2 morning dives, lunch, an afternoon dive, a night dive, or maybe 2 afternoon dives, dinner, download photo’s, process a handful, charge the batteries, sleep.

Then repeat…. For the next twelve days…..

No Traffic Lights ! The morning commute along the Anilao Coastline

The Anilao dive area has about 40 sites. We didn’t do them all, but some of them we visited more than once, as the photo opportunities were so good.

Baby Clown Anemone Fish

Sometimes the weather got the better of us so plans had to change, but that is ok… As long as we could board the boat, there would be somewhere with protected waters.

Cowrie Shell

Mostly I dived with Jeff or Dang as a guide. They know the sites, they know the critters, they have much better eyes than me ! I am incredibly jealous of their low air consumption…. Apologies to the others that dived with us if I had to shorten our time underwater. Dives averaged an hour, +/- 10 minutes depending on the depth.

Top Gun Dive Guides !

Colemans Shrimp

On my first visit back in 2019, I was shown a “Lembeh Sea Dragon”. I really wanted to see another and try and capture a decent image. The news was they had not been seen for a while. Guide Dang and I made it a mission to find another. After some careful searching and patience, Dang finds one and it is celebrations all around. This little critter was only in 5 metres of water and the surge was quite strong.

The shy Lembeh Sea Dragon

Capturing a decent image of this shy critter was going to be a challenge. Imagine trying to capture a sharp image of a thin tuft of wool, 40mm long, hanging under a ledge, blowing back and forth in the breeze whilst riding a unicycle ! Maybe my imagination is getting away from me there, but it was a tough assignment. I didn’t achieve the shot I wanted (capturing the eyes) as the dragon kept looking away. I guess I will just have to return another day !

The incredible eyes of a banded cleaner shrimp

There are many of the bucket list items to photograph in the Anilao area. Pygmy Seahorse, Candy Crabs, Shawn the Sheep Sap Sucking Slugs, all those nudibranchs, every version of Anemone fish, Rhinopias Scorpionfish, Hairy Shrimp, Ghost Pipe Fish, so many different eels, Frogfish, Jawfish, Bobtail Squid, Mimic Octopus…. the list goes on.

Donald Duck Shrimp

Next visit I wish to take advantage of and learn the fine skills of bonfire diving with Blue Ribbon boss Jonathon. No doubt there are many weird and wonderful critters to capture coming up from the depths in the dark !

Bobtail Squid

Thanks again to the great team at Blue Ribbon. The Resort team, Dive team and Boat crews are all fantastic at making sure their guests have a great experience.

I look forward to my next visit.

Seven Dive Guides for my last dive !!