Coron Town Busuanga

Coron Town Busuanga Island Philippines

The island of Busuanga is about an hour flight southwest of Manila and is the largest of the Calamian Archipelago in the Northern part of Palawan Provice.  The flight approach in gave us a glimpse of some of the beautiful tropical islands that we would be exploring, WOW!  From the tiny airport terminal (no carousel here!!!) everyone is shepherded into waiting minivans for the 40 minute transfer to Coron Town.  We were staying at the Luis Bay Travellers Lodge, a great position close to the busy harbour where all the island trips depart and just far enough away from the town centre for peace and quiet.  The place immediately had a good feel with the white Coron sign above the town aka Hollywood!  Coron is a real hub for divers and has a number of well preserved Japanese WWII underwater shipwrecks surrounded with coral reef.  We, however were here to relax before our 5 day boat trip to El Nido with Tao Philippines (blog coming soon).  We did organise a daytrip on a small Bangka with our captain Angelo to the nearby Coron Island.  We moored in a beautiful inlet among the sheer karst limestone cliffs and took a steep climb over a ridge to the crystal clear waters of Kayangan Lake a perfect spot for a swim!

Donsol Philippines

Donsol Philippines

We flew into Legazpi in the Bicol region of Luzon Island in the Philippines.  We had a great view of the majestic Mayon Volcano as we landed on the runway.  We were hoping to get some better shots before we flew back to Manila but unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate!  The hour van transfer down to Donsol on the South Coast went through beautiful palm fringed paddy fields and small villages.  The scenery reminded me of some of the Vietnam style war films which is hardly surprising as the Philippines was used in the filming of Apocalypse Now, Platoon, Hamburger Hill, Born on the 4th of July and more recently, the Bourne Legacy.  Donsol is the main place in the Philippines where you can spot Whale Sharks or Butanding as they are known locally.  We stayed at the Vitton Beach Resort which is adjacent to the registration centre and boat departures for the whale watching.  The first evening we were treated to the most amazing sunset, one of the most colourful we have ever seen.  The next morning I went out with another 5 Europeans in search of the elusive whale shark.  It was an exciting trip out into the bay and we all ended up diving into the sea on three sightings and frantically snorkeling to where the shark was spotted.  A couple of people from our boat caught a sighting of the tail but unfortunately I didn’t see a thing so I’ll have to try again another day!

Manila Philippines

Manila Philippines

Nothing really prepares you for the traffic chaos in and around Metro Manila.  It unfortunately gives a very bad first impression of the Philippines being the main entry point for most tourists and doesn’t really entice you into exploring the city properly.  We arrived on a very early flight from Kuala Lumpur so just managed to beat the morning rush hour.  We luckily scored a great deal at The Manila Hotel, described in our guidebook as Manila’s equivalent to Singapore’s Raffles!  It lived up to it’s name with amazing food and service.  We had to force ourselves to venture out from this lap of luxury and at least see some sights so visited the neighboring Intramuros, a walled Spanish city which is the historic centre and the oldest district of Manila.  We hired a pedal powered tricycle taxi to take us around the main sights such as Fort Santiago, housing a shrine to Jose Rizal, a national hero of the Philippines.  Unfortunately the Manila Cathedral was closed for renovations so we went into the nearby San Agustin Church, a 17th Century Spanish Baroque Church, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We also went to the SM Mall of Asia which is the 4th largest in the world and houses a full sized ice rink, an IMAX theatre and the usual shops and food courts.  Before leaving the Philippines we met our Philippino friend Simon at Makati, the CBD of Manila which on a Sunday felt like an oasis of calm comparing to the chaos of the Metropolis!!!

Philippine Transport

Philippine Transport

Here are just a few of the different types of transport we experienced or saw on our journey in the Philippines.  The most famous being the iconic Jeepney which were originally made from US Military Jeeps left over from World War 2, one of the cheapest modes of transport available.  The motorised tricycles came in all sorts of sizes depending on the area you were in, some were a real tight squeeze even for us vertically challenged folk!!!!  Also a few shots of the Bangka, traditional Philippine boats based on the outrigger canoe.  Cebu Pacific was our airline of choice to zip us between the islands.  We particularly like the floating restaurant shaped like a turtle with a head that swayed back and fore!!!

Dandenong Ranges Victoria

Dandenong Ranges Victoria

Here are a few pics from a great day out we had in the Dandenong Ranges Victoria.  The Dandenongs are just to the East of Melbourne, the roads wind their way through the towering forests with picture postcard villages, the perfect place for a Cream Tea!  Follow the many paths to discover secret Fern Gullies with many sightings of the ‘laughing Kookaburra’!

Inverloch Victoria

Inverloch Victoria

We spent a memorable weekend with Megan & Darren in Inverloch, a beautiful seaside resort located on the Bass Highway, 143 km south east of Melbourne, at the mouth of the Anderson Inlet.  We rented a great house and had the traditional ‘Aussie Barbie’.  Darren & I found a great place for the sunset called Twin Reefs.  We even had our own Yoga model meditating in the last of the days sun.  My goretex trainers were again tested by the incoming waves?????

Gippsland Victoria

Gippsland Victoria

A few images of life at the Alpaca farm in Gippsland, Victoria.  A big thank you to Senga and Peter for looking after us, it really was great to see them again!  It was also nice to see a different side to the Australian Landscape.  Apparantly it’s often very green, far too much sun this year though, we’ll probably get the same problem this summer at home??????

12 Apostles Port Campbell

12 Apostles Port Cambell National Park Victoria

I managed a sunrise and sunset at the 12 Apostles, Port Campbell National Park on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria.  The sunrise shots were taken from the main viewing platforms looking both East to Gibson Steps and West to the 12 Apostles.  The sunset shots were taken looking back east at the 12 Apostles so not such a well taken shot.  This is because you have to tramp across a few hundred metres of thick bush which I was imagining were snake infested.  Hence I made plenty of noise on the way and way back, the lone Kangaroo I disturbed must have thought I was crazy!!!!