Philippines trip advice sort.

[Mark H]

On 10/7/2024 at 6:58 PM, Troporobo said:

This is perhaps obvious, but be aware that visibility in Anilao is inversely correlated with water temperature.  A couple of degrees makes a big difference. Its not a huge issue for macro shooters, but for some it may affect overall enjoyment. 

So Feb and March have the best visibility?

[Troporobo]

Yes, though you could safely extend that range to December - March

[Whiskeyjack]

Yep, like he mentioned doesn't matter much for macro in Anilao, Dauin, etc, but if you're going to hit Bohol, Malapascua, Moalboal then the better vis is definitely nice.

[Luko]

On 10/11/2024 at 3:03 PM, Mark H said:

So Feb and March have the best visibility?

Not for the Visayas though where visibility depends mainly on the sea conditions/weather since it's shallower and sandier bottoms than Anilao/PG.

March can be a hit or miss espcially for Panglao/Bohol, in all my stays in the Visayas I had much better conditions and viz late April/May. 

 

[bvanant]

We just got back from 2+ weeks at Crystal Blue. We did 2 BW dives a few nights, got back to the resort 11PM or so. Conditions were pretty murky and the BW dives were pretty slow but the day dives were pretty good. Saw the same Rhinopias as above (after a few days of hunting for her). January/Feb will have cooler water but BW can be awesome then. Bring a boat coat to stay warm between dives, the pangas have no shelter. 

Bill

 

[OneYellowTang]

@bvanant

If you found the rhinopias then I'm pissed for leaving early 😉

BTW - that was my image of the Paddleflap... taken at the point (where we didn't see a whole of nembrotha...)

 

[bvanant]

Also for us. At Mainit point historically there were tons of nembrotha of all types. We dove there twice and saw a total of 3 nembrotha. The Rhino only showed up after  the Backscatter macro guys all left. 

Bill

 

[Troporobo]

I always found it interesting and puzzling that certain nudis - nembrotha in particular - could be abundant at predictable sites one year then vanish the next.  N. chamberlaini were always everywhere, N. kubaryana seemed to come and go with the seasons, and N. milleri disappeared completely for several years. Where do they go?  It’s not like the slugs are migratory is it?  

[bghazzal]

7 hours ago, Troporobo said:

I always found it interesting and puzzling that certain nudis - nembrotha in particular - could be abundant at predictable sites one year then vanish the next.  N. chamberlaini were always everywhere, N. kubaryana seemed to come and go with the seasons, and N. milleri disappeared completely for several years. Where do they go?  It’s not like the slugs are migratory is it?  

It's the same here in Bali's Tulamben / Amed area - it's seasonal and moves around, most likely linked to reproduction booms and importantly environmental conditions, which not only allow these reproduction cycles to happen, but also affect survival rates and food sources, which need to be abundant enough to sustain populations.

Same goes for quite a few seasonal critters, but for bigger, more environmentally aware ones (cephalopods, macro highlights like frogfish, rhinopias) it's also linked to reproduction / activity cycles, bringing them to  shallower areas etc...

Edited October 29 by bghazzal