Saying Hello to Oslob's Whalesharks

After we did our Badian Canyoneering we had a three hour ride going to the town of Oslob which is very famous for its whalesharks. This is the main reason why we went to Cebu. My friend wants to swim with the whalesharks. Unlike other places in the Philippines, the whalesharks in Oslob can be considered as a domesticated animal of the town. The whalesharks no longer leaves the place. You may also see whalesharks in Donsol and in Sorsogon however these are migratory whalesharks and only passes by these provinces in certain months which means there are chances that you will not see them when you go there. In Oslob, there is a guarantee that you can see and have an encounter with these giant creatures.

We woke up at 5AM to prepare for our whaleshark encounter.Our guide said that there were a lot of tourist the other day that the queue number reached to more than a hundred. We were hoping that at least we will be able to see the whalesharks early because we have other plans for that day.

There were already lots of people when we reached the place for the whalesharks encounter. Everyone is required to attend a brief orientation wherein they discussed the guidelines and necessary precautions for the activity. 

Boats are lined up for the whalesharks encounter. They have a very systematic way of ensuring that everyone will get a chance to see the whalesharks.

The whaleshark encounter is about 30 minutes which enough for you to see these gentle sea giants. It is ideal that you have a underwater camera so that you have opportunities to capture the image of the whaleshark and your encounter with it. However, if you don't have a underwater or waterproof camera, you may rent a camera at the Whaleshark Center. The boatmen will took your pictures with the whalesharks.

There is a boat that give feeds to the whalesharks. Tourists are not allowed to give foods to the whalesharks. Tourists are not also allowed to get near to them. We were very lucky that there are several instances that the whaleshark came near to us and brushes our feet with its tail. It swims quite fast that we were just shocked when we saw it just beneath us or at our back.

The boatmen willl usually help you go underwater and will take your picture with the whaleshark as your background. It was a very nice experience however I wouldn't say that it's worth the peso we paid. Still, an encounter with the whalesharks is something that should be part of anyone's bucket list and is something worth remembering.

Cebu Adventure: Badian Canyoneering

Jump, swim and crawl. That sums the things that you will do if you want to try Badian Canyoneering. Of course, enjoying the view and cool water is part of it. Canyoneering is becoming a popular activity in Cebu although the place is quite far from the city and airport.

Canyoneering is very common in other countries like in America. Canyoneering is travelling in canyons using a variety of tricks which primarily involve walking, climbing, jumping, rappelling and swimming. I’m not sure if there is any other canyoneering place in the Philippines aside from Badian in Cebu.

I was hesitant first when my friend told me that she wants to do canyoneering on our Cebu travel. I asked her about it and said that I would probably not like it because I’m not a good swimmer and doesn’t like to be in the middle of deep water. She told me to watch Byahe ni Drew in Cebu so I can decide if we will include it in our itinerary. After watching the Cebu episode of Byahe ni Drew, I immediately called my friend and told her that I can do it. I bravely told he that I’m not afraid of heights and jumping from cliffs to the water does not scare me.

Badian Canyoneering is our activity on our third day in Cebu. From Cebu City, our tour picked us up at around 7AM in our hotel. It will take approximately three (3) hours to get to Badian. We passed different towns and zigzag roads to reach the town of Badian. 

We met with our guide beside a church. We changed into our rash guard and shorts. We don’t have aqua shoes but the guide let us borrow some old rubber shoes that we can use. I suggest that to use rubber shoes instead of aqua shoes since there is some trekking involve and it would be hard to walk on sharp rocks in aqua shoes. After the guide helped us dressed up with life jacket and helmet we rode the habal-habal. It took ten minutes of habal-habal ride to get at the starting point. The guide gave us a brief orientation and asked if there’s anyone who cannot swim. I admitted that I’m not a good a swimmer. 

We started walking and after some minutes we already hear screams nearby. So the start of our canyoneering adventure is jumping at 10ft above the water. There’s no turning back now! Before jumping, we all huddled together and said a short prayer. Our guide was so nice and helpful. He offered that we jumped at the same time so that I wouldn’t be afraid to which I obliged. My friends helped me in the water every time I made the jump.

I think we did five jumps to the water. The highest I made was the 10ft jump which is at the start of the activity. There is a 30ft jump which I decline and instead walk my way down but two of my friends did it.

Unfortunately we don’t have a waterproof camera so we don’t have much picture. We only have one camera from our guide. The whole place was amazing! I guessed I’ve enjoyed it much because you don’t have to worry about taking pictures. I usually float on my back in the water and gazed at the towering cliffs and watch some kids climbing the rocks and jumped into the water. The place is a home to butterflies and dragonflies. There are a lot of insects also.

The 30ft jump is the end of the canyoneering activity. After that we trek going to Kawasan Falls. We swim to a waterfall on the way to Kawasan Falls. The water was so cold that we tried to swim as fast as we can. After that is another trek of about 30 minutes. Then we hear people laughing and chatting. Then we saw Kawasan Falls which just mean that we are at the end of our adventure.

Kawasan Falls

Even though I may still not be a good swimmer, I swear that I’ll go back to Badian for another canyoneering adventure.