Koala

The dive

Koala is a short banca ride south of Eagle Point Beach & Dive Resort in Barangay Bagalangit, Mabini — one of the smaller names on the Anilao list, and one that most of the region's top-ten guides leave out. Eagle Point, whose own dive-site page is the closest thing to a primary source here, gives it an average depth of about 18 m and a maximum of about 24 m, visibility up to roughly 20 m, generally calm water with a medium current, and calls it a good dive for novices. The older Asia Dive Site entry describes the same thing in almost the same words: a gentle slope from 9 to 24 m, large boulders housing small reef fish, anemones with clownfish and soft coral, medium current, visibility to 20 m. Those two descriptions are close enough in phrasing that they may well be one account repeated, so treat the agreement as one source rather than two.

The other characterisation of the site is different in emphasis. Dive The World lists it as 'Koala (Critter Capital)' and describes a sandy slope with scattered rubble where underwater photographers look for wonderpus, harlequin shrimp and rhinopias. Both pictures can be true of the same dive — Anilao sites routinely run coral and boulder in one section and rubble and sand in the next — but nothing on those three animals should be read as an expectation. Rhinopias in particular is a seasonal lottery anywhere in Anilao.

What the occurrence data around this stretch of the Bagalangit coast supports is a dense small-animal fauna rather than anything large. Chromodoris annae and Chromodoris willani are the two most frequently recorded species by a wide margin, in front of a long queue of Nembrotha, Goniobranchus, Phyllidia, Jorunna, Reticulidia and Thecacera nudibranchs. Alongside them: redtooth triggerfish in numbers, three anemonefish species with porcelain crabs, giant frogfish, peacock mantis shrimp, blackspotted puffer, Moorish idol, hairy squat lobsters on barrel sponges, striped eel catfish, blue starfish and Luzon sea stars. Those records come from a radius that also takes in Eagle Point, Cathedral and Arthur's Rock, so read them as the Bagalangit reefs collectively rather than as a survey of this one slope.

• A gentle slope from about 9 m to 24 m that Eagle Point Resort rates as a good dive for novices
• Large boulders carrying soft coral, small reef fish and clownfish anemones
• Rubble and sand between the boulders — Dive The World labels the site 'Critter Capital' and reports wonderpus, harlequin shrimp and rhinopias
• One of the densest nudibranch assemblages on the Bagalangit coast, led by Chromodoris annae and Chromodoris willani
• Ten minutes by banca from Eagle Point, so an easy second or third dive of the day

Conditions

Anilao's surface is usually calm and the water is warm: Dive The World gives 25 to 28 °C for the region and Bluewater Dive Travel about 27.5 °C, dropping to roughly 25 °C in January and February. Visibility is regionally 10 to 20 m, typically nearer 12 to 15 m, and both descriptions of this site put its ceiling at about 20 m. A normal dive here is a boat drop, a slow traverse along the slope with a medium current behind you, and a long shallow finish over the boulders.

On current: Both descriptions available for this site call the current medium and the surface generally calm — Eagle Point Resort and the Asia Dive Site entry use nearly identical wording, so that may be one account rather than two agreeing. Dive The World's regional figures for Anilao are gentle to moderate currents with usually calm surface conditions. Depth is agreed: about 9 m at the top of the slope, 18 m average and 24 m at the bottom. Visibility is given as 'up to 20 m' by both site descriptions, which is a ceiling rather than a typical day; Bluewater Dive Travel's regional figure of 12 to 15 m for Anilao is the more realistic planning number and is what we have used.

Best months: Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May