Malapascua is a small island off the northernmost tip of Cebu in The Philippines. It is time consuming to reach, and there are no luxury resorts to attract all kinds of tourists. In fact, there is only one type of tourist to Malapascua Island – divers.
Divers flock to Malapascua because it is the only place in the world where you are guaranteed to see the thresher shark every day. This is due to a nearby shoal that rises to just about 12 meters underwater where these long-tailed sharks rise from the deep to have parasites plucked from their bodies by cleaner wrasse and other small fish.
Note that unlike whale-shark watching in Oslob, the thresher sharks in Malapascua are not fed or baited by humans so this form of wildlife photography (and watching in general) is considered ethical.
Starting The Journey
Getting to Malapascua was quite a time-consuming trip. I decided to make the stop after diving in El Nido (not the best diving, but the birding in Palawan is amazing) which meant a rather long bus ride to Puerto Princesa. From there I flew to Cebu and holed up in a small, dingy hotel near the airport for the night.
Early the next day I took a taxi to Cebu North Bus Station where I got on a Ceres bus. These buses leave every 30 minutes or so towards the northern port and the tickets cost roughly $6.
The journey took over five hours, as the bus stopped constantly to let people on and off. On the way back I opted for a private car as that takes about three hours and is much more comfortable.
The bus dropped me off right at the New Maya Roro Port where I was able to buy a boat ticket (200 pesos) and buy the tourist fee (120 pesos) to go to Malapascua. The boat won’t leave until it is full so you may have to wait a while. Fortunately I only had to wait about 20 minutes before there were enough people to set off. The ride took about 30 minutes and was rather comfortable with the fresh air and salty spray air hitting my face (it is very hot and humid during the summer season so this was actually quite refreshing).
After checking into my hotel I set out to arrange my dives. I came to Malapascua with a recommendation from my friend Mark who is an amazing underwater photographer, however due to scheduling (and me wanting a private DM as to not hold up other divers with my picture taking) I decided to go with Sun&Sea Divers.
The Morning Of…
As with most wildlife photography, early is the name of the game. For this trip to see Thresher sharks I went to the dive shop at 6am. My gear had already been brought to the boat by the team based on my sizes I sent in over a messenger.
Then it was off to a small boat which took me to a large boat and we were on our way. There were two locations on the docket, Kimud Shoal and Monad Shoal. Kimud, the first stop, is where the Threshers go every day.
Kimud Shoal
After about an hour on the boat we reached Kimud Shoal. This dive spot is the best spot in the world to spot the fascinating Thresher shark. After anchoring we geared up and stepped into the water.
We descended about 12 meters to the top of the shoal, then slowly swam down the slope until we were around 15-18 meters (It seemed to me the drop-off was right around 20). It took just a few minutes before we spotted a large thresher, and while he didn’t get too close, there was another one just a few minutes later. And another, and another.
To be honest, it was a photographer’s dream. I barely had to move; The sharks kept circling the shoal, and sometimes they got quite close. Thresher sharks are not aggressive during the cleaning period, so if they come close to you, all the better for photographs.
Do ensure that you do not use a torch or a strobe when down there though as it can irritate or scare the sharks. Every dive shop will tell you this right away, so if you are an underwater photographer with a state of the art strobe – leave it at home.
You don’t really need a strobe that badly as the sharks are silvery-white so no real color is lost at 15 meters or so.
Due to the depth and little movement, expect a bottom time of around 50-60 minutes.
Monad Shoal
Monad Shoal is about 40 minutes from Kimud so it’s perfect for a surface interval (plus you have to add getting out of the water, de-gearing, re-gearing, and getting back in.
While you can see Thresher sharks at Monad Shoal, the main reason for this site is to see Tiger Sharks. However I will say right now I did not see any Tiger Sharks and even the dive shop said before I went that the chance is slim.
I do wish I got the opportunity to photograph tigers, but it was not to be…this trip.
Back on the boat and back to Malapascua Island and I was sitting at my favorite little snack bar sipping on a mango shake by 11:30am.
What a great morning.
Notable Animals In This Article
- Thresher Shark
Gear Guide
Here is the gear I used for this shoot:
Camera: Sony RX100 VI
Underwater Housing: Ikelite