Whale sharks at oslob

           
There is a small municiple on Southern Cebu called oslob where whale sharks can always be found. I think it the only place you are guaranteed to see them,when I came to the Philippines in 2011 I saw the signs on the side of the road to watch the whale sharks but not on the scale it is now.
There are around 10 resorts who along the beach who can show you the sharks, the only one we use is the municiple run area as you will have to there at some point for a short seminar about do' sand dont's, you are not allowed to touch or go near them bit when snorkeling they do come very close sometimes when they are eating.

Most of the time there are around 7-11 juvenile whale sharks in the area and the biggest I think is around 8m, quite scary when swimming straight at you,it's a good job these creatures are gentle giants and will swim right past you without touching!
It used to be a bit of a circus a few years ago due to a lack of respect for the whales and no rules but now they seem to have got it right, the only thing I'm not keen on is the locals get it for half price!
There are also plenty of places to get quite good food also now at a reasonable price along with some souvenir shops selling tee shirts and fridge magnets etc.
It's easier to get to oslob from Dumaguete than Cebu city as only a short trip to the ferry and a half hour ride to get there.

There is also a nice water fall to visit up above oslob in the shade of the trees to cool off in the water, it's a bit of a hike up and down the hill but there is a local habel habel motorcycle which is far easier in the heat.
Also oslob boulevard is worth a visit and the old ruins, the water is crystal clear and great for swimming and snorkeling.

                                          http://bacongapartments.com/home/sightseeing-tours/

                                   

Mountains of negros oriental

Cashew nut

Over the last few years we have visited many areas of the mountains above Valencia and dauin, we have come across many new plants and animals, the picture on the left are cashew nuts grown by small time farmers. The strange thing is most of the time they eat the fruits above the nut and discard the most important part as they do not know how to process it or where to sell the nuts.
Also there are many exotic fruit trees like advocado, lansonis just to name a few.









                                                                                                                                                                       

Queen ant

The picture to the right is the biggest ant I have ever seen,it must have been over one inch long. There are some strange bugs and creatures in the Philippines and some of them don't even have a scientific name yet and little is know about them.
I think this ant is called a queen ant.
Below is a picture of one of the giant tree ferns which are found up around 500m in the Forrest's, also is a picture of one of the many species of ginger. If you sit quietly near one of these plants you may see a sun bird come along and feed on the nectar.
I am just starting to learn all the names of the animals and plants here on negros bit it's slow going as my wife only gives me the local name which really does not help when trying to find a reference on the Internet so best is by photo only!

Some times I just sit and watch what comes along but you have to be very quiet as the wildlife is very shy here unlike back home in the uk,it's not surprising though as the locals shoot or trap everything that moves so I don't know how long these animal will have left on this planet.

Tree ferns

One of the ginger family