Carmi's Caprice: Day 2: Calauit Safari Sanctuary and Black Island, Busuanga

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Day 2: Calauit Safari Sanctuary and Black Island, Busuanga

Continued from: Day 1 Coron Island Hopping and City Tour

The 3 1/2 boat ride to the Calauit Safari Sanctuary was absolutely worth it upon seeing these lovely zebras! No need to go to Kenya in Africa to see these animals live in action. We have it just right here in the Northern tip of Busuanga.

One of the amazing mysteries that lie behind the zebra's signature striped suit is that no two zebras have the same pattern of stripes (just as no two people have the same fingerprints) cool beans, right?

How to tell if a zebra is a male or a female? One clear difference is the black vertical stripe between the buttocks. The male has a very narrow stripe about 1 inch wide and the female has a stripe about 2 or 3 inches wide. ( Somebody stop me! I could talk more and more fascinating facts because I find them really intriguing. I just have to say that it was truly mesmerizing, seeing them upclose. )

During the photo-ops, the in-house tour guide was watching us very closely. Pictures can only be taken from a safe distance. The zebra's may perceive you as a threat, and kick you! (really hard!)

These giraffes are uber fun and friendly! We made it to the 8am feeding time and soon enough, they started coming towards our safari truck. Hooray!

Incredible, each one has its own name! The tour guide knew them by the patterns on their skin. FYI: Hold on tight to the leafy branch! They can pull really hard with their long black tongue which they use to strip the branches of its leaves.

I caught my brother having a smooch session with one of the giraffes.

Say hello to the safari truck!

Aside from the animals mentioned above, we were also blessed to see the Calamian deers, porcupines, wild boars, monkeys, turtles, crocodiles ( and the list goes on....)

The Calauit Safari Park which covers approx 3,800 hectares, was President Marcos’ response when the International Union of Conservation of Nature made an appeal to save the endangered animals from Africa.

I hope that by reading this humble blog, I could entice you to visiting Calauit Safari the next time you head to Busuanga. The Sanctuary, (which is owned by the governement) badly needs to generate more funds to help preserve and protect the animals on the Island. Please help save the Safari!

Back at the boat, no worries! Were in good hands with the boat captain, assistant and the lady tour guide. A hassle free-trip, indeed!

Even without touching the water, you can see the corals!

Our boat courtesy of Calamian Islands Travel & Tours

On the island, here is the feast that the tour guide had thoughtfully prepared for us.

Cucumber vinegar salad with diced mangoes, tomatoes and onion

Seaweeds

Grilled chicken

Grilled fish

Grilled squid

I have to catch my breath in awe as I stumble upon this beautiful island!

The Black island, (also called Malajon) was named after the dark-colored limestone cliffs that stand tall at the center of the island.

The words ravishing, bewitching and captivating best captures the scene that still lingers on my mind. Now I am a believer that paradise really do exist. A pristine island that features a fine white sand beach.

I just had to take a shot before leaving the gorgeous island.

Next on the itinerary was snorkeling around Lusong Gunboat, a World War II Japanese ship wreck, followed by the Lusong Coral Garden, one of the excellent coral reefs in Coron.

No better ways to end the night, than by dining at the famous Kawayanan Grill Station. We ordered shrimps in butter garlic sauce, chopsuey, escabeche fish, sinigang na baboy.