A slice of Africa

The alarm went off at 2:30am. I closed my eyes for just a second and the next thing I know there's a knock on the door. It's 3am. I overslept. Today is the day of our African safari in the Philippines. It only took three days to organize this event. Seems that most people skip the safari in favour of the beaches. At the door I find my sleepy eyes confronted by two drunk Filipinos. This is the jackass crew that will take us out on open water. The captain is a short stout man with most of his teeth missing. His deckhand reeked of alcohol from four feet away. Yay for me.

First thing on the boat a squabble breaks out between the captain and deckhand. I stayed out of it even though it concerned where I was to sit on the boat. The deckhand offered me the captain's plastic chair. The captain didn't like that much. Once settled in our seats it took the deckhand only thirty minutes to start the motor. We floated under the stars and a crescent moon that hung like a bowl in the sky.


The sea was calm but soon enough we hit rough waters in the dark. I didn't feel all that confident about our crews ability to navigate the waters in their condition. For one, the captain kept falling asleep and steering straight for dark islands! We didn't hit any islands but did get stuck on some rather beautiful shallow corals. By the sounds of it the bottom of the boat must have gotten pretty scratched up.


Four hours later we arrived in Caluit island where a slice of Africa awaited us. However, we had to wait for our slice. Seems the only truck available for the safari had just left with a load of Club Paradise guests. We watched the 36 staff members on the island sing the national anthem and raise the Philippine flag. Then one of them walked over and took us on a tour by foot while we waited. We saw some rare species of animals such as the endangered wild boar. I gasped at its beauty...well, maybe not.

Then we looked at bearcats, deer and porcupines and visited a giraffe in quarantine for medical treatment. Zebras were everywhere and I photographed them like a madwoman. The scenery and heat was definitely reminiscent of Africa. Not that I've ever been there but judging from all the movies I've watched it's an exact replica. Apparently this is why this island was chosen for the safari. The trees are all native to the Philippines.

All the zebras and giraffes here are island born. The original batch of animals shipped here from Kenya in 1976 has already died. Seems that reproduction isn't a problem as several of the zebras were pregnant. All the animals survive the typhoon season year after year. Ostriches, elephants and antelopes are scheduled to arrive over the coming years. No predators will be brought onto the island.

We headed back to wait for the truck. As we lay there in the shade, Claire and I decided that we didn't want to take the truck tour since we had already seen all the animals on our walk and just then, trailing a huge cloud of dust, the truck pulled up.

Back on the ship the crew had slept off their booze binge. The waters were rough. Our boat kept raising up several feet into the air and slamming down onto the water. On the way to our snorkel destination we saw some jumping tunas and sea snakes. Then the crew saw a large fin of sorts. The jackasses talked about tiger sharks in the water and then they expected me to jump in to snorkel around the sunken WW2 warship.

I got into the water. Looked down. Saw the coral twenty feet below me. The water was cold. Visibility was not so good. The waves were capping. I started swimming away from the boat. Then I panicked. All I could think of is sharks. The conditions were perfect. I'd seen Jaws many years ago. I'd heard about that surfer who got attacked a few weeks ago. Mind you he was in Australia but the Pinos ain't so far from Australia. All these random thoughts made sense in the water. They added up to a shark attack in my mind. Ron swam toward me. I guess he could see that I was not doing so well. He told me to relax and float. "Kick with your legs and let's go look at the wreck. It's worth it." Having someone else in the water with me was reassuring.

The wreck was in very shallow waters. Parts of it were only four feet below water. The coral was extremely colourful. The fish were numerous. It was eerie to think about how many people must have died on this ship as it sank. The water was still choppy. I was still creeped out. I decided to head back but Ron insisted "swim around the other side. It's better over there." I did. He was right. I was still scared.

Back on the boat our crew decided to take a look at it too. Surprisingly enough our captain did not drown. ...Am I being harsh?

Despite fears to the contrary I did find a way off the island the following day. Asian Spirits still had seats on their flight to Manila. Score.