Koala is south of Eagle Point and was about a 10 minute boat ride from Club Ocellaris the resort I stayed at. It’s made up soft and hard corals along with some very big rocks. It gradually slopes down to a sandy bottom at around 80 feet. I’m told there usually isn’t much current and it makes an idea night dive. I ended up making two dives here. One on the 1st and another on the 2nd.
The first night we were in the water at 6:22. Water temp was 85F and visibility was as far as my light would reach, which meant over 50 feet. Beyond that it was hard to tell.
I almost immediately spied a nudibranch and was delighted to see that it was one that I did not have a photo of. I took several photos. Then a few of some brightly colored feather stars (crinoids) and then my camera stopped working
I cursed myself immediately as my first thought was that I had been getting close to a full memory card and I had allowed myself to get in such a hurry to get in the water, that I had forgotten to change it Then I turned off the camera and continued the dive... what else could I do
Of course this meant that I would have a great dive … among other things I didn’t get to take a photo of was a very nice Warty Frogfish (a small juvenile), a few more species of nudibranchs, various crabs, fish, etc… Plenty of life down there, and I wasn’t getting any photos…. but I would get to make it up a little the following night.
After a short 46 minute dive where I had a maximum depth of 76 feet, we returned to the boat and headed in.
I was back the next night. My dive started at 7:10 PM and lasted 62 minutes. Maximum depth this time was 74 feet and water temperature was again 85F. Visibility also again was as far as my light would shine, 50-60 feet plus.
The dive started off with my getting a shot of a Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray. Roger had suggested earlier in the day about getting shots showing the huge variety of colors and I found myself often following this advice, ending up with photos with the most incredible colors from the huge variety of corals, anemones, and feather stars.
On into the dive along with the usual variety of fish, Peri, my guide, pointed out two nudibranchs right near to one another. Chromodoris willani they turned out to be. Then there was a little red octopus, then an anemone crab, two lionfish together, a wide assortment of corals, sea pens, a prawn, squid, another new species of flatworm (I’m still working on identifying), porcupinefish, another nudibranch (Halgerda carlsoni), another as yet unidentified nudibranch, a flathead, another nudibranch (Phyllidiella pustulosa), and another nudibranch, another anemone crab, a hermit crab, another new species of flatworm, a huge pufferfish inside a barrel sponge, another crab I haven’t identified yet, another new nudibranch, a huge crab, and an hour had flown by. No sign of the frogfish from the night before, but my air supply said it was time to go up!
Facts about Koala Reef/Anilao
It is in Philippines- Koala Reef/Anilao is in the South China Sea.
- The typical depth is 0-30 Metres 0-100 Feet.
- The typical visibility is 10-30 Metres 30-100 Feet.