We have another new dive site, the second in as many weeks. This site is called Deep Rock and it is only a 5 minute boat ride away. It is a sunken coral mound, covered in soft corals with a sandy slope on one side. Depth is 12m-25m so it is perfect for all levels of divers. So far we have found Frogfish, several Pygmy Seahorse fans both yellow and pink, loads of Banded Boxer Shrimp and Malapascua’s usual great macro. My personal favorite was the tiny Juvenile Shaded Batfish like the one pictured here. It was very well camouflaged among the corals. At only one inch long it was the smallest I’ve ever seen and unbelievably cute as it did its wiggling “I’m a poisonous flatworm so don’t eat me” dance.
Yesterday, we did a fabulous dive at our other new dive site, Secret Point. On our safety stop, a completely unexpected school of literally thousands of tuna came to check us out. They circled around us for a while then bombed past us at top speed. What an incredible sight! Also spotted on yesterday’s dive, a school of oriental sweetlips and mating surgeonfish.

About Andrea Agarwal

Andrea Agarwal is a PADI Master Instructor and the founder of Thresher Shark Divers on Malapascua Island, Philippines. Originally from the UK, she moved to the Philippines in 2003 and built what is now one of the largest and most respected dive operations in the country. TSD is a PADI 5-Star Career Development Center (CDC) and the only PADI TecRec facility on Malapascua. Andrea has spent over 20 years diving Malapascua's waters and has been instrumental in developing its reputation as the world's best destination for daily thresher shark encounters.