Sogod Bay: Dive Paradise off the Beaten Track

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Tankaan MPA

Further south from Santa Sofia lies Takaan, another Marine Protected Area close to the mouth of Sogod Bay, and whale shark sightings are a definite possibility here. It features another gentle slope going down to 27 meters, but unlike Santa Sofia, the slope is populated mainly with soft corals punctuated with barrel sponges and huge gorgonian fans. Takaan is a good place to spot frogfishes and other critters like orang-utan crabs, and if diving in the late afternoon there is a good chance of seeing solar-powered nudibranchs.  Turtles like to loiter here too because of the abundance of soft coral, with pelgaics like barracudas and trevally darting in and out of the blue.

Little Lembeh

Located around thirty minutes north of Padre Burgos by boat, the site is landmarked by an array of stilt huts rising out of the water.  As its name suggests, the site contains excellent muck diving (Lembeh is well know for its muck diving).  Many types of pipefish make their home here, with scores of seahorses roaming above the black sand. Pegasus fish hide amongst the stilts while nudibranchs are also abundant here.

Sogod Bay Scuba Resort House Reef

Directly in front of Sogod Bay Scuba Resort, the house reef (or more commonly called Max Climax) is accessed from a dive boat parked on the shore.  The beach is coral rather than sand, and a pretty risky entry/exit with full scuba gear and camera.  This is a wall dive that starts at about 8 meters down to 45 meters, and features a wonderful array of hard and soft coral.  Currents can get strong here, and it brings about pelagic fish as well as schools of sweetlips and snappers. The wall is also chock full of macro subjects with crabs and shrimps taking center-stage, and pygmy seahorses if you are willing to go deep enough.  A night dive here is also highly recommended, as there is a huge variety of critters on parade across the reef.  Decorator crabs are seen often.  There is actually so much to see and shoot here that it is wise to check your SPG and dive computer frequently, as you could easily become distracted by all the photo subjects.

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