Image courtesy Asian Bird Fair

The 1st Asian Bird Fair will be held in Davao City later this year in conjunction with birdwatching clubs from: Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and Singapore. The plan is to promote birdwatching as a eco-adventure, recreational sport and to: encourage international friendship, collaboration and the exchange of experience & best practices among the birdwatching clubs of Asia; foster bird-watching as an eco-tourism activity; highlight bird festivals, bird fairs and bird races in the Asia region; and, promote the host cities/countries – their natural beauty, eco-adventure activities, wild bird conservation and cultural heritage.

In conjunction with the 1st Asian Bird Fair, a birdwatching adventure tour will take place in the forests and wetlands of the provinces of Bukidnon and Surigao del Sur, to the North & West of Davao City.

Image courtesy Davao Del Norte Tourism

The Kadagayaan Festival & Exposition 2010, Davao del Norte, is one of the highlights of the commemoration of the 43rd Founding Anniversary celebration of the Province of Davao del Norte. The four-day annual celebration embodies the culture and traditions of the Dabaonons through street dancing, lighted float parade, agri-trade fair and the Kalimudan tribal celebration.

The Kadagayaan Festival starts with the Indigenous Peoples & Immigrants thanksgiving rituals at the Kalimudan sa Davao del Norte (cultural village), on 28 June: the indigenous Ata-Manobo tribe shall bless the success of the Kadagayaan Festival & Exposition with celebration and merry–making; and, the Muslim K’gan tribe offer their cultural and traditional performances.

Image courtesy Martyn Willes

The impending opening of a new marina on Samal Island confirms that the island is maturing into an all-round water sports destination. The all new Holiday Oceanview Marina will open its pontoons for visiting yachts from August, 2010.

GetWet has been watching the development of the Holiday Oceanview Marina since it first came onto our radar three years ago. As with most things on Samal Island, it has taken a lot longer than originally envisaged to reach a stage of functionality. Along with the adjacent property development and sub-division, the new marina is an integral part of a water sports vacation destination, about 30-minutes from Davao International Airport.

Photo courtesy John Smart

The Deca Wakeboarding Park Davao is open for business. While traveling South from downtown Davao City to the Philippine Eagle Foundation, we visited the town of Mintal to see how far the Deca Wakeboarding Park had progressed since August 2009.

The facility is operational and, according to the Deca Wakeboarding Park’s Sales & Marketing Manager, Ms. Kisses Rañeses, people have been enjoying the wakeboarding in Mintal since 16th December. In fact they are queuing up to go wakeboarding every day. Kisses said that the Deca Wakeboarding Park will be the venue for the Waterski and Wakeboard World Cup Finals 2010 and the Asian wakeboarding championship, 18th - 21st November, 2010.

Photo courtesy Martyn Willes

The training of caving guides in San Isidro, Davao del Norte, is well underway ahead of the 10th National Caving Congress, Davao, in April. Experienced trekkers and caving / spelunking enthusiasts from Barangay Dacudao, San Isidro, last weekend had their caving guide skills honed under a training program initiated jointly by the: Davao Speleological Society, the Davao del Norte Provincial Tourism and with financial support from the Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) Region XI.

Next weekend, further caving guide training (in advance of the National Caving Congress, Davao) will be offered for caving / spelunking enthusiasts in Barangay Igangon, San Isidro.

Image courtesy www.samal-island.com

UPDATED 27/03/2010

Dive Davao Festival 2010 is the latest in a series of annual scuba diving events designed to promote the superb scuba diving and snorkeling areas in the Davao Gulf, around Samal Island. Almost all of best Samal Island beach resorts take part in the event and offer special packages for scuba diving adventures, and snorkeling adventures for those who have not yet qualified as scuba divers.

The week long Dive Davao Festival 2010 (formerly: Dive The Gulf 2010) activities will climax on Saturday evening with the Caracoles Festival. The Caracoles Festival is a dusk-to-dawn party along Peñaplata Wharf and adjoining beaches, with music & dancing, food & merriment served all-night long.

Photo courtesy John Smart

The PSS 10th National Caving Congress will be held in Davao del Norte amongst the spectacular near-virgin caves in limestone hills and mountains surrounding Kapalong.

Under the auspices of the Philippine Speleological Society, and organised in conjunction with the Davao Speleological & Conservation Society, the PSS 10th National Caving Congress’s four-day caving event will introduce a dozen Kapalong caves to visitors from around the Philippines and from around the World. The primary theme of this 10th National Caving Congress will be “A Decade of Pursuit Towards Responsible Caving”.

Photo courtesy batsanctuary.org

13th January 2010; Samal Island - Philippine fruit bats that roost on Samal Island were officially accorded the Guinness World Record of largest colony of any fruit bat species. On any given day approximately 1.8 million Geoffroy’s rousette fruit bats (rousettus amplexicaudatus) inhabit the Monfort Bat Cave on Samal Island.

The Monfort Bat Cave & Conservation Foundation aims to protect the Samal Island fruit bats through research programs that lead to better education and conservation of habitat. Education programs will foster a greater understanding of the role of fruit bats and dispel the myth that fruit bats compete with humans for food when the reverse is actually true. Samal Island and the nearby provinces of Davao would not enjoy such an abundance of durian and other tropical fruits if it were not for centuries of natural seed and fertilizer dispersal undertaken free of charge by the fruit bats.