Image courtesy Martyn Willes

New Corella is known as the “water basin of Davao Del Norte” and for good reason – its rainforested limestone hills have for aeons imbibed the monsoon rains and slowly released them, through hundreds of springs and streams, onto the plains below. The same aeons have slowly eroded the limestone beneath, creating some of the most beautiful cave systems in the World. Adventure tourists and speleologists can access the caves by hiking along forest trails or trekking up rivers, brimming with crystal clear water – filtered and pure.

Recognizing that it is the custodian of this area of outstanding natural beauty, the municipality of New Corella has created a series of adventure tourist packages, designed to allow those with a passion for the beauty of Mother Nature to enjoy the gifts that she has so generously bestowed upon Davao De

Image courtesy Samal City Mayor's Office

The two-month long Visit Samal Island Festival kicks of in March with the intent of bringing Samal Island to the notice of beach-goers and adventure tourists from around the Philippines and from farther afield. The festival has all of the ingredients for a smorgasbord of fun in the sun.

The festival will showcase the beauties of Samal with a beauty pageant to find Miss Tourism Samal Island 2011, talent show, fire dancing, jingle writing and photographic exhibitions. There will be frisbee championships and the search for Miss Body Beautiful. Kite-flying contests and beach-volleyball competitions. And finally, (my favorite) culinary competitions, where the abundant native fruits (thanks to the fruit bats) and seafood are the centerpiece. Enjoy tuna? Come f

Image courtesy Dylan Uy

The Mayor's Cup in Mati, Davao Oriental, is the premier skimboarding and surfing event in the South of the Philippines. Held every year at Dahican Beach the Mayor's Cup offers skimboarders and surfers the chance to compete for prizes and trophies at one of the most beautiful Philippine water sports venues in Asia.

The hosts of the event are the Amihan Boys of Mati, lead by their “father” and mentor Jun Plaza. The Amihan Boys are all orphans of the Davao Region who have been brought to Mati to be given a purposeful life under Jun's tutelage and guidance. They are funded by the Mayor's office and local business interests, and by the fees paid by skimboarders and surfers who rent the equipment and knowledge offered by the Amih

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 Dav

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 perfo

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

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 Novembe

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