Calauit Safari Tour

January 29, 2015

Calauit Island is located at the north west tip of  Busuanga. According to our guide, it was established during the time of former Pres. Marcos and it was supposed to be a Game Reserve where they can hunt animals. But then later on, they decided to just retain the animals and make it a tourist destination.

All of the animals there are from Kenya and there used to be gazelles but now, only zebras and 25 giraffes are the only ones left there. As our tour guide says, they are now a 100% "Filipino citizen" animals.

How to get there:

A.) By Land:
1. Vans can be rented that will take you to Calauit.
2. You can also join group tours via vans going there.
3. Hire and ride a motorcycle going there. It is highly recommended to hire a driver who is familiar with the road because according to those who traveled this road, it is really rough and one wrong turn, you'll be falling off a cliff. Here is a cellphone number of a motorcycle renting place that locals recommend: 09213593129-Angel.
4, You may also opt to do an overnight in Calauit because they have basic facilities for accommodations there if you don't want to be rushed early in the morning. Just take note that there is no cellphone signal in there.

Travel time is approximately 3 hours so be sure to wake up and drive as early as 4am so that you can experience the feeding time with the giraffe which is until nine in the morning. After riding any means of land transportation, you will have to ride a boat and that will cost you another Php200/head.

B.) By Sea:
You may hire a boat or you may also join group tours like what we did. It cost us Php2400. If you are at least a group of four, it is highly recommended that you hire a boat because it will save you more money.

People say that travel time is also approximately 3hours, but it actually took us 4hours when we went there via sea.

We left the dock by Coron town at around 5am and the sea was pitch black. The winds in the morning while we were in the boat was really cold so better bring your jackets on your way there.  At around 6am, the sun was already rising and it was really nice to see it while we were on the boat.

 There was a part in the journey where the waves got bigger and according to the boatmen, it indicated that we were already in an open sea. After four hours of traveling, we arrived at the safari at 9am.

In front of the Calauit Safari Information Center

Here are the prices as posted in the information center:

After waiting around for 5 minutes, the truck for the safari finally came and we went to the part of the safari where the zebras and giraffes are.

After alighting from the truck, this is the first animal that I saw. Oh dear, there's a deer!  It was a pregnant Philippine mouse-deer whom I was afraid to go near to but when I realized that it's actually tamed and won't hurt me, I went ahead and took a picture of it.

Pilandok

After waiting for another 5 minutes, one of the caretakers of the Safari came and gave us leaves that we will feed to the giraffes.

In my 26 years if existence, this is the first time that I have ever actually seen and touched a giraffe and I was just so ecstatic!!! To me, they are like camels with long necks. Haha. When I touched their neck, it felt like I was touching a horse.

I am surprised that the giraffes are actually really tamed animals and they make no sound at all. But according to caretaker there, they can kick from all sides so better keep a distance from them because they also make no noise when they attack.

As for the zebras...

Here is the closest picture we got. The caretakers there did not want us to go near any of them because zebras can kick hard. They can also bite you, and they wont leave you until they take a flesh out of you. Ouch! Well, that's what the caretakers said so better believe them.

Aside from the giraffes, there are other animals in there. Here are some of them:

A Cutie Porcupine

Nocturnal Musang or Palm Civet

A tortoise

When we were on our way back, a giraffe was walking towards me. They look so oblivious and amiable. :D

That was about it. For a moment there, I felt like I was in Africa. :D After interacting with these animals, we went back to the boat and went to Black Island to have our lunch.

Click here to get a sample itinerary and Overview of Coron
Click here to know how to do a DIY of Coron Town Tour
Click here to get a glimpse of the Reefs and Wrecks Tour
Click here to know what we saw during Island Hopping