My wife Koz and myself have traveled around the Visayas area of the Philippines a lot over the last few years, our general mode of transport is motorcycle as they are easy and cheap to run, another benefit is the ability to island hop with them on ferries. Today I would like to take you on our journey to Negros the third largest island in the archipelago.
With 7641 islands to choose from you could spend a lifetime touring the country and so far I have found massive differences in the feel of each island. Our trip starts in Moalboal Cebu where we had been enjoying our time diving, outside of watersports the town has a busy feel with lots of bars and restaurants catering to mainly a backpacker market, while a fun place to spend some time we were looking for something a bit more off the beaten track. Hearing about a small eco-lodge in the south of Negros sparked our interest and the decision was made to head south and check it out.
So with the bikes fully loaded and the weather on our side we left Moalboal in the morning, ahead of us a road trip south to link up with a roll on roll off ferry (RoRo).
Ready to hit the road.
Once out of town the ride was easy going with not too much traffic so all we had to do was keep our eyes peeled for rogue dogs running into the road, a major hazard here. It was nice to get away from a tourist hot spot and take in the open countryside risking the odd photo while riding along.
Beautiful day for a road trip.
It took a little over a hour and we arrived at the ferry port with perfect timing, after buying tickets and a quick drink to refresh it was time to get on board. We rode our bikes on and the deck hands lashed them down for the crossing you can see the bikes all loaded up with bags in front of the red car.
Ready to set sail.
The ship pulled away from the dock and we were under way ready for the next step in our adventure slowly the land faded away into the heat haze.
Goodbye Cebu.
Before long we arrived in port on Negros it was quite busy and in all the commotion of disembarking and port workers shouting where to ride our bikes to I didn't manage to catch a photo and before we knew it we were back on the road. Taking the national highway south heading for Siaton pronounced "shat on" which gave me a little laugh. The ride would take us through the city of Dumaguete and then a further 40km into Siaton. At this point we had to turn of the highway and take a dirt road a further 11km to our final destination Kookoo's nest on the Antulang Peninsula the most southern point on the island.
Final approach to Kookoo's nest .
With a last push we had made it, dusty and tired we unloaded the bikes and made our way down the 100 plus steps to the secluded resort where we were greeted by the owners Niki and Jamie, a nice English couple who have made this their home.
Our hosts for the week.
They showed us to our room which was a fantastic native built house perched on bamboo legs nestled among the hillside of trees and shrubs, it was huge with a living room, bathroom and balcony looking out through the trees, the view along the beach and out to sea was stunning.
Room with a view.
After a much needed shower we unpacked and chilled on the balcony for a bit Koz choosing to swing in the hammock, with only five guest bungalows the place was peaceful and the large private beach looking amazing from our vantage point. Having relaxed and recharged our batteries so to speak we took our dive gear to the dive shack on the beach, yes! not only quiet and secluded but they had great diving just off the beach, I will tell you more about that in part two. All that was required now to round the day off was a nice meal and to top this place off the onsite restaurant was bang on, serving great off the menu meals or a all you can eat buffet each night, this became our preferred option.
Beach restaurant.
What a first day we had rode bikes for hours taken a ferry and arrived at a little piece of paradise, fully stuffed from the tasty meal we retreated to our bungalow and fell off to sleep with ease. Next time I will cover more about Kookoo's nest, diving in the area and local days out.
Thanks for stopping by and taking a peek at my post, until next time stay safe folks!
For those wanting to follow in our steps here is the route taken allow at least five hours travel time.
https://www.google.com/maps
[//]:# (!pinmapple 9.050685 lat 123.119655 long Kookoo's nest d3scr)