Relaxation House

One of Kawayan Cove’s most interesting Amenity is the Meditation Point. Imagine a fantastic viewpoint, a peaceful garden that houses the world’s largest rosary measuring 57.29 meters which was designed by Leandro V. Locsin with the help of Ponce Veridiano who helped lanscaping this piece of Eden.

Beautiful Dendrobium Orchids at the Meditation Point

Puyat relates that aside from being the location of a one-of-a-kind religious work of art, Meditation Point is “a spot that’s perhaps like nowhere else in the world.” The elevated topography of Meditation Point offers a 340-degree view of the South China Sea. Being far above the ground, the Point’s silence is disturbed only by the sound of lapping waves, the soft breeze and the constant chirping of birds.

Bamboo Beach

If you want to relax in a beach front setting, Kawayan Cove has a beautiful secluded beach called The Bamboo Beach Club. The Beach Club offers elegant suite of pavilions and bath houses that open out to the stunning panorama of Bamboo beach. Exlusively for members, each owner of Kawayan Cove’s residential units can freely use this amenity.

The Meditation Point

A beautiful Welcome Pavilion where guests can feast on fresh catch from the ocean; a Beach Bar, Beach Bath Houses, Club House and an Infinity Pool complete the Bamboo Beach Club. Meanwhile, Kawayan Cove’s Mango Grove is an ideal setting for family gatherings and various activities. An Amphitheatre, a Children’s Playground with a Kiddie Pool, a Tennis Court and a Basketball Court are only some of the exclusive activity areas found in this mango-shaded escape.

Fresh Fruits at the Bamboo Beach Club

With the Goal of maintaining the property’s natural topography, Kawayan Cove has been purposely designed to have the lowest density among all the high-end residential developments in Nasugbu.

Myths allude to the bamboo as the most graceful of trees, with its slender frame striking the perfect balance between gentle pliance and resilient strength. Now, a development carrying the same name is executing a similar balancing act: this time between infrastructure development and environmental conservation. Its owners and developers envisioned an environmentally sound community within Nasugbu,Batangas which is considered as the closest, not to mention the most coveted, getaway from the fast-paced life in the city

Faith, Eric and Ryan at the Meditation Point

The seaside community offers 24-hour gated security; wide tree-lined concrete roads; an abundant supply of fresh water coming from deep aquifers; subsurface lines for power, and world-class facilities that include the Bamboo Beach Club, a private membership club that will be exclusive to lot owners and their guests. “In a time when privacy has become the ultimate luxury, what we’re offering lot owners is the chance to be completely relaxed and undisturbed. The only people they’ll get to see at the club are their neighbors”, says Puyat.

The beachfront property is a 68 hectare exclusive residential community located in Nasugbu Batangas. Although the weather is not cooperative when we visited the property, everyone appreciated the trancquility of the place.

For more information about Kawayan Cove, please call 843-9136 to 38 and 843-8820

The SM Investment Corporation is presently developing its biggest project to date: the 1,800-hectare Hamilo Coast in Nasugbu, Batangas. Those of us who are accustomed to the giant edifices that are the SM Malls will find in Hamilo Coast a refreshing development. It will showcase to residents and tourists 13 natural coves, a sweeping 32-kilometer coastline and a number of lush hills, cliffs and valleys boasting of virgin flora and fauna. Activities in the site will be geared towards eco-tourism including diving, hiking, mountain climbing, kayaking, sailing and the like.

The first phase of the Hamilo Coast masterplan is the 40-hectare Pico de Loro Cove. This resort community, which is slowly being built, shall boast of a country club, marina, golf course, hotel, forest park, condos, lakeside townhouses, retail shops and a boardwalk surrounded by restaurants and entertainment centers. I foresee that in the future this will be a snazzier alternative to Boracay and other resort towns. The best thing is that it will soon be very accessible from Manila. With a ferry terminal to be built in SM Bay City, travelling to Hamilo Coast will only take 1 1/2 hours by sea. Alternatively, it can be reached at almost the same time by land; with a road network being built through Coastal Road, the 114-km. stretch it takes to travel to Nasugbu at present will be cut to 70 kilometers.

There’s no doubt that Pico de Loro and Hamilo Coast will in no time be a gem of real estate south of Manila, with SM as the developer, the overall fast return-on-investment of the place to potential buyers and its ability to give you the ultimate nature trip. What more, a significant part of the site will be open to the public, giving tourism in this part of Batangas a much-needed boost. I will be very excited to see how the grand masterplan that is Hamilo Coast will unfold in the next few years, most probably like a precious pearl coming out of its shell to reveal unseen facets of the beauteous canvas that is the Philippines.

“Promoting Philippine tourism should be every Filipino’s task. It is through tourism that we can compete in the global marketplace.” Taipan Henry Sy Jr.

About the Author
Annalyn Jusay, more popularly known as Ajay in the blogosphere, is a contributor and gadget reviewer for Manila Bulletin’s Technews. In March 2005, she started for MB her weekly column Blog-O-Rama which features bloggers in classic Q & A format. She says: ” My aim is to cover all bloggers, or at least those worthy of it, and give everyone their five minutes of fame. She claims to now write and blog mostly for fun as she concentrates full-time on her job as a manager for the Philippines’ one and only casino company.

Lobo is about 150 kilometers from Manila.  It is located near the southern tip of Batangas province. Lobo offers many attractions.  It has good white sand beaches whose ocean floor slopes gradually for nearly 200 meters before a drop-off.  It has very good coral and marine life on some of its beaches that attract many snorklers, scuba divers and underwater photographers.   It also has protected mangrove forests and fish sanctuaries.

Lobo is a 4th class municipality in the province of Batangas, Philippines. According to the 2000 census, it has a population of 33,909 people in 6,611 households. The town was formerly a part of the neighboring municipality of Taysan, is also known as the home of the sweetest atis and tamarinds in the country.

The name “Lobo” came from  the Tagalog term for wolf, which is “lobo”, the River Lobo, which is in Lobo itself, and the name called to a group of early inhabitants as Lolobos.

The wreckage of two Japanese ships, which sank off Barangay Sawang during the last days of World War II in 1945 can hardly be seen now. Instead, a submarine-shaped formation of corals has emerged and declared a fish sanctuary.

“We think it’s nature that turned something tragic in 1945 into what we now have — the Submarine Garden, a marine paradise and fish sanctuary that remains untouched up to today,” said Jojo Marasigan, owner of a resort in Sawang, 36 km east of Batangas City.
Divers who have flocked to the Submarine Garden have retrieved only a few remnants of the sunken vessels.

“We found a giant steel anchor about 15 meters from the shore,” Marasigan said.

“We are planning to put up that anchor inside the resort and fortify it with concrete. That way, nobody can take it and all our guests can see it on display,” he said.

 Fish sanctuary
Marasigan said the municipal government declared the Submarine Garden a fish sanctuary two years ago.

When the villagers, fishermen and local fisheries officials discovered that the sanctuary attracted more and more fishes, the entire 3-km shoreline and 300 m fronting the shores have been declared a protected area.

“The people of Lobo are now very much aware of the benefits of protecting the environment,” Marasigan said. “Fishermen don’t enter the fish sanctuary to catch fish. They stay outside the sanctuary to guard it and do their fishing in other areas.”

About 15 meters from the shore, the water is so clear you can see fish swimming, while a big blue starfish lies bathing in the morning sun. Water at knee-deep is also so clear that one can see a seahorse swimming near the corals.

Fronting Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro province and nearby Verde Island, the view is dotted by small boats and passenger ships dragging tails of foam.

The beach is not just white sand and corals, as century-old trees. A path through mangrove trees, a footbridge over the Sawang River and the remains of the two sunken ships are more than enough to satisfy any vacationer’s curiosity. 

Natural museum

As the fish sanctuary has turned into a marine paradise, Marasigan’s resort has become a natural museum for endangered animals.

One of the best diving spots is the 13-m Orange Sponge coral mountain that reveals its colorful tip during low tide. Sea turtles still come to lay eggs, while dolphins are seen at least twice a month.

Flying fish jumping in unison is a common sight. At night, luminous planktons light up the water and the underwater garden.

On land, wild cats, cloud rats, palm civets, pugo (quails), labuyo (wild chicken) and migratory birds thrive, as the law forbids hunting in the entire protected area.

Century-old bonsai trees grow in what used to be a coral formation that turned into black rocks below the three hills called the Monte Castillos.

The near-extinct Philippine teak trees abound, along with century-old tamarind, talisay, camachile and other fruit-bearing trees.

At the right side of the resort, just after the gate, is a footpath in the mangrove trail where crabs, edible snails and shells are plenty. At the end of the trail is a wooden footbridge crossing the river into Barangay Olo-olo, where a blue-green lagoon awaits.

“When (former) Tourism Secretary (Richard) Dick Gordon came here in 2002, he was so amazed at the resort that he started working out a presidential proclamation to declare Submarine Garden a marine park,” Marasigan said.

According to him, his family’s plan for the resort is not really to develop it but to retain its natural beauty.

“We’re hoping that Submarine Garden would set an example to other coastal towns to protect their seas, their shores and their trees. The Submarine Garden is now Lobo’s natural treasure,” he said. “If we have succeeded here, other towns can do that, too.” 

How to get there:

From Manila, take the Batangas bound bus.   Once in Batangas City, take a tricycle ride to Lobo Jeep terminal 

Sources :

•  http://en.wikipedia.org/ 
• Submarine Garden: Batangas Town’s Coral Treasures
• Mei Magsino for Inquirer News Service 6/3/2004

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) initially issued an environmental compliance certificate allowing Jung Ang Interventure Corp to go through with the project.

But DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said his office has now cancelled the certificate after an investigation found that the Korean firm did not meet all requirements.

“They have been less transparent in their application,” he said in a statement. “I don’t think they thoroughly presented the environmental impact of the project.”

Reyes said Jung Ang also failed to secure a clearance from the government’s volcanology institute, the Department of Tourism and local government offices.

Taal Volcano, one of the 22 active volcanoes in the Philippines, lies in the middle of a scenic lake straddling several towns in Batangas.

Thousands of people live on the island and hundreds of tourists visit everyday even though it has been declared a danger zone.

The first of a five-level alert system has been raised on Taal since last year amid increasing signs of unrest.

The volcano last erupted in October 1977 and its deadliest eruption was in 1911, when it killed 1,334 people and its ashes reached Manila.

Mordor

Originally uploaded by Cymer.

I found this photo in Flickr…. Beautiful sunset of Anilao……

Just a two-and-a-half hour drive south of Manila, Anilao, is regarded as the birthplace of diving in the Philippines. There is something for everyone here – from snorkeling, to sites for both novices and the experienced diver.

In the mid-1960’s, a whole coral reef was transplanted onto a large rock formation close to the shore. Contrary to popular belief at the time that the adventure would fail, the coral has flourished. As a result, diving has developed and is at the forefront of the industry in the Philippines to this day.

Visibility is good and the opportunities for photography are excellent. Unfortunately, as the area has developed, so some of the more negative aspects of this have become evident. In particular, dynamiting, collection of corals and shells and over fishing are just some of the challenges that Anilao and Batangas must face. Luckily, these are being addressed. Most of the best dives are actually found around the islands of Sombrero and Maricaban, a short boat trip away from Anilao.