FORTUNE ISLAND: PARADISE IN THE PHILIPPINES

I have been covering aerial photography of anything including beautiful islands in the Philippines for clients at my helicopter company, Airgurus Ltd. Co. Most often, I don't get the credits for my shots and I couldn't release them because understandably, if I go along the helicopter trips with clients, my work belongs to them.    However, last end of June was particularly different. The captain of Airgurus, Capt. Harry Lero called us for Project FI. I didn't know it would be Fortune Island near Batangas, Philippines... an extremely beautiful island with pristine white sand and an acropolis with Grecian pillars and statues on the edge of the island overlooking the blue sea.

The island is long-owned by Jose Antonio Leviste, a former governor of the Province of Batangas who build a resort in 1995 that was shut down in 2006. Fortune Island is an island in the Philippines with about 27-hectares (66.7 acres) and lies about 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) off the coast of Nasugbu, Batangas, Philippines.

The island is within the boundaries of the Batangas province. It was near this island (approximately 900 meters / 2,953 ft. northwest of the island) that the galleon San Diego was sunk on December 14, 1600 by the Dutch warship Mauritius under the command of Admiral Oliver Van Noort. The shipwreck was discovered in 1992 by French underwater archeologist Franck Goddio. Fortune island has also been the site of modern day shipwrecks.

Nowadays, the island has no available basic amenities... no potable water for drinking, no electricity. Permission to visit the island for some hours is strictly required nowadays as the management wants to avoid littering by public. There are boats that offer trips but they can't stay long as the sea going to Fortune Island can be rough. 

Airgurus offers helicopter charter to Fortune Island. You can go have a picnic, a romp on the beach, have a photo shoot, see the magnificent sites of the island, etc... either the captain waits for you or he comes back for you. Going to and from Fortune Island is just a full one hour trip via helicopter from Manila. Airgurus can arrange for your longer stay and exploration in the island.

For an island tour to Fortune Island via helicopters, it would cost about Php65,000-80,000 range depending on helicopter types with Airgurus... the best company for helicopter island tours in the Philippines

For serious inquiries only, contact +632 6248274 | +632 2749758 | +639 925 889 2987 | +63 917 885 7911or email them at info@airgurus.ph. For fast quotation, please visit the website www.airgurus.ph.

DANJUGAN ISLAND, PHILIPPINES

This is Danjugan Island... A marine reserve and wildlife sanctuary in the Philippines that I'm promoting.



Fast Facts:

Lying in the Sulu Sea, 3km west of Negros Occidental, Danjugan Island (1.5km by 0.5km) rises steeply to 80m and is covered in rainforest - home to a nesting pair of sea eagles, rare pigeons and doves, threatened Tabon scrubfowls and coconut crabs, fruit and insect bats and many other wildlife species that struggle to exist in the
mainland.

There are five lagoons: three landlocked and two flooded at high tide and colonised by coral and reef fish species.

Danjugan is fringed with turtle-nesting beaches and surrounded by diverse coral reefs.



Danjugan is a small island of approximately 43 hectares, measuring approximately 1.5km long with a maximum width of 0.5km. The islands lies in the Sulu Sea adjacent to Negros Occidental (Barangay Bulata, Cauayan) in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines. It has a high relief topography with limestone hills approximately 80m in height covered in tropical forest and is surrounded by fringing coral reef, a combination of two of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. The total area of island and reef is approximately 200 hectares.

Danjugan has five lagoons, two of which are open to the sea and four of which have surrounding mangrove stands. The island has a broken shoreline with numerous inlets of coral rubble and coarse sandy beaches. One of the sandy beaches is a confirmed nesting site for green turtles (Chelonia mydas). There is no permanent freshwater on the island.

Danjugan is one of the few small islands in the Philippines with relatively unspoilt vegetation. This vegetation includes plants like Pandanus spp. (screw pines), Veitchia merrilii (previously only known to occur in Palawan) and the threatened Pemphis acidula. The sub-tropical rainforest is an important bird nesting and feeding site for at least 55 resident and migrant avifauna species. The small limestone caves throughout the island act as important refuges of at least six bat species.

The island is completely encircled by fringing coral reef descending to a depth of approximately 30m. Seagrass beds occur along the western and eastern margin of the island. Prior to this report very little was known concerning the physical and biological composition of the reef system surrounding Danjugan (PRRP, 1996).

Getting There
Danjugan Island is located off Barangay Bulata in the Municipality of Cauayan, 151 kilometers from the City of Bacolod, Negros Occidental, the latter a 50-minute plane ride from Metro Manila, Philippines. Transport options include flying commercially from Manila to Bacolod City, then renting a private car or taking a public bus (Ceres Bus Liner) to the village of Bulata, a 30-minute banca (boat with outrigger) ride to the Island.



Day Stay

Price: Php 1,500* per person

Inclusions:
Food. Lunch and 2 snacks
Boat transfers. From the mainland to the island and back
Trekking & Snorkelling Guide.
Unlimited use of kayak. First come, first serve basis.
Unlimited use of binoculars for birdwatching. First come, first serve basis.

Overnight Stay

Price: Php 2,500* per person per night

Inclusions:
Eco-cabana accommodation. See accommodation & facilities section for description
Food. 3 main meals and 2 snacks per day
Boat transfers. From the mainland to the island and back
Boat tour. Go around the island on your the first day
Trekking & Snorkelling Guide.
Unlimited use of kayak. First come, first serve basis.
Unlimited use of binoculars for birdwatching. First come, first serve basis.

For reservations, visitwww.prrcf.org/about_danjugan Danjugan Island - Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary

Thanks to Jomi Garrucho for the photos!!!