Maxima Aqua Fun and Monfort Bat Sanctuary
Day 3– The next morning, we took a boat from Sta. Cruz to Kaputian Island, Igacos (Php 10 per head). From there, we took a bus (Php 30 per head) to Peñaplata (Davao Central Convenience Store).
Then, we haggled a bit with some habal-habal motorcycle drivers. We agreed to a price of Php 150 for a roundtrip ride to Maxima Aqua Fun and back to Peñaplata.
Maxima Aqua Fun is one of the many tourist destinations in Davao. It is most popular with its slide, considered to be the longest tarpaulin slide in the Philippines.
Day tour package entrance is Php 250. This includes free use of life vest, free use of tables and chairs, unlimited use of slides, use of water blob, trampoline and diving board, eagle view of canopy walk (available on weekends only).
This was not my first time at Maxima but my excitement and thrill was just the same. Looking at the slide made me shiver just a little bit but a boy’s got to do what a boy’s got to do.
Life vests are required before you can slide down. You would need to shower to lessen the friction between your body and the tarpaulin.
Your arms should be crossed on your chest and your feet should be closely together. You would also need to arch your back once you reach the end of the slide such that your feet enter the water first, which was incredibly hard to do. Then again, it does help to make your dive less “plakda” or flat against the ocean.
Maxima also has a Water Blob. A water blob a giant balloon where a person would sit on another end and another jumps on the opposite side. The person sitting would then be pushed up in the air, meters up, if done correctly, cycling and spinning down to the ocean.
After enjoying hours in Maxima, we went back to Peñaplata to take a bus to Kinawitnon Wharf. From Kinawitnon Wharf, we again haggled with habal-habal drivers for a ride to Monfort Bat Sanctuary. You might need to be extra careful when haggling. The drivers initially gave us Php 500 per head for a roundtrip ride to the bat caves back to the wharf.
Fortunately, we expressed our shocked and horror of hearing how much the fare was so they gave us a much more forgivable and realistic fare of Php 250 (3 pax).
Monfort Bat Sanctuary has an entrance fee of Php 10 per person. A tour guide will lead you to the openings of each cave, which are categorized according to their purpose. One cave is for nursery and maternity. Another is for training (flying, etc.) and one is for the old and senior bats.
The caves have been the home of over 1.8 Million Rousette fruit bats. According to our guide, the bats are the reason why Davao is the Durian capital of the Philippines. Being fruit bats, they have a big role in pollination and dispersion of durian seeds.
Despite the smell (which we actually could be compared to one pasta dish we could not identify), it was humbling to witness the millions of bats working together and fulfilling their roles in nature. It was one of those experiences where you feel that each creature has a purpose and you would wonder what’s yours.
From the bat caves, we went back to the Kinawitnon Wharf to ride the barge to Sasa Wharf, Davao City (Php 10 per pax).
Watch out for Day 4!
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[…] the south again. This was my third trip to Davao and my barkada have already been there at least once, so we decided to just make the trip as relaxing as possible. (Our young professional bodies were […]