Untouched Beauty of Tuka Beach

My first time in Tuka Marine Park, I was wowed by its pristine waters and natural beauty both in the island and the colorful life under the sea. It is located in Kiamba, Sarangani Province about an hour and a half drive from Gen. Santos City.

The Tuka Marine Park as I learned is a protected marine sanctuary divided into four coves but the most accessible and usually the one perfect for tourists like us is Tuka 3. So that's where we were headed after all of us (our family of three with my hubby's small clan) were hoarded in a big motor boat provided for us by hubby's friend Mr. Allan de Lima.

The view of Tuka from the boat was splendid, with the natural foliage of coconut trees and other greens  that seem to cover the entire island. They weren't kidding when they said that this is a protected area. The whole island was untouched.. and so we were told that what we take here, our garbage and all, we have to bring back home. What we were allowed to take along with us in abundance though were pictures. :)

This is Tuka2, on the other side of the island is Tuka3 (Taken last summer, sorry wasn't a blogger then, would've blogged about this sooner :)

Another photo of the island as we approach the beach. Love the way that lone tree stands proud and tall on top of the hill here.

The Tuka Marine Cove 3 is about 600 meters stretch of yellowish white sand. Kids can readily wade in the shallow part of the beach as the sand is smooth even for bare feet. But then again, its still best to have your kids wear their swimming shoes just in case. Life vests and snorkeling gear are also a must here so you get to enjoy the beautiful corals and  rich underwater sea life.

As you can see, the water is crystal clear, like in a swimming pool "only salty" according to the kids who had a wonderful time since they can see the small fish swimming alongside them even without their goggles :)

I remember while snorkeling here, I got so awed by the corals and the variety of fish I saw that I forgot that I was already far from the beach. And then I noticed I was having a difficult time going back because of the underwater current, pulling me away from the beach..and lo and behold as I peeked in my goggles 

again, a number of jellyfish were going my way! It gave me the scare of my life..not so much as the current
 but the jellyfish! Luckily, one of the divers that came with us saw me and towed me back to the beach. I survived with a few scratches from the jellyfish.. I didn't realize I was on their turf :) The divers informed me that sometimes when the water is a bit warm enough, jellyfish are present in the deeper part of the water. But don't worry though, there weren't a lot of them near the shallow parts :) Maybe its just me, very attractive for jellyfish attack! hehe.

We had a nice time at Tuka beach all thanks to Mr. Allan de Lima who brought us there. For more info on Tuka Marine Park, you can also check out Mr Bariles' blog about it here.

To go there, you can take a van going to Kiamba from the terminal at North Osmeña St, the fare would be around P90-P120. Ask to be dropped at the Kiamba wharf, from there you can find fishing boats you can rent and haggle your way  to take you to Tuka Beach..ask the locals which cove is best for swimming at the time. For our case though, we were taken to beach/cove3. But its always best to take along a local who knows Tuka Marine Park well so you get to enjoy the whole day here. There are no accommodations or cottages there so you're going to have to rough it  out there and leave as soon as the sun goes down. (Unless you want to sleep under the light of the stars and the shelter of the coconut tree ala survivor style). 

PROVINCIAL TOURISM OFFICE
Provincial Capitol
Alabel, Sarangani Province
Tel No. (083) 508-2172 (083) 508-5231
Provincial Tourism Officer : MS. APRIL MARJORIE P. RUDES