Koala

What the sources describe

Koala is an Anilao dive site described by The Philip Ann Resort as a gently sloping area used by novice divers. The same operator describes medium-strength currents, while Anilao Diving and Resorts calls them usually mild. These undated descriptions do not establish dependable conditions; beginner-oriented wording is not a promise of an effortless dive.

Ask the dive operator to match the route and the day’s conditions to your experience, and confirm the planned entry, exit and depth before booking. The reviewed description does not establish a precise site boundary or dependable visibility, nor does it document particular wildlife encounters.

Planning your dive

This is a partial guide based on a named operator’s account. Current conditions and suitability for an individual diver remain matters for the local briefing.

A deeper wall route recorded in 2025

Michael McFadyen’s October 2025 account describes a substantially deeper outing than the novice-oriented slope description above. His boat anchored near shore in about 6 m. He followed a steep slope to roughly 24 m, then encountered a wall descending to about 28–30 m. These are measurements along his route, not a new recommended depth or a surveyed boundary for Koala.

The wall section contained barrel sponges, two large gorgonians and small overhangs. He describes following it for approximately 50 m before the terrain became a slope again, then returning shallower toward the boat. This makes the proposed route an important booking distinction: a shallow reef visit and that deeper wall outing should not be assumed to demand the same experience.

Fish and smaller reef subjects

The account reports Moorish idols, short-finned bannerfish, butterflyfish and numerous niger triggerfish. It also records spotted moray eels, nudibranchs, shrimps and crabs. These are observations from a particular trip, rather than an inventory or a promise that those animals will be present when another group arrives.

On the return, McFadyen describes more barrel sponges above the wall, blennies in hard coral and a shrimp within a coral colony. A turtle was seen near the end before the dive finished among shallow coral outcrops. The mixture of wall scenery and small coral-associated subjects offers different photographic interests within the reported outing; it does not require visitors to follow that same itinerary.

Conditions attached to that visit

He reports a slight current during the wall section, water at 28°C and visibility of about 18–20 m. These October observations cannot settle the differing operator current descriptions or establish year-round clarity. His search of the large gorgonians did not produce pygmy seahorses; their presence should not be inferred simply because suitable-looking fans occur there.