Thank God I didn’t insist on driving my own motorbike. That was all I could think of on what seemed like never-ending stretches of dirt roads from Coron to Calauit. Our destination was Calauit Safari Park, a game preserve where animals roam freely, located on a small island at the tip of Busuanga, Palawan. A map showed that it was roughly 70 km away from the Coron Town proper and locals said it could be reached in about 2-3 hrs time by motorbike. But like a real life version of Excitebike, the terrain seemed to challenge us with increasing levels of difficulty the longer we drove. There are dirt roads, then there are demented dirt roads. This was the latter dialed up a notch.

Level 1: Hit the Pavement

We started off from Coron late in the morning. The gray clouds in the horizon and slight drizzle dampened our spirits and made us leave later than originally planned. After gassing up at Caltex along the National highway, we were off.

The friendly paved roads in the Coron town proper and the frequency of motorbike rental shops led me to believe that the road to Calauit and back would be relatively easy. Last year, I drove from Sagada to Bontoc and back in a day without any major problems. So surely, Calauit couldn’t be that bad. However, our money was running a little short after our explorations of Coron and Culion. We also planned to stay overnight (which doubled the cost for motorbike rentals), so we decided it would make more sense for Art to drive and me to just ride pillion instead of renting 2 separate motorbikes. Fine, at least I could take pictures while on the road.

It was a joy to ride through the paved roads, especially when the slightly gray skies turned into a clear blue. We stopped for a few more photo ops on the road with the scenic rolling hills in the background. It felt great to feel the breeze as we cruised along at a relaxed pace towards our destination.

Level 2: “Off-the-beaten-path”

Just when we were starting to enjoy the trip, the pavement morphed into patches of rocky roads that cut through forest trails. The air was thick with dust through long stretches of roads right next to bulldozers mixing up concrete. The pavement teased us again and again. It would be a glorious stretch of smooth pavement, only to mutate again into rough patches of dirt roads without warning.

After an hour of so of this kind of road conditions, we came across a coastal view with boats on the sea below at around noon. We decided to take a breather and stop for lunch at Puerto del Sol, a resort along the road, which offered a great view of the sea and surrounding hills.

The Mediterranean-inspired place, which is apparently operated by the same owner as La Sirenetta in Coron, also had a dive shop, several villas, a swimming pool, and even hobie cats for rent on the premises. I expected us to just stop at a carinderia along the way for lunch, so this was an unexpected surprise. After a quick lunch, we were determined to make up some time and arrive in the early afternoon.

It was surprising to come across a place like this in the middle of our road trip

Level 3: Clear as Mud

Why are there no road signs? Why do all of the bridges seem to be broken? Why can’t government funds be channeled towards fixing roads here instead of wasting funds on road widening projects in Manila? More random thought as we drove on.

From there, the terrain was covered in a slick mess of reddish mud riddled with puddles and potholes, some of which spanned the whole width of the road. It was possible to still weave around the smaller potholes to avoid them, but for most part, we just had to drive through them. We also passed through a number of makeshift wooden bridges built over streams right next to broken concrete bridges. I lost count of how many times we stopped to ask directions at major forks in the road just to make sure we were going the right way. Most of the time, there were no people to ask though.

Then, finally a ray of light! An actual metal sign that pointed left to Calauit Sanctuary and right to YKR airport. A sign! We must be near. However, our celebratory selfies and enjoyment was short-lived after we drove on.

Apparently, the sign was nowhere near the jump-off point to the park. From there, it was still a good hour or more away especially given the road conditions.

Level 4: Wild ride

The dirt and mud roads degenerated further into paths made up of loose pebbles and gravel, which made driving on it feel like driving through a sandy and pebble-ridden beach. The motorbike’s tires skidded and slipped more than once as Art drove, but he still managed to keep the motorbike balanced even with me behind it. With no people or houses for miles, I wondered what people did if they ran out of gas or if their motorbike broke down on a road like this. Or if they were driving in the rain or in the dark. I checked my phone. No signal of course. It was the kind of road that wouldn’t look out of place in a horror film. We were half expecting an old man to come up to us and say: “Anong ginagawa niyo sa lugar na ito? Umalis na kayo bago dumilim!” (cue creepy music)

Watch out for monitor lizards and snakes crossing the road.

At one point, we reached a fork in the road with an empty sign, with no idea where to go. We rode up the right path, thinking it looked more ridden on until the two track lane turned into a single track thick with tall grass. Hmm. Some groups visit the park by van, right? There was no way a van would be able to pass through here.  Soon, we met a dead end and a broken bridge.

We doubled back to ask for directions at the houses we had seen a while back, passing through the gravely section of the road again. Apparently, we should have turned left instead of right. OK. A sign pointing the way would have been really helpful. So back we went and we turned left this time. Then, we reached the final test…

Level 5: End of the road

The last stretch of the road from Buluang to Malacachao cut through the mountains with steep uphill and sharp downhill descents riddled with loose marble-like rocks. At this point, dismounting for backriders is absolutely necessary, and I got down to walk as Art navigated the motorbike through the challenging terrain.

On the way up this sick part of the road, we met 3 other tourists on their way down who had just come from Calauit. They told us that we were about 10-15 minutes away and that we could ride a boat at the first cottage we came across. It was a relief to hear that we were almost at our destination. The sight of a small cottage with a sari-sari store and small basketball court and the boat on a placid lake with the island in the distance after that road trip was a huge relief.

I’ve been driving a scooter since 2011, but I don’t think I could have managed to drive here through level 5 on my own and would have been severely stressed while driving through levels 3-4. Locals told us that many tourists have gotten into accidents and have had to be rescued for attempting to go to Calauit by motorbike. Even locals who are used to the terrain have gotten into accidents especially in the last stretch. I have to give Art props for getting us safely there in good spirits and in good time. Deducting our stops for lunch and photo ops, the trip there took something like 3.5 hours, though it felt longer. MUCH longer. It was nearing about 3:30 pm when we finally boarded the boat and crossed the lake to get to the park.

Destination: Calauit Safari Park

The Calauit Safari Park is a game reserve and wildlife sanctuary in Palawan where animals brought in from Africa roam freely with local fauna. The place, which was originally created as a game reserve by former President Ferdinand Marcos in the 1970s, covers a span of 3,700 hectares. Now, it’s an eco-tourism attraction in Palawan.

As we entered the park, zebras just grazed past us. An adult giraffe and her baby were snacking on the leaves of trees just mere meters away. Wild deer hid in the grass and ran in herds as we approached. Our guide Florante brought branches of leaves for us to feed the animals. As he walked down the path, a friendly giraffe nimbly followed after him with a couple of 6-feet tall baby giraffes close by.

I guess readers won’t be able to relate if they haven’t played this, but there’s a moment in the video game The Last of Us when Ellie comes face to face with giraffes near the end of her journey. It’s an unexpected and beautiful moment within an otherwise brutal game. You stare at the pure innocence in the eyes of a wild animal and forget the hardships you just endured to get there. As the afternoon sun cast the park in a golden hue, I couldn’t help but reflect on all the trips of the year and the reasons why I travel. It’s moments like these – when you make memories that you know will last you a lifetime.