Calauit, on the far northwestern tip of Busuanga, is the most surprising attraction in the Coron region: a 3,700-hectare island stocked since 1976 with African game — giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, eland — alongside the endangered Calamian deer and other native Palawan wildlife. The animals are free-ranging and the visit is conducted by guided 4x4 with stops to feed the giraffes by hand and walk among grazing herds.
It's a long day from Coron town — about three hours by van each way, plus a short boat hop to the island — so most people book a package that includes transport. The political history is uncomfortable: local residents were displaced when the sanctuary was established, and conservation NGOs have long criticised the project. But it remains, oddly and improbably, an East African safari on a Philippine island.