DA NANG – Tra Thi Thanh Tu takes guests to a deserted island in Son Tra peninsula to experience diving and watching coral, swimming in saltwater lakes …
At 8:00 am, Mrs. Tu in a swimsuit to pick up guests at Bai Nam and then got on a high-speed canoe and started the engine running towards Bai Lom, Bai Lo. Hanoi delegation enjoyed seeing the beauty of Son Tra peninsula amid clear sea water; Above are green forests.
About 30 minutes, the canoe stopped in front of a deserted beach. Ms. Tu reminded the driver to drop anchor in the distance, to avoid hitting the near-shore reef. The healthy woman, honey-skinned complexion, threw a large carpet into the sea and instructed the guests to lie on top. She was alone, pushing the floating carpet with 8 guests into the rock.
Before letting guests go into the sea to watch the reef, she gave each person a set of diving goggles, snorkel, instructions on how to face the water to practice breathing evenly. Guests are also equipped with a life jacket and soft plastic slippers to prevent stepping on sharp rocks, shells or cut corals.
After a short warm-up, visitors enjoy seeing the beauty of the almost intact coral reef in front of the desert. People can also see firsthand sea urchins caught by her diving to the bottom, then release them back to the wild; pick grapes to make food by themselves.
According to the tour program, guests will be moved to Mui Nghe, overlooking the thousand-year-old trees above the peninsula. Here visitors experience swimming upstream with fixed ropes, to access the natural saltwater lake in the heart of Mui Nghe; viewing rose coral reefs; Challenging swim through fish …
Before deciding whether to bring guests into the risky areas or not, Tu was a front-runner, using her long swimming experience to judge. “Depending on the nice weather, the sea is calm. If the waves are big, these activities must be stopped to ensure everyone’s safety”, she said.
On the day of welcoming the Hanoi delegation to Son Tra for a summer vacation, Tu spent 15 minutes swimming from a canoe to the shore of Mui Nghe because of the big waves. There was no access to the saltwater lake to take pictures and swim as expected, but everyone in the group was satisfied to see the 200-square-meter coral reef with all shapes and colors.
Coming ashore when their stomachs were hungry, the guests were surprised with a beautifully designed and rich party, with freshly baked squid, grilled shrimp with atrium fish sauce, sea urchin wrapped with quail eggs, stir-fried sea snail with lemongrass and oysters grilled cheese, sea snapper cooked with herb leaves and served with vermicelli … The dishes placed on a “table” are bamboo stakes plugged into the sand, tied tightly by umbrella. Following the group service, three chefs are in charge of cooking. All items serving meals are collected neatly to take to the shore, not littering to the beach.
It is a schedule of a wild day tour, with a price of 700,000 VND / person. The rest of the tour price ranges from 500,000 VND to 3 million VND / person. Depending on the health and the “playability” of the tourists, Ms. Tu will advise 2-day and 1-night tours to stay on the beach, or go around the peninsula by jeep then trekking into the deep forest …
Tu is the son of a water commando in Son Tra, so since a young age, she was taught to swim by her father. His training for his daughter was also special. “Dad used to carry us on his shoulders and swim away, then dive into the sea so that the boys can drink water since then they can swim,” she said.
But at that time, she only knew how to swim like the sea people, her feet kicked the frog swimming style, her hands were swimming stride, her head raised to avoid the waves. Later on working in Ho Chi Minh City, she joined the Phu Tho swimming club and practiced the movements more accurately and professionally.
The house is only about 10 minutes walk from My Khe beach, every two mornings and afternoon, she often goes swimming. At its peak, she was able to dive without oxygen to a depth of about 15 m, holding her breath continuously for 2 minutes. If it is not cold or the sea has big waves, using fake snorkel and legs, you can swim all day without the fear of drowning.
The predestination that brought Ms. Tu to work in tourism for the past 9 years was also accidental. Once a friend from a foreign country came home to play, she took them to the rocky cliff in Son Tra. At that time, the coastal girl was strongly attracted by the sense of adventure swimming on a deep coral reef or cliff, seeing strange creatures.
Passionate about adventure and exploration, she also arranges time every week to take her group of friends to the deserted seas to roam. Thanks to her talent in leading, swimming and understanding the flow in rocky waters as well as poisonous creatures in the sea, she was invited by a marine tour company to take a tour.
Later, she decided to work separately. Seeing that there are people in foreign countries wearing beautiful fishtail clothes, Tu put them on to wear when swimming to perform for guests, making many people excited. Since then, she used to swim with fish tails on a desert island for people to film, take pictures and named her tour “Nhan Ngu”.
8X woman self-writes tour program and leads guests. “I want to let guests experience the wilderness, so almost often choose a deserted beach and do not have any services. Guests can both climb the mountain and watch the coral scuba diving and also learn survival skills in themselves. course, “she said.
Currently, Tu mainly promotes the tour through word of mouth and on social networks. Every time she receives a guest, she gives a detailed consultation and adjusts the experience level to best suit all members of the delegation. “With this experience tour, sometimes the enjoyment of one person is another’s suffering”, she explained.
Attached to the tour program, Ms. Tu will create a few games for guests to join the team to clean up the beach trash or collect rubbish on the seabed … Every month, she organizes free tours for students, At the same time participating in cleaning rubbish drifting into the wasteland.
Ms. Tu said that in order to exploit the marine tourism sustainably, the protection of the sea in general and the protection of corals and species in particular is a difficult problem. “Most visitors are self-aware of protecting coral reefs, but when entering the water, many people cannot stay calm, resulting in trampling damage. The best way is to guide guests to the areas. The coral is deep, unable to reach her feet, “she said.
In Da Nang, adventure tourism has not been officially licensed. For this reason, Ms. Tu said, she could not expand and call for investment professionally. During the past half year, tour activities took a break due to the influence of Covid-19. “I want the city to have recognition, permission and guidance for this form of tourism to be exploited in a legitimate way,” she said.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Vu, Head of the Management Board of Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang Tourist Beaches, said Tu’s wild tour has existed for many years and is a good experience, attracting tourists. However, the authorities are still researching suitable tours to ensure maximum safety for tourists and the environment. In the immediate future, the peninsula management will use a method of managing visitors with smart technology to track the journey.
A major problem in the Son Tra peninsula today is that the conservation of coral reefs are seriously compromised. Mr. Vu shared, the management’s desire is that once licensing tours to professional exploitation, businesses must be in the middle of the ecosystem and develop properly because “Son Tra is a treasure of Da. Nang “.
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