Backyard summer at Kawayan

MANILA, Philippines - Can your ‘backyard’ ever be your favorite summer haunt?

Perhaps not. In fact, most people would probably answer an exotic faraway destination when asked where they prefer to spend the rest of the season. But for residents of Kawayan Cove, an exclusive 68-hectare seaside community, there’s no better place than home to best spend the sunny days ahead. Here are a few reasons why:

The Beach is Just a Few Steps Away

Some boast of a complete playground; while others are proud of an Olympic-sized pool. But how many can actually say that they have a beach just a few steps away from their homes?

Kawayan Cove is home to what’s arguably the best beach in the Nasugbu-Batangas area— Bamboo Beach. Here, lot owners and their guests have access to the beach’s fabled white sand— at their leisure and with their privacy kept intact.

As a secluded getaway, families can do more than the requisite swimming and sandcastle building in Bamboo Beach. Everything from a scavenger hunt (make up a list of things found on a beach— shells, rocks, seaweed, horseshoe crabs— to see who’s the fastest at finding everything on the list) to a sand mosaic contest (draw out a picture in glue on a dark piece of construction paper, then cover it with sand) is possible in this private beach sanctuary.

A Winged Orchestra Plays at All Times

In Kawayan Cove, calming melodies and rap beats are not only heard from sound systems and electroacoutical speakers; because in fact, a winged orchestra fills the community with music at all times. The Philippine pygmy woodpecker’s beats and the Copper Smith Barbet’s heartbreaking song are among those featured in its repertoire.

According to their last count, 19 species of birds are found nesting inside the lush tropical landscape of the property. Among those that’s easiest to spot is the predominantly yellow Philippine bulbul, which incidentally previously believed only to be seen in the La Mesa Watershed. Meanwhile, avid enthusiasts prey around the beachfront to catch a fleeting glimpse of the blue-winged kingfisher. Olive-backed sunbirds, the striated grass bird and the pied thriller are other species that hobbyists are on the lookout for. Of course, those who prefer to relax in their homes can always content themselves with soothing echo of birdsong.