Scuba Diving Vacations Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (PNG) is often called the “land of the unexpected” because it is an exciting, remote and adventurous place to travel. That’s what I’ve heard anyway -my neighbours lived there for many years and have lots of stories.
I’m told that the country possesses some of the best dive spots in the world:
deep or shallow reefs, coral walls, sheer drops, barrier reefs, atolls, passages, lagoons and wrecks. The water is crystal clear.
The large Live Aboard Boat called the Golden Dawn also has 2 rigid hull inflatables which can carry 10 divers to different locations.
Diversion Dive Travel give an overview of Scuba Diving in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea possesses some of the best dive spots in the world. About twice the amount of fish species as compared to the Red Sea and roughly ten times as many species of corals are found here compared to the Caribbean. PNG has been rating constantly very highly with divers, as is shown by the many awards at international shows and the rodales reader awards.
A very special characteristic for PNG’s diving is the deep water which comes very close to the shore. Only a couple of feet away from the beaches are vertical dropping reef walls which reach down to 1000 feet or more. This can be found on most parts of the northern coastline, on the southern shores of New Ireland and New Hanover (Kavieng area) as well in some areas of the Milne Bay.
In the more sheltered bays delicate coral formation are spreading to enormous size, which cannot be found on barrier reefs. This is typical for Kimbe Bay in West New Britain.
Another fantastic dive destination is the Eastern Fields which is to be found 170 km south west of Port Moresby. Located between Papua New Guinea and Australia, the Eastern Fields are a truly unspoilt part of the Coral Sea.
Another distinguishing feature is the closeness of dive sites to the Islands. Short boat transfers and the additional benefit of the unique South Pacific atmosphere sets the diving in PNG ahead of other popular destinations like the Australian Barrier Reef.
Hundreds of wrecks, many of them W.W.II wrecks are scattered across the nation above and below the waterline. Boats, planes, barges and submarines, some of them still in excellent condition, have been transformed into living coral reefs. Rabaul, Kavieng, Loloata (Port Moresby) and Madang are good places to go for wreck diving.
But it is not only those perfect natural features that make PNG the best place in the world for diving. A small fleet of outstanding live-aboard dive vessels and a number of excellent dive resorts offer outstanding service to divers. Wherever you go in PNG, you will be one of few divers who explore the reefs. PNG is far away from any form of mass tourism.
Walindi Plantation Resort is one popular Scuba Diving resort in Papua New Guinea.
At the Walindi Plantation Resort website, they describe all the different dive sites at Walindi. They have 25 different sites to which they visit regularly from their shore-based dive boats. Here’s what they say about the Coral Reefs around Wallindi.
The coral reefs around Walindi are extraordinarily rich. Over 400 species of reef building corals have been recorded in Kimbe Bay. This is more than half the total number of known coral species in the world. Over 900 species of fish have been recorded and this number will continue to grow as more research is done.
The coral reef communities around Northern New Britain have remained largely undamaged by human activity. We intend to keep it that way. We use moorings where possible to reduce damage from anchoring.
By the way, Walindi has a reputation as one of the world’s prime photo spots, so make sure and take that Scuba Diving Camera.
Sport Diver have a great story about Scuba Diving in Papua New Guinea
