Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea is a strikingly beautiful, vibrant
and colorful country that is rich not only in natural resources, but also
in the culture of its people. Its wild and rugged landscape, spread over
the country's twenty provinces, enjoys a diversity comprised of swamplands,
mud and moss forests and highlands. The country occupies the eastern half
of New Guinea Island, as well as the
Scuba diving. (Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea)
Bismarck Archipelago, the D'Entrecasteaux Islands,
the Louisiade Archipelago and the islands of Buka and Bougainville. The
eastern half of New Guinea Island accounts for more than 80% of the total
land mass.
Papua New Guinea, with a population of approximately
4.5 million people, is a parliamentary democracy and a member of the British
Commonwealth. Subsistence agriculture supports most of the population,
with sweet potatoes constituting the main food crop. While agricultural
exports (notably coconut products, rubber, coffee, cocoa and tea) are
increasing, mineral deposits (silver, copper and gold) still account for
almost 70% of export earnings. The rain forests of Papua New Guinea are
filled with tropical timber, which is another important source of revenue
for the country. In the last decade, however, logging by foreign companies
has begun to pose a growing threat to the fragile environment.
Port Moresby Founded by Captain John Moresby, who first visited
in 1873, Port Moresby, now the capital of Papua New Guinea, has a population
of approximately 150,000. Port Moresby is located on a natural harbor
on the southern coast and is the major arrival and departure point for
most travelers.
Milne Bay Milne Bay lies off the coast of Papua New Guinea
between the Coral Sea and the Solomon Sea, far to the north of the Great
Barrier Reef. It consists of a beautiful and intricate chain of pristine
volcanic peaks, coral islands and reefs. The two seas surge back and forth,
creating a biodiversity of
Scuba diving. (Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea)
marine life unmatched anywhere else in the world.
Milne Bay is now viewed as having some of the best diving in the world,
with its classic coral walls, some of which are sheltered for most of
the year from the heavy ocean swells. Milne Bay is also renowned for its
reef passes that capture the surging tides, its long barrier reefs and
miniature atolls, and its sandy beaches with coral gardens and sheltered
bays where sea grass beds hide seahorses, clownfish, frogfish and rare
species of eel. Milne Bay is special for its extraordinary richness, not
only in terms of the classical tropical reefs teeming with the creatures
that divers come from around the world expecting to find, but also in
terms of the marine life that is so unusual that much of it is still new
to. and uncharted by, science. There seems to be no end to the discoveries
that are being made in Milne Bay's rich waters.
Our Papua New Guinea dive trips are based in Milne
Bay from October to April and are designed to take advantage of the prevailing
weather conditions in these calm waters. Expeditions cover a superb mix
of wall dives, wrecks, nautilus dives, shark dives and exotic creature
dives. Enriching the experience are cultural exchanges with isolated villages
in tropical settings and calm night anchorages in picturesque bays. Milne
Bay diving is known for its World War II wrecks, including the following:
P38 Lightning:The
P38 Lightning is a famous single seater fighter ditched during World
War II. In 1995, Chris Carney, diving from Telita, located the plane's
propellers. They now rest against their respective engines on the wreck.
The P38 lies in 90 feet (27 meters) of water, with the guns in its nose
pointing at a reef in front of the wreck.
B17 Bomber 'Blackjack":The B17 Bomber "Blackjack" wreckage
site is included on most of our Milne Bay expeditions. The site is one
of the world's greatest aircraft wreck dives. The historic B17 lies
in near-perfect condition in 150 feet (46 meters) of water. Nearby is
the village of Boga Boga, where tour participants are afforded the opportunity
to marvel at its beautiful golden beaches and meet the village elders,
who still tell stories of how they rescued the crew from the sinking
plane.
Kavieng Further east of Milne Bay, the Solomon Sea borders
the Bismarck Sea. Kavieng is situated in this archipelago of reefs and
islands. Kavieng is constantly swept with oceanic and tidal currents,
Scuba diving. (Kavieng, Papua New Guinea)
which has resulted in its being awarded the title
of "the pelagic capital of Papua New Guinea." Although there
are many sheltered coral gardens, the big action dives require experience
with currents and are therefore perfect for the adventurous diver. We
run our Papua New Guinea dive trips in Kavieng from June through September,
exploring this archipelago as we visit World War II wrecks, with sharks,
pelagics and the elusive nautilus as our accompaniments.
Off the northwestern end of New Ireland Island is New
Hanover Island, and between the two islands is a maze of reefs, coral
islands, mangroves and passes. It is a marine environment of amazing fertility.
The north and northeastern coasts have a gradually sloping seabed and
an extensive system of offshore reefs. The west coast borders the Bismarck
Sea and features coral walls with narrow fringing reefs that drop off
to over 3,250 feet (1,000 meters) in depth.
Some of the World War II wrecks we visit in the Kavieng
area include the Der Yang wreck, and the wrecks of a freighter and a Japanese
mini-submarine:
Der Yang:A
few minutes from the harbor is the extremely photogenic Der Yang wreck.
The Der Yang was confiscated from poachers by the Papua New Guinea government
and then
Shark. (Kavieng, Papua New Guinea)
deliberately sunk to serve as an artificial
reef. The vessel rests at 100 feet (30 meters), with many sea fans and
whip corals near the bow. Northeasterly currents bring in schools of
barracuda and trevally. Visibility is in the 60-90 foot (20-30 meter)
range.
Freighter: A
short distance away, a freighter rests on its starboard side in only
72 feet (22 meters) of water. The wreck is smothered with soft corals,
sea fans and other marine growth, but, rather amazingly, remains largely
intact. This site has average visibility of 30-60 feet (10-20 meters).
Japanese Mini-Submarine:Very
close to the freighter, a Japanese mini-submarine sits upright in 72
feet (22 meters) of water. The submarine was caught alongside the ship
when it came under attack from American bombers. The twin counter-rotating
propellers are intact at the stern and the periscope and torpedo tubes
are easy to photograph.
People Papua New Guinea's people are very diverse, ranging
from pearl-shelled villagers to prosaic hill people. This wide range of
populations has enthralled explorers, anthropologists and travelers for
decades. There are four main groups of people: Papuans (from the south),
Highlanders, New Guineans (from the north) and Islanders. Although over
700 different languages are spoken in Papua New Guinea, pidgin has become
the lingua franca. Borrowing words from many languages, it is primarily
derived from English and German, but includes only about 1,300 words.
Another popular language is Mote, the local second language of the Port
Moresby coastal area.
Travel Tips In recent years, Papua New Guinea has received
a lot of bad press, with reports of rapes, robberies and random violence,
much of which has been exaggerated. We do, however, recommend that you
consult the U.S. State Department consular warning sheets and our sales
representatives about safety considerations before planning a trip to
Papua New Guinea.
Temperature/Weather Papua New Guinea's climate is tropical. It has
a wet season that lasts from December to March, and a dry season that
lasts from May to October. The timing of our two scuba diving trips has
been designed to take maximum advantage of the dry weather in this diverse
country.
Reading List In order to make the most of your trip to Papua
New Guinea, the following
reading lists will help you gain a better understanding of the landscape,
culture and people. Here you can also purchase any books you might need
for
your Global Adrenaline trip!
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Tel: +1-866-884-5622 (toll free in USA)
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