| fic | | | | juts out into the Solomon Sea. Milne Bay Province has |
| Papua New Guinea, or called PNG by the local people, | | | | 435 recognized islands but there are many more that |
| is a country of diversity and contrasts. Known | | | | are simply too small to be labeled but act as fantastic |
| officially as the Independent State of Papua New | | | | sport diving spots. |
| Guinea, this small country occupies the eastern half | | | | Diving Papua New Guinea - The Northern Region |
| of the island of New Guinea, along with several | | | | Once just a swamp and wetland contaminated with |
| hundred islands in the South Pacific, roughly north of | | | | malaria, Madang, one of the most beautiful cities in |
| Australia. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE | | | | the South Pacific, has become a very special place |
| X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 | | | | for divers who come for the diversity of dive sites |
| st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ | | | | found in the neighboring waters. |
| table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table | | | | Only a few places around the world have as many |
| Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; | | | | unique diving hotspots so close to the shore as |
| mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; | | | | Madang and surround coastlines. There are lots of |
| mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; | | | | activities to interest scuba divers from pristine coral |
| mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm | | | | reefs, drift diving, shark watching to plenty of |
| 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; | | | | shipwrecks. |
| mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; | | | | Further up the coast is the sleepy little town of |
| mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; | | | | Wewak. Made famous in 1988 when the Cousteau |
| font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; | | | | Society lead by Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of |
| mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; | | | | aqua-lung inventor Jacque Cousteau, filmed their |
| mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; | | | | undersea documentary, Cousteau’s Papua |
| mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; | | | | New Guinea Journey. |
| mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; | | | | Wewak and the nearby islands of Ninigo and the |
| mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; | | | | Hermits are still known for the sheer number and |
| mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; | | | | variety of big animal sightings, including Grey Reef |
| mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; | | | | sharks, Silver Tips and many species of manta rays. |
| mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} | | | | Diving Papua New Guinea - The Islands Region |
| Papua New Guinea Scuba Sites | | | | |
| Diving in Papua New Guinea can be basically broken | | | | The two largest islands in the PNG chain are New |
| up into three primary diving areas or regions: The | | | | Ireland and New Britain Island. |
| Southern region surrounding the capital of Port | | | | A popular diving spot is Kimbe Bay on the Western |
| Moresby, the Northern region and the Islands region | | | | part of New Britain. Surrounded by a necklace of |
| which includes the two largest islands New Ireland | | | | dormant volcanoes, the bay has hundreds of reefs |
| and New Britain Island. | | | | and more than a dozen small islands. Studies have |
| Diving Papua New Guinea - The Southern Region | | | | identified over a 900 kinds of tropical fish and some |
| Nestled in the Gulf of Papua, Port Moresby is | | | | 400 different types of corals. |
| considered by many local divers to being the best | | | | Once considered to have the world’s best |
| capital city in the world for divers. Often the jumping | | | | wreck diving, Rabaul on Eastern New Britain was |
| off point for dive adventures and shipboard | | | | buried under tons of ash and debris when 3 of the |
| expeditions to the Eastern Fields Reefs and dive sites | | | | surrounding volcanoes erupted in 1994. Only recently |
| in the Gulf, Port Moresby has most everything both | | | | has strong ocean currents cleared away the ash |
| experienced and beginning divers could want. | | | | around some the local dive sites. |
| The Eastern Fields Reefs and Portlock Reef are | | | | Kavieng, is the capital of New Ireland and is located |
| located in the Coral Sea between PNG and the | | | | beside a beautiful harbor at the northern tip of the |
| Australia. This area is known for it unspoiled and clear | | | | island. Full of marine life (over 5 different species of |
| water diving but due to the extremely strong | | | | dolphins) the waters around Kavieng are also home |
| currents if only recommend for experienced divers. | | | | to several WWII plane and transport ships wrecks. |
| But don’t let this be a hindrance to your | | | | Diving in Papua New Guinea, while not for everyone, |
| enjoyment of this wonderful country. By taking a trip | | | | can become a once in a lifetime experience for the |
| down the coast to the small city of Alotau in Milne | | | | more adventurous sport diver. |
| Bay Province on the tip of PNG peninsula which is | | | | |