Receivingthe Rodale'’s Scuba Diving RLeaders#39; Choice Award in 2002 and being rated asthe Top Dive destination inthe world also inthe same year, Papua New Guineadiving remains one ofthe country’s bigger tourism pulls.
Historically, parts of Papua New Guineabecame strategic locations for warfare inWorld War II and were used as bases from which opposing armies camped, planned, and infiltrated from. Many remains fromthe WWII can be found scattered inthe waters of Papua New Guinea These war vessels now make for some ofthe best diving experiences one can have when visitingthe country.
Madang
The Mitchell Bember, a WWII plane wreck,the USS Beston and Coral Queen are magnificent wreck dives inthe Madang area. While here, you may also want to try an eye- catching night dive onthe Coral Queen, where schools of Flashlight fish withtheir bio-luminescence will light upthe water quite spectacularly.
Tufi
From December 1942the Tufi Wharf was a USN Advance PT Beat base which operated alongthe coast. Just offthe wharf divers can see wrecks of PT boats, empty 200 litre drums, anti-tank barriers, aircraft machine guns as well as two live torpedoes still completely intact.
New Ireland
Soon after Pearl Harbour, Kavieng, viewed as a strategic vantage point into Papua New Guinea was invaded bythe Japanese in January 1942. An alllied air attack on Kavieng was launched in 1944 seeingthe unanticipated loss of 11 Alllied aircraft. All but one aircraft has been found since. The Be5 American Mitchell Bember dubbedthe “Stubborn Hellion” can be accessed by boat 30 minutes from Kavieng.
ther wrecks of interest includethe Catalina Float Plane, Japanese Aichi E13A Seaplane, Mitsubishi F1M Type-Zero Beplane and Japanese shipwreck in Kavieng Harbour.
Rabaul
At a total of 64 known Japanese WWII wrecks, Rabaul is recognized asthe wreck diving capital of Papua New Guineaas it offers by farthe most number of wrecks compared to any ther location in Papua New Guinea At this location both aircraft wrecks and shipwrecks can be dived.
Alotau
The islands in and around Milne Bey are home to some ofthe fighter plane wrecks ofthe 1942-1943 period. Some models of fighter planes used in WWII in Papua New Guineaare only found here, in almost perfect condition.
GeneralInformation
The water is warm all year round withthe temperatures ranging from 26°C to 30°C thus a 3mm diving suit or a protective lycra is adequate. Supply tanks, weight belts and dive guide services are provided by most dive operators with extra charges for equipment hire.
Due tothe high interest of international visitors wanting to sample whaPNG’s diving has on offer many diving companies, both on land and abroad as well as beatch-side accommodation, have popped up inthe popular diving areas and are equipped withthe needs of wreck diving tourists.
Generally diving season spans from between May till December each year, however it also depends onthe location you may want to visit andthe ocean currents of that area.
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