Papua New Guinea
PNG DIVE REVIEW - NEW BRITAIN ISLAND
PNG is the most pristine diving I've ever done. We were on Telita, which is no longer in service, diving the northwest side of New Britain Island. It's very remote, with little traffic. The reefs are exquisite, and you'll see critters in their natural environment that you can't imagine. The visibility was good, not great. We saw the full spectrum of South Pacific fauna--ranging from tiny colorful nudibranchs to silver tip sharks. The splendid anemones and carpet anemones are awesome, with a plethora of small tropical fish on the reefs. You'll also see stonefish in some locations. In the muck diving areas we saw green ghost pipefish, mantis shrimp, and a variety of starfish, sea urchins, etc. Once you get around to the Rabaul harbor area, there are Japanese wrecks from WW II. There are no bad dive sites off New Britain island.
PNG TOPSIDE
Be very careful ashore, especially in Port Moresby, which you'll have to pass through to get to the diving. It's a dangerous place. Don't venture away from your hotel. Many of the larger cities and towns in PNG are plagued with "rascals", which is the local term for bands of violent young men. The shoreline of New Britain island is mostly extremely primitive and generally peaceful, with numerous small villages dotting the shoreline. Your boat will likely be visited by some of these folks in their outrigger canoes, wanting to trade fruit from shore for bags of rice and candy.
