Diving the North Coast of Milne Bay... I am often asked why I like Papua New Guinea so much. And the honest answer is, as they say in the movies, it’s complicated! First of all, for me PNG is a wild and adventurous place. And as an Australian I often describe it as “our Africa…” In that it has such amazing topographic and cultural difference to Australia. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and near the epicenter of the Coral Triangle bless it with incredible biodiversity both above and below the water. It has a very special and almost unique tribal system, that is both the social glue that holds the county together. And yet …
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Diving the Witu Islands
Diving the Witu Islands... As they say in the real estate business, location is everything. And it is Papua New Guinea’s physical position, astride the Equator, at the end of what was historically referred to as the Malay Archipelago. That puts it right in the middle of the greatest marine biodiversity on earth – the Coral Triangle. The country occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea (the second largest in the world after Greenland). Plus the many islands of the Bismarck and Louisiade Archipelagos. And… because it straddles the Equator, PNG is exposed to both the Northern and Southern Equatorial Currents, plus the …
Incredible Kimbe Bay
Incredible Kimbe Bay - in a country famous for the amazing diversity of its scuba diving. There are a few stand-out locations where, should you only visit PNG once in your life, you will just have to choose from… On that short-list would certainly be Kimbe Bay, the literal jewel in the crown of New Britain. The largest of the many islands that make up the incredible country that is Papua New Guinea. Located roughly one third along the north coast of New Britain. Kimbe is a large sheltered bay bounded by the Willaumez Peninsula in the west and Cape Tokoro, some 140km to the east. New Britain Roughly 500 km long and about 150 km at its …
Best Aircraft Wrecks in PNG
The Best Aircraft Wreck Dives in PNG - World War II came to New Guinea in January 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Rabaul in New Britain. Turning the region in to a major theater of war in the battle for the Pacific. There were many brutal encounters between the Japanese and the defending Allied forces. Conditions were often appalling, and the fighting was incredibly fierce with many young lives lost on both sides. WWII was the first time that air power played a major role in combat. And both sides had some formidable aircraft in action during the campaign for New Guinea. War is of course deadly by nature. But for the …
The Mitsubishi Zero Wreck
The Mitsubishi Zero Wreck - As the story is told around the bar at Walindi, the day the wreck of the Zero fighter was found was soon after a small plane had crashed on take-off from Kimbe Bay's Hoskins Airport. So, when local villager William Nui found the plane laying on the sandy sea floor. He thought it was the wreckage of the recent crash... Not that of a WWII Japanese fighter that had remained undisturbed for almost 60 years! How the wreck was actually found is an interesting story in itself. Because William was free diving for sea cucumbers when he noticed what appeared to be a large shadow on the sea bed. Like many people …
Milne Bay – Where It All Began
Milne Bay - where it all began... Papua New Guinea enjoys a reputation for some of the best all-round scuba diving to be had anywhere. And truly, its combination of superb reefs, wonderful critter sites and WWII wrecks make it very hard to beat. PNG was the first country I went to when I started to dive outside Australia. And I have been fortunate to have experienced virtually all the main locations over the years. I have also been fortunate to have dived all over the vast archipelago of Indonesia. And many other global hot-spots in the Bahamas, Mexico and the Pacific. But something always brings me back to Papua New …
ONEUW One160X Strobe Review
ONEUW One160X Strobe Review... This is a first impressions review of my personal experience with this new Italian strobe. As explained below, I bought the strobes myself through my diving buddy and fellow underwater photographer Filippo Borghi. And the purpose of this review is to share my initial experience with some new and really excellent technology. ONEUW One160X Strobe Review - The Background... It’s no secret that Italians are, by nature, passionate and enthusiastic people… So when the first message arrived from my great friend Filippo Borghi extolling the virtues of the new strobes he had been testing - quite frankly I took it all …
D500 for Underwater Photography
Nikon D500 for Underwater Photography - A Mid-Term Review... How time flies - just over two years ago I wrote a first impressions review of my newly acquired Nikon D500. And in it I waxed lyrically about what the new “king of DX (APS-C) photography” could do. Two years is a long time in digital photography and a lot has happened. Top of the list being that it seems like the glory days of DSLR’s are probably coming to an end. And the changing of the guard to mirrorless is well under way. Both Nikon and Canon responded to the Sony juggernaut late last year with the Z6/7 and EOS R full-frame mirrorless cameras. And Panasonic have just …
Diving the Ogasawara Islands
Diving the Ogasawara Islands... Often referred to as the Oriental Galapagos, the Ogasawara archipelago is located in the north-west Pacific Ocean. About 1000km south of Tokyo and is one of the most isolated and remote parts of Japan. Despite their distance from Tokyo, the 30+ Ogasawara Islands are administered from the Japanese capital. And the only way to get there is also from Tokyo... On the weekly ferry service as there are no airports on any of the islands! The isolation of the archipelago, combined with the fact that the islands have never been connected to a continent. Is said to have produced a “Galapagos effect” with flora …