Our final day in Papua New Guinea was another day for me to be underwater. For the last few days, we have been exploring some of the most diverse and healthy reefs in the world. Filled with abundant fish-life and colorful corals, Papua New Guinea is a paradise for snorkelers and divers. Today, the SCUBA divers got to enjoy two very different dive sites.
Our first dive was on an outer reef at a site called blowhole. At times, large waves hit this area, and the lack of large corals reflect this. However, this site was still filled with life. A series of swimthroughs and caves made for interesting topography, especially when the area was swarmed with schooling fishes. Schools of sweetlips, goatfish, and snapper surrounded us, but the small details such as leaf scorpionfish, whip gobies, and juvenile rockmover wrasse were equally as exciting. A few white-tip reef sharks were lounging on the sand, great for photography. A fabulous dive for sure.
We then moved back into the sheltered waters and dropped into about thirty feet of water on the wreck of a Japanese warplane from World War II. An Aichi, or “Jake”, was mostly intact, even though it has been on the bottom here for about seventy years. It is slowly being reclaimed by the sea, with corals growing all over it, and many fish using the wreck for a home. Glassy sweepers filled the cockpit, while squirrelfish were sleeping below the wings. An eerie, but exciting dive.
In the last few days, I have spent hours underwater enjoying the beauty of Papua New Guinea, and can’t wait to do it again!
