HO HO HO, and “Happy Christmas” as they say in this part of the world!
It’s Christmas Day and we’ve just finished the fourth and final “boat” leg of our South Pacific Adventure and what an experience it’s been!
The beautiful Golden Dawn has been our home for the past ten days and most of our time was spent in the rarely dove region called “Eastern Fields” which is in the North Coral Sea between Papua New Guinea and Australia. The Golden Dawn is the ONLY boat currently diving this pristine, remote reef region and the reefs reflect the absence of intrusion. It is the MOST pristine reef system we’ve experienced anywhere in the world. The hard corals are endless, covered in soft corals and sea fans taller than the average man!
The colors of the reef are mind-boggling, to say the least! They are literally teeming with life…covered in schools of fish too large to count all the way down to ½” size silversides and anthias and swarms of them coursing their way across the reef top. Craig DeWit, the owner and Captain of the Golden Dawn, limits the number of guests he brings to the Eastern Fields to a mere FIFTY per year!
Oh, and did I mention the sharks? There are several reef points that attract sharks in larger than seen anywhere else numbers! Craig has a simple trick by which he attracts the sharks and up the reef they come! They’re curious, to say the least, but keep safe distances from the divers…sometimes too far away even for the photographers to be happy, but once in a while one of the photographers gets lucky and has one “right in the middle of their lens”. Black tip, white tip and silver tip sharks are the most commonly seen. Everyone was hoping the great hammerhead would show up at Carl’s Ultimate but we’re assuming it has gone away for the Christmas Holidays because it was a “no show” for us!
We experienced stronger than usual winds out there in the open so after six days of slightly rocky weather, we motored back towards the coast of PNG and dove for 2-1/2 days along the southern coast near Port Moresby. There were some great dives experienced there also and Suzie’s Bombie was the group favorite…from the beautiful purple rhinopia to the schools of sweetlips that didn’t mind photographers getting up close and personal…lots of fabulous photographs were taken and many, many more fantastic memories were made!
We’re back in Port Moresby today, for one night, before starting our journey home. We’ll be flying to Brisbane tomorrow morning, spending almost two days there and then heading back to Nadi, Fiji and then homeward……watch the web page in the coming weeks for detailed trip reports on each individual destination along with TONS of photos I’ve been wading through!
What an incredible adventure this has been and both Bob & I want to thank all of our guests from all four trips as well as the crews of the Nai’a, the Bilikiki, the Paradise Sport and the Golden Dawn for taking such wonderful care of us. The crews are always smiling, always have time for a chat about themselves and their cultures and make each and every boat a special place while you’re aboard…..Hugs and Kisses to all of them! What fabulous memories you’ve helped us make!
It’s Christmas Day and we’ve just finished the fourth and final “boat” leg of our South Pacific Adventure and what an experience it’s been!
The beautiful Golden Dawn has been our home for the past ten days and most of our time was spent in the rarely dove region called “Eastern Fields” which is in the North Coral Sea between Papua New Guinea and Australia. The Golden Dawn is the ONLY boat currently diving this pristine, remote reef region and the reefs reflect the absence of intrusion. It is the MOST pristine reef system we’ve experienced anywhere in the world. The hard corals are endless, covered in soft corals and sea fans taller than the average man!
The colors of the reef are mind-boggling, to say the least! They are literally teeming with life…covered in schools of fish too large to count all the way down to ½” size silversides and anthias and swarms of them coursing their way across the reef top. Craig DeWit, the owner and Captain of the Golden Dawn, limits the number of guests he brings to the Eastern Fields to a mere FIFTY per year!
Oh, and did I mention the sharks? There are several reef points that attract sharks in larger than seen anywhere else numbers! Craig has a simple trick by which he attracts the sharks and up the reef they come! They’re curious, to say the least, but keep safe distances from the divers…sometimes too far away even for the photographers to be happy, but once in a while one of the photographers gets lucky and has one “right in the middle of their lens”. Black tip, white tip and silver tip sharks are the most commonly seen. Everyone was hoping the great hammerhead would show up at Carl’s Ultimate but we’re assuming it has gone away for the Christmas Holidays because it was a “no show” for us!
We experienced stronger than usual winds out there in the open so after six days of slightly rocky weather, we motored back towards the coast of PNG and dove for 2-1/2 days along the southern coast near Port Moresby. There were some great dives experienced there also and Suzie’s Bombie was the group favorite…from the beautiful purple rhinopia to the schools of sweetlips that didn’t mind photographers getting up close and personal…lots of fabulous photographs were taken and many, many more fantastic memories were made!
We’re back in Port Moresby today, for one night, before starting our journey home. We’ll be flying to Brisbane tomorrow morning, spending almost two days there and then heading back to Nadi, Fiji and then homeward……watch the web page in the coming weeks for detailed trip reports on each individual destination along with TONS of photos I’ve been wading through!
What an incredible adventure this has been and both Bob & I want to thank all of our guests from all four trips as well as the crews of the Nai’a, the Bilikiki, the Paradise Sport and the Golden Dawn for taking such wonderful care of us. The crews are always smiling, always have time for a chat about themselves and their cultures and make each and every boat a special place while you’re aboard…..Hugs and Kisses to all of them! What fabulous memories you’ve helped us make!
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