Papua New Guinea

Country: Papua New Guinea
Type: Coral reefs, walls, muck diving, WWII wrecks, pelagics, critter diving
Best known for: Eastern Fields atoll, Milne Bay biodiversity, Kimbe Bay coral reefs, WWII wrecks at Rabaul, manta ray cleaning stations, rhinopias, pristine and remote diving
Key regions: Milne Bay, Kimbe Bay (New Britain), Eastern Fields, Kavieng (New Ireland), Port Moresby / Bootless Bay, Tufi, Rabaul
Access: International flights via Port Moresby (Jackson’s International Airport); domestic flights or liveaboards to dive regions
Wetpixel significance: Destination for multiple Wetpixel-organized expeditions led by Eric Cheng; extensively covered by Don Silcock in a multi-part article series; pioneered by Bob and Dinah Halstead aboard MV Telita

Overview

Papua New Guinea sits at the heart of the Coral Triangle — “the single most biodiverse geographical area in the world” — and offers an almost unique combination of reefs, critters, and WWII wrecks (^[1]). The country consists of the eastern half of New Guinea, the second largest island in the world, plus several large island provinces (^[2]). Usually referred to as PNG, the country became independent from Australia in 1975 and has a population of just under 8 million people who speak over 850 languages and belong to almost 1,000 traditional societies (^[3]).

Don Silcock, who wrote a comprehensive multi-part series on PNG for Wetpixel, described three primary diving areas: the main island of New Guinea (Milne Bay, Port Moresby, Tufi, Madang), the island of New Britain (Kimbe Bay, Rabaul, south coast), and New Ireland Province centered on Kavieng (^[4]). Additionally, the remote Eastern Fields atoll, 90 nautical miles from Port Moresby, was the subject of multiple Wetpixel expeditions.

PNG is not a resort-style destination. Silcock was frank about the challenges: the country suffers from a reputation for crime and corruption, particularly in Port Moresby, but the actual risk to diving visitors is manageable with planning. Once at a resort or liveaboard, visitors are in safe hands (^[5]). Michele Westmorland, who had visited PNG more than 30 times by 2016, described the diversity of the country’s three distinct seas — the Coral, Solomon, and Bismarck — noting “I’ll never get enough nor will I see everything of this country during my lifetime” (^[6]).

Dive Sites

Milne Bay

Milne Bay is “the spiritual home of scuba diving in Papua New Guinea” — the region that put the country on the international diving map (^[7]). Centered on Alotau at the eastern tip of New Guinea, it offers tremendous biodiversity ranging from the black sand critter site Dinah’s Beach at Lauadi to the manta ray cleaning station Giants@Home in the southern China Straits (^[8]).

Bob and Dinah Halstead pioneered diving here aboard their liveaboard MV Telita — the first liveaboard in PNG — beginning in the late 1970s and continuing through the 1980s (^[9], ^[10]). Bob Halstead was described as “the popularizer of, and the man who put a name to, muck diving” — introducing divers worldwide to rhinopias, pygmy seahorses, flamboyant cuttlefish, and nudibranchs (^[11]). He qualified to dive in 1968 in the Bahamas before moving to PNG, where by 1980 he was training assistant instructors and running dive operations out of Port Moresby’s Bootless Bay (^[12]). Tim Rock, who co-authored the first Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Guide to Papua New Guinea with Halstead (published July 1999), recalled their collaboration outlining the book at Halstead’s home in the Kuranda hills (^[13]).

Other pioneer operators followed. Rob van der Loos began operating MV Chertan in Milne Bay in 1986 and went on to build Tawali Dive Resort on the north coast of the bay (^[14], ^[15]). Silcock described van der Loos as the operator who “probably knows the area better than any other individual” (^[16]). Craig de Wit, based in Madang with MV Golden Dawn, also operates periodically in Milne Bay (^[17]). The B17 Black Jack aircraft wreck, accessible from both Milne Bay and Tufi, is “one of the ‘must-do’ dives in Papua New Guinea” (^[18]).

Shore-based diving is available from Tawali Dive Resort, while liveaboards MV Chertan, MV Spirit of Niugini, and MV Golden Dawn (periodically) operate in the area (^[19]). Forum members praised Milne Bay for both macro and wide-angle photography, with one noting it offers “fantastic macro and wide angle photography” (^[20]). In 2014, videographer Dustin (Oceanshutter) spent 12 days at Tawali with the entire resort to himself, producing acclaimed underwater video from the area (^[21]). In 2019, photographer Dave produced a video from two weeks aboard MV Chertan in Milne Bay, documenting its critter diversity despite challenging weather (^[22]).

The Conflict Islands, a coral atoll of 21 uninhabited tropical islands situated approximately 150 km east of Alotau, were documented in 2015 by Migration Media, who spent four months photographing the area’s coral biodiversity and key nesting grounds for green and hawksbill turtles (^[23]).

Manta Rays of Milne Bay — Giants@Home

In 2002, Craig de Wit discovered a manta ray cleaning station at the island of Gonu Bara Bara in southern Milne Bay Province, near the former provincial capital of Samarai Island. He christened it Giants@Home (^[24]). The station hosts reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) with wingspans reaching up to 5.5 meters. It sits at approximately 9 meters depth, just off the beach, offering long bottom times and generally good visibility. Crucially, the site is accessible only by liveaboard, naturally limiting the number of divers in the water at any time (^[25]).

The China Strait, connecting the Coral Sea to Milne Bay and the Solomon Sea, drives nutrient-rich currents past the island that attract the mantas. Silcock described the discovery: Craig’s engineer James had insisted there were “lots of mantas at his island,” and after striking out at all the well-known locations, Craig finally visited — and the rest “is now history” (^[26]).

Kimbe Bay (New Britain)

Kimbe Bay, on the north coast of New Britain island, offers biodiversity comparable to Milne Bay with around 536 coral species — more than half the world’s total — and approximately 900 fish species (^[27]). Joe Daniels, photographing in 2018, noted that while the Great Barrier Reef had suffered mass bleaching events, Kimbe Bay’s remote location and low human impact gave its corals “extra resilience against rising sea temperatures” (^[28]).

Key features include numerous seamounts covered in dense hard coral gardens, the remote Witu group of volcanic islands (offering “world class muck diving” on black sand slopes), and Garove Harbour — located inside the crater of an extinct submerged volcano (^[29], ^[30]). To the northeast, The Fathers reefs are the sunken remains of a huge extinct volcanic caldera, home to hawksbill turtles and silvertip sharks (^[31]). A beautifully preserved Mitsubishi Zero WWII aircraft wreck lies in the bay, located close to shore on a sandy seabed; Don Silcock photographed it during a 2011 trip to Walindi, noting that it required rain-free conditions and that the sandy bottom was easily stirred up (^[32], ^[33]).

Max Benjamin and his wife Cecilie founded Walindi Plantation Resort, the primary shore-based dive operation in Kimbe Bay. Max arrived in 1966 as an agricultural officer with the PNG government; Cecilie arrived in 1972 in the same capacity. A trip to the Red Sea in 1978 made them realize how special Kimbe Bay’s reefs were, leading to the creation of the resort (^[34]). Walindi was “voted as the best diving Resort anywhere in the world by reader surveys” and could accommodate 24 guests (^[35]). After Max’s death in July 2020, tributes on Wetpixel highlighted his conservation legacy: the Mahonia Na Dari (“Guardian of the Sea”) NGO established in 1997, more than 100 permanent moorings to protect reef ecosystems, community schools built for local staff, and his support for quantifying the biodiversity of Kimbe Bay and the north coast of New Britain (^[36]).

The liveaboard MV Febrina, captained by Alan Raabe, operates from Walindi and covers Kimbe Bay, the Witu Islands, The Fathers, Rabaul, and the south coast of New Britain depending on the season (^[37]). Silcock described Raabe as knowing “New Britain better than anybody” (^[38]). Forum members consistently rated Febrina highly — frequent flyer AllisonFinch described it as “the BEST” liveaboard option, with “guides on this boat second to none” and “the most pristine reefs found anywhere” (^[39]). Dickie Doyle, an Australian expat who managed a copra and cocoa plantation on Garove Island, was a beloved figure who frequently hitched rides on MV Febrina and entertained guests with stories of PNG life and culture. His death in 2013 was mourned by the Wetpixel community; AllisonFinch recalled his “incredible intelligence and generosity” (^[40]).

Wetpixel forum member bmyates, who had visited PNG four times (once on MV Chertan in Milne Bay, three times on MV Febrina), described diving Krackafat Reef with its “huge schools of jacks and barracuda” and recommended visitors spend at least 3-4 days at Loloata before continuing onward (^[41]).

Eastern Fields

The Eastern Fields is a large submerged atoll approximately 450 nautical miles wide, with its closest point 90 nautical miles from Port Moresby (^[42]). There is no land at the atoll, making in-depth knowledge of the reef system essential for navigating weather. Eric Cheng described it as “not over-dived, not over-fished, and not sitting next to areas suffering from over-development” (^[43]). Only a few hundred people have ever dived there (^[44]).

Captain Craig de Wit of MV Golden Dawn had been exploring the Eastern Fields for over 20 years by 2009 and was the only captain regularly bringing divers there (^[45]). Tony Wu wrote in 2012 that Craig had been “visiting the area every year since 1992” and that “there are still many parts of the Eastern Fields he’s never dived. In fact, we explored and named four new sites over the past few weeks” (^[46]). The Golden Dawn is relatively small for a liveaboard, with 5 passenger cabins accommodating 10 divers comfortably (^[47]).

Cheng’s journal from a 2009 expedition captured the site’s character:

“We’ve been parked for two days at a site in the Eastern Fields Atoll of Papua New Guinea called ‘Carl’s Ultimate,’ and I am not sure I’ll be able to dive again anywhere else. Most of Carl’s Ultimate is shallow, but a point extends out and drops off into the deep; along the slope and wall is one of the richest coral reefs I’ve ever seen. A dense collection of sea fans, soft corals, and other reef animals line the entire reef slope from 35 meters to 5 meters in depth…” (^[48])

He described currents triggering “millions of magenta slender anthias (Luzonichthys waitei)” that appeared from nowhere, streaming over staghorn coral in dense lines, punctuated by predatory squadrons of jacks shooting through. “I have never seen anything like it,” he concluded (^[49]).

However, shark finning had taken a visible toll: “sharks are pretty much gone, taken by shark finners,” Cheng noted during his 2009 visit (^[50]). By the January 2012 expedition, numbers were beginning to rebound — Trip 1 participant Gina reported seeing “lots of whitetips and grey reefs during our dives, plus a few silvertips, hammerheads, and a whale shark” (^[51]). JennyHuang, also on Trip 1, described it as “the best w/a and big stuffs dive place i have ever been,” listing sightings of hammerheads, silvertips, mantas, eagle rays, mobulas, and massive schools of jacks, barracuda, and snapper (^[52]).

Port Moresby and Bootless Bay

Contrary to expectations for a capital city, there is good scuba diving around Port Moresby. At least 15 dive sites exist on offshore and sunken barrier reefs, and Silcock considered the wreck of the Pacific Gas “one of the best dive sites in PNG” (^[53]). Suzie’s Bommie in Bootless Bay was “famous worldwide for its incredible life,” including giant humphead maori wrasse and pygmy seahorses (^[54]). Drew Wong, from the forums, also noted fond memories of Horseshoe Reef and Suzie’s Bommie and recommended carrying a safety sausage for the bommie dives due to currents (^[55]).

Loloata Island Resort in Bootless Bay, just 15 minutes from the international airport, was a popular pre-trip stopover. Cheng described it as “rhinopias capital of the world” (^[56]). There was a friendly rivalry between Loloata’s Dik Knight and Walindi’s Max Benjamin over who had more rhinopias in their waters, with “the competition between them… filling the airwaves frequently” (^[57]). The Marine Life of Bootless Bay identification guide (2008), by Dr. Mark Baine and Dave Harasti, documented over 850 species from the area in approximately 900 images, including 335 fish species, 145 mollusc species, and 88 echinoderm species. Approximately 3,000 copies were distributed to community schools and village communities (^[58]).

Loloata was sold in late 2016 and closed for refurbishment; as of 2017 it had not reopened, with rumors indicating scuba diving might not be offered when it did (^[59]). John Miller’s Dive Center, operating from Tahira Marina just outside Port Moresby, remained as an alternative option (^[60]).

Tufi

Located in the tropical fjords of Cape Nelson in Oro Province, Tufi is “one of the most scenic places in all of PNG” (^[61]). Physically isolated by the Owen-Stanley Mountain range with no road access — only accessible by plane or ferry — it offers three types of diving: 25+ offshore reefs that are rarely dived by anyone except resort guests, critter hunting in the main fjord, and the B17 Black Jack wreck. Silcock noted that Tufi is “probably the best place to experience village life first-hand,” with homestays arranged through Tufi Dive Resort so visitors can spend a night or two with a local family (^[62]). Michele Westmorland photographed mandarinfish pairs on night dives and healthy cabbage coral formations at Tufi, among the many PNG regions she visited across her 30+ trips (^[63]).

Rabaul (New Britain)

Rabaul sits on the rim of a huge caldera forming Simpson Harbor. Captured by Japanese forces in January 1942, it became the main Imperial army and navy base in PNG. By war’s end, an estimated 54 Japanese ships lay on the harbor floor, and although only about 10 were accessible, Rabaul became the wreck diving capital of PNG — until September 1994, when two of six large volcanoes around the rim erupted, decimating the eastern part of the town and covering many wrecks with volcanic ash (^[64]). By 2017, several wrecks had become diveable again, and the area also included the excellent Duke of York islands some 30 km to the east (^[65]). Eric Cheng photographed at Horshu II near Rabaul during his 2006 PNG trip, snapping 84 frames on a single dive using a Tokina 17mm lens on his Seacam-housed Canon 1Ds Mk II (^[66]).

Kavieng (New Ireland)

Kavieng, at the northwestern tip of New Ireland, is known for WWII wrecks on the Pacific Ocean side, reef diving on the Bismarck Sea side, and large pelagics drawn by strong currents sweeping through the northern islands (^[67]). Eric Cheng dove Kavieng aboard MV Febrina in 2005, photographing channel dives at sites including Planet Channel, Albatross Channel, and Big Fish Reef — all of which were highly current-dependent. Cheng reported mixed results: Planet Channel was a “disaster” with an outgoing current, Albatross was at slack tide with no fish, but Big Fish Reef “was ripping” with lots of action (^[68]). Drew Wong noted from experience that channel diving around Kavieng required careful tide coordination: “a lot of the channel sites are current dependant, so it’s pretty much a lake dive if the water isn’t flowing the right way” (^[69]).

Dive options include Lissenung Island Resort, located on a small island about 20 minutes by boat from Kavieng, and Scuba Ventures based in Kavieng itself (^[70]). New Hanover, the largest island in the province, offers additional Japanese WWII wrecks and tremendous reefs but is rarely dived (^[71]).

South Coast of New Britain

The south coast of eastern New Britain is one of PNG’s most remote diving areas. With no airports (only logging company airstrips) and only one logging road crossing the mountainous interior, the only access is by boat (^[72]). The area has a mixture of remote and untouched reefs, critter sites, and a few WWII wrecks. MV Febrina is the only boat to visit on a regular basis, limited to the early months of each year when weather patterns (opposite to the north coast) provide dry conditions (^[73]).

Marine Life and Biodiversity

PNG’s position within the Coral Triangle gives it extraordinary biodiversity. A 2006 Conservation International survey off the Bird’s Head Seascape in neighboring Indonesian Papua (part of the same biogeographic region as PNG) discovered dozens of new species, including 24 new fish species, 20 coral species, and 8 shrimp species, including a new epaulette shark that walks on its fins (^[74]). The definitive “Reef Fishes of the East Indies” three-volume reference (2012), co-authored by Drs. Gerald Allen and Mark Erdmann for Conservation International, catalogued 2,631 reef fish species from across the Coral Triangle region including PNG, with over 3,600 photographs and 25 new species. Allen noted that his knowledge of the region dated back to 1971, “when I first set foot (fins) in the region (Papua New Guinea)” (^[75]).

Signature marine life across PNG includes:

• Manta rays — reef mantas at Giants@Home (Milne Bay) and other cleaning stations (^[76])
• Rhinopias — the lacy scorpionfish, found around Port Moresby (Loloata), Milne Bay, and Kimbe Bay; the subject of a friendly competition between dive operators (^[77], ^[78])
• Sharks — whitetip reef, grey reef, silvertip, and hammerhead sharks at various sites; populations severely impacted by shark finning at Eastern Fields but beginning to recover by 2012 (^[79], ^[80])
• Pygmy seahorses — found at Carl’s Ultimate (Eastern Fields), Bootless Bay, Kimbe Bay, and other sites (^[81], ^[82], ^[83])
• Muck diving critters — flamboyant cuttlefish, nudibranchs, ghost pipefish, octopus, mantis shrimp; Dinah’s Beach (Milne Bay) and Witu Islands (Kimbe Bay) are premier critter sites (^[84], ^[85]). Dustin (Oceanshutter) produced a dedicated nudibranch video from Milne Bay in 2014, praised for its macro technique (^[86])
• Seahorses — the subject of a dedicated research project launched in 2006 by the Motupore Island Research Centre (MIRC), which sought diver photographs to investigate species diversity and distribution in PNG waters (^[87])
• Schooling fish — massive schools of barracuda, jacks, dogtooth tuna, snappers, and anthias, particularly at Eastern Fields and Kimbe Bay seamounts (^[88], ^[89])

Conservation

PNG’s marine ecosystems face both threats and protection efforts. In 2012, the PNG government granted a 20-year license to Canadian firm Nautilus Minerals for the Solwara 1 project — the world’s first commercial deep sea mining operation — 50 km off the coast of New Britain in the Bismarck Sea at 1.6 km depth. Critics warned the ecological impact was impossible to predict, claiming the company had “found a place so far away from people that they can get away with any impacts. They’ve picked an underfunded government without the regulation of developed countries that will have no way of monitoring this properly” (^[90]).

Conservation efforts centered largely on Kimbe Bay, where Max and Cecilie Benjamin established the Mahonia Na Dari (“Guardian of the Sea”) NGO in 1997 on land they donated adjacent to Walindi Resort. They installed more than 100 permanent moorings to protect reef ecosystems and supported local clans in monitoring their reefs against over-fishing (^[91]). Walindi also hosted scholars from the Our World Underwater Scholarship Society, providing young marine scientists with hands-on experience (^[92]).

The Conflict Islands Conservation Foundation was working to protect the coral atoll in Milne Bay Province, with its key nesting grounds for green and hawksbill turtles (^[93]).

The Marine Life of Bootless Bay guide itself served a conservation purpose: approximately 3,000 copies were distributed to community schools and villages to improve local knowledge of marine biodiversity, supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Project AWARE, the PNG Institute of Biodiversity, and the University of Papua New Guinea (^[94]).

Logistics and Travel

All international flights arrive at Port Moresby’s Jackson’s International Airport, the country’s only international gateway (^[95]). Flights are expensive: Eric Cheng reported a round-trip fare from San Francisco of $2,600 in 2009, of which $1,000 was just to reach his transit country (Fiji) and $1,600 covered the final leg on a Fokker 100 via Honiara (^[96]). Port Moresby hotels can exceed $200-300/night (^[97]). Domestic flights to dive regions (Kimbe, Alotau, Kavieng, Tufi) require careful scheduling, as connections are limited.

Community members advised various gateway routes: via Singapore, Tokyo Narita, Manila, Brisbane, or Cairns. Forum member “okuma” advised: “Do NOT wander around the town or the local market!” while others like “marjo” pushed back, arguing Port Moresby’s dangers were “ridiculously undeserved and the dangers are hugely exaggerated” (^[98]). Don Silcock recommended arranging flights to arrive mid-day and connect directly to domestic flights, or staying at a hotel with airport shuttle and 24-hour security if an overnight was required (^[99]).

Air Niugini was the primary carrier, with gateway cities including Singapore, Manila, Tokyo, Cairns, and Brisbane. Domestic baggage restrictions were a recurring concern on the forums — Air Niugini’s domestic flights were strict about weight, with some flights canceled or delayed on short notice. Forum members recommended joining the Destinations frequent flyer program for extra allowance and carrying camera gear in photographer vests to reduce carry-on weight at check-in (^[100], ^[101]).

Water temperatures average around 28 degrees Celsius, suitable for a 3mm wetsuit (^[102]).

Wetpixel Coverage

Wetpixel organized multiple expeditions to PNG, all led by Eric Cheng:

• October 2006: Cheng led a trip combining Loloata Island Resort (6 nights), MV Febrina from Rabaul to Walindi (9 nights), and Walindi Plantation Resort (4 nights). The Febrina segment cost approximately $5,150-5,550 per person including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles, depending on cabin (^[103]).

• November-December 2009: Two back-to-back charters aboard MV Golden Dawn to the Eastern Fields, co-led by Cheng and Tony Wu. Both trips sold out with 9 passengers each plus the two trip leaders. Trip costs ranged from $3,985-4,968 per person depending on cabin and trip leg. During this trip, Cheng completed KISS rebreather certification with Captain Craig de Wit, logging 12 rebreather dives (11 with camera) and achieving 2.5-hour dive times (^[104], ^[105]).

• January 2012: Two Eastern Fields trips aboard MV Golden Dawn. Trip 1 (January 10-20) had “mirror flat seas” and visibility reaching 30 meters. Participant Gina reported seeing whitetips, grey reefs, silvertips, hammerheads, and a whale shark, with Carl’s Ultimate as the standout site (^[106]). Trip 2 (January 22 - February 2) was limited to 6 days of Eastern Fields diving due to two large storm systems (^[107]). Tony Wu led both legs and published a detailed trip report, noting that the group “explored and named four new sites” (^[108]). A DiveFilm HD podcast had earlier featured Wu’s video footage from the 2009 expedition, shot on DSLRs (^[109]).

Don Silcock contributed a comprehensive multi-part guide to PNG for Wetpixel in 2017, beginning with “Understanding Papua New Guinea” (March 2017) and “Where to Scuba Dive in Papua New Guinea” (June 2017), followed by detailed guides on individual regions including “The Manta Rays of Milne Bay” (December 2017) (^[110], ^[111], ^[112]).

Joe Daniels published a Full Frame portfolio of Kimbe Bay images in February 2018, documenting its coral diversity and healthy shark populations (^[113]). Michele Westmorland published a Full Frame portfolio in January 2016, showcasing images from across the country’s diverse regions including Milne Bay, Bootless Bay, Kimbe Bay, Tufi, Rabaul, the Witu Islands, and The Fathers (^[114]).

The Wetpixel forums contain extensive PNG-related discussion, including trip reports, dive site comparisons (Tawali vs. Walindi/Febrina), travel logistics, critter identification threads from Milne Bay, and photo showcases. Darek Sepiolo’s 2005 PNG photo showcase received high praise from Eric Cheng, Alex Mustard, and other community members, with images including a Mitsubishi Zero wreck and a yawning rhinopias (^[115]).

Key People Associated with PNG Diving

• Bob Halstead — Pioneer of PNG diving and inventor of the term “muck diving”; qualified to dive in 1968 in the Bahamas; moved to PNG in the late 1970s; operated MV Telita in Milne Bay. Co-authored the first Lonely Planet PNG diving guide (1999). Died December 2018 (^[116], ^[117]).
• Dinah Halstead — Co-pioneered PNG diving with Bob; Dinah’s Beach at Lauadi in Milne Bay is named for her; continued as a dive guide in later years, leading trips aboard MV Golden Dawn in Milne Bay (^[118], ^[119]).
• Max Benjamin — Founded Walindi Plantation Resort in Kimbe Bay (arrived 1966); established Mahonia Na Dari conservation NGO (1997). Died July 2020 in Cairns (^[120]).
• Cecilie Benjamin — Co-founded Walindi with Max; arrived as agricultural officer in 1972; the trip to the Red Sea in 1978 together led to the resort’s creation (^[121]).
• Craig de Wit — Captain of MV Golden Dawn, based in Madang; explored Eastern Fields since 1992; discovered the Giants@Home manta cleaning station in 2002 (^[122], ^[123], ^[124]).
• Rob van der Loos — Owner/operator of MV Chertan; based in Milne Bay since 1986; built Tawali Dive Resort (no longer owns it as of 2017) (^[125], ^[126]).
• Alan Raabe — Captain of MV Febrina; described as knowing New Britain “better than anybody” (^[127]).
• Don Silcock — Australia/Bali-based underwater photographer; authored the definitive Wetpixel guide to PNG diving (^[128]).
• Michele Westmorland — Underwater photographer with 30+ visits to PNG; published Full Frame portfolio on Wetpixel (2016) (^[129]).
• Dik Knight — Former operator of Loloata Island Resort in Bootless Bay; known for rhinopias rivalry with Max Benjamin (^[130]).

Community Voices

The Wetpixel forums reflect a passionate community of PNG divers. Forum members who returned repeatedly include:

• AllisonFinch — Frequent Febrina traveller who spent multiple trips per year on the boat and became a vocal advocate for PNG diving. She provided detailed recommendations on itineraries and dive operations across many forum threads (^[131], ^[132]).
• bmyates — Four-time visitor who offered detailed advice on Loloata, Chertan, and Febrina, noting he could have “spent an entire dive vacation at Loloata” alone (^[133]).
• Darek Sepiolo — Photographer who declared PNG “the best dive destination I’ve ever been to” and thanked Max Benjamin and Dik Knight by name after his 2005 visit (^[134]).
• pmooney — Regular visitor based in Cairns who hosted transiting Wetpixel divers and joined multiple PNG trips (^[135]).

Timeline

• Late 1970s: Bob Halstead moves to PNG; begins training instructors and running dive operations out of Port Moresby’s Bootless Bay (^[136]).
• 1980s: Bob and Dinah Halstead pioneer liveaboard diving in PNG aboard MV Telita in Milne Bay, introducing muck diving to the international diving community (^[137]).
• 1986: Rob van der Loos begins dive operations in Milne Bay with MV Chertan (^[138]).
• 1989: Jayne Jenkins visits Walindi for the first time while working in dive travel; Max Benjamin takes her on a hammerhead shark search dive (^[139]).
• 1992: Craig de Wit begins bringing international divers to the Eastern Fields aboard MV Golden Dawn (^[140]).
• 1994-09: Volcanic eruptions at Rabaul — two of six volcanoes around the caldera rim erupt, decimating the eastern part of the town and covering WWII wrecks in Simpson Harbor with ash (^[141]).
• 1997: Max and Cecilie Benjamin establish Mahonia Na Dari conservation NGO on donated land adjacent to Walindi Resort (^[142]).
• 1999-07: First Lonely Planet Diving & Snorkeling Guide to Papua New Guinea published, co-authored by Bob Halstead and Tim Rock (^[143]).
• 2002: Craig de Wit discovers the Giants@Home manta ray cleaning station at Gonu Bara Bara, Milne Bay (^[144]).
• 2005-05: Wetpixel members randapex and Darek Sepiolo meet at Walindi Resort; Darek’s subsequent photo showcase receives high praise on the forums (^[145], ^[146]).
• 2005-08: Eric Cheng and Wetpixel member debersole dive Kavieng aboard MV Febrina, posting trip reports on Wetpixel (^[147], ^[148]).
• 2006-07: Cheng organizes a Wetpixel group trip to PNG: Loloata (6 nights), MV Febrina (Rabaul to Walindi, 9 nights), and Walindi Plantation Resort (4 nights) (^[149]).
• 2006-07: Motupore Island Research Centre launches seahorse diversity project, seeking diver photographs from across PNG (^[150]).
• 2006-09: Conservation International discovers dozens of new species off the Bird’s Head Seascape in neighboring Indonesian Papua, including 24 new fish, 20 new coral, and 8 new shrimp species (^[151]).
• 2006-11: Eric Cheng publishes a “single dive contact sheet” from Horshu II near Rabaul — 84 frames from one dive — offering insight into a professional underwater photographer’s workflow (^[152]).
• 2008-02: “The Marine Life of Bootless Bay” identification guide published, documenting 850+ species from Port Moresby’s doorstep; 3,000 copies distributed to community schools (^[153]).
• 2009-11/12: Wetpixel Eastern Fields Expedition — two charters aboard MV Golden Dawn, co-led by Cheng and Tony Wu. Cheng completes KISS rebreather certification (^[154]).
• 2010-07: Tony Wu’s DiveFilm HD video podcast from the Eastern Fields is published (^[155]).
• 2011-09: Don Silcock spends two weeks at Walindi researching a book project on PNG; photographs the Mitsubishi Zero wreck in Kimbe Bay (^[156]).
• 2012-01: Wetpixel’s third Eastern Fields Expedition; Trip 1 enjoys perfect conditions with whale shark sighting; Trip 2 cut short by storm systems. Tony Wu leads both legs and names four new dive sites (^[157], ^[158]).
• 2012-06: “Reef Fishes of the East Indies” published — 2,631 species catalogued from the Coral Triangle including PNG (^[159]).
• 2012-08: PNG government grants 20-year deep sea mining license for Solwara 1 project in the Bismarck Sea (^[160]).
• 2013-07: Dickie Doyle of Garove Island, a beloved figure in the PNG diving community, passes away (^[161]).
• 2014: Videographer Dustin (Oceanshutter) produces acclaimed “Rolling in the Deep” series from Tawali (Milne Bay), featuring macro and wide-angle sequences (^[162], ^[163]).
• 2014: Julia Sumerling (seeesharky) films “Dinah’s Wonderland” in Milne Bay aboard MV Golden Dawn with Dinah Halstead as dive guide and Douglas Seifert organizing (^[164]).
• 2015-11: Migration Media documents the Conflict Islands coral atoll in Milne Bay Province (^[165]).
• 2016-01: Michele Westmorland publishes PNG Full Frame portfolio on Wetpixel, documenting her 30+ trips across the country’s diverse regions (^[166]).
• 2017: Don Silcock publishes multi-part PNG diving guide series on Wetpixel (^[167], ^[168], ^[169]).
• 2018-02: Joe Daniels publishes Kimbe Bay Full Frame portfolio, documenting healthy coral and shark populations (^[170]).
• 2018-12: Bob Halstead, pioneer of PNG diving and muck diving, passes away (^[171]).
• 2020-07: Max Benjamin, founder of Walindi Plantation Resort, dies in Cairns after a battle with cancer. Son Cheyne Benjamin carries on the legacy (^[172]).

References