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Destinations / Papua New Guinea / Milne Bay-Tufi

Tufi Dive Resort Chertan Paradise Sport Golden Dawn Tawali Dive Resort - Milne Bay Milne Bay province and its many islands (officially 435, but there are many more) can't be described simply in a couple of sentences. Its main city is Alotau, which is situated between the Solomon Sea and the Coral Sea. These two seas surge back and forth, flushing plankton-rich lagoon waters with crystal blue water from the depths causing a frantic profusion of marine growth.

Consequently, to us and most divers who are fortunate enough to dive here, Milne Bay may be considered the place where "muck diving" turned into an art form all of its own.

What is "muck" diving?

Scattered coral, reefs and sea grass beds grow right up to the shoreline and are home to some of the best small creature diving we have ever done. We've encountered unusual critters like ghost pipefish, panda clownfish and mantis shrimps. Milne Bay is mostly known for "critters diving" which is really excellent.

Milne Bay offers fantastic diving all year round. The weather is unpredictable, but Milne Bay has no rainy season as such. It can rain at any time.

Live aboard dive vessels are the way to explore this area. We offer a number of different vessels and excursions are 7-10 days long. Most excursions start and end in Alotau.

Tufi , is located in a very pretty area in PNG, with some of the most dramatic landscapes PNG has to offer. The fjords are the speciality of Tufi. In here you find interesting dive sites. The deep channel fjords protect some fabulous labyrinths of fan and shelf coral. We did a few dives here and were amazed by the variety and size of soft corals and the amount of nudibranchs and small fish we found here.
Diving in Tufi is offered all year round, although the best time to dive Tufi is from October to April each year.

Milne Bay and also Tufi are ideal for experienced divers.

How To Get There

Milne Bay lies at the southeastern tip of the Papua New Guinean mainland. The bay (a deep natural harbour itself) is some 10 km (6 miles) wide and 30 km (19 miles) long. The town of Alotau is nestled in the hills on the northern shore. Population is low in this area, which makes for minimal human impact on the reefs here.

The dive region includes Southern Milne Bay (Samarai Island), the outlaying Islands in the East (Louisiades), the Entrecasteaux Islands in the North and the northern mainland coastline past Cape Vogel all the way to Tufi.

Alotao:
As with any destination in PNG you need to fly as the road system in this country is not yet developed. Alotau's aiport (Gurney GUR) is about 40 km out of town and receives one to two flights a day from Port Moresby with Air New Guinea. All live aboard vessels time their departures and arrivals around the air schedule.

Tufi:
Tufi is a very small village with a grass airstrip. It is serviced 3 to 4 times a week from Port Moresby by small twin-engine planes of MBA or by private charter planes that we can arrange for groups. Trips from or to Tufi usually require a nights' stay in Port Moresby for onward overseas connections.

Diving

Live-Aboard Dive Vessels offer the best and most extensive coverage of diving in the Milne Bay region. Plan 7 to 10 days for a Milne Bay excursion. There are 2 options for a resort stay: Tawali is a brand new stunning dive resort, located near Alotau.
Tufi also has a very nice resort and some Live Aboard dive vessels depart here at times.

The variety of marine life in Milne Bay is almost unbelievable. Not only are rare scorpion fish like the Rhinopia aphanes (or Merlot Scorpionfish) seen regularly here, but you also will find creatures that have not yet been recorded from other places of the world.

There are many other dive options for every taste. Visit Observation Point on Normandy Island - a great "muck" diving experience and home to seahorses, frogfish and rare species of garden eel, blue ribbon eels and many different species of clownfish. Cruise through Ward Hunt, Moresby and Dawson Straits where you are bound to enjoy sightings of whales and dolphins. Dive the many reefs en route that will host a variety of soft and hard corals and manta-cleaning stations.

A scene of heavy fights in WWII, the entire region is littered with plane and shipwrecks on land and at the bottom of the sea.

A few dive site descriptions

  • China Strait/Milne Bay: The first European to enter Milne Bay was Captain John Moresby, when he sailed into China Strait, which he named thinking he had discovered a shortcut from Australia to China. The Strait is 2 km wide, 35 to 50m deep and has a fierce current running through it. Experienced divers can get a thrill by drift diving through the strait at 4-5 knots (cameras are not recommended on this dive). The sensation of speed is extraordinary as the soft coral covered bottom rushes by. A maximum bottom time of 15 minutes is advised and may be the most exhilarating 15 minutes you ever spend underwater. Those with very fast and good eyes may spot Goldlip pearl shells.
  • Kathy's Corner/Milne Bay: More relaxing is Kathy's Corner, a shallow reef dive (0-40m) with mostly small creatures, although turtles and dugongs are frequently seen in the area. When the sun is shining, it is a special site for wide-angle photography. The macro opportunities are better with the many species of nudibranchs, making it a colourful night dive. Spanish dancers are often found on the reef wall and comet fish lurk deep in the reef crevices. In the sand, lionfish hunt damsels and cardinalfish and huge schools of stripped snapper meander through the staghorn corals.
  • Manta Cleaning Station/Milne Bay: The '98 Milne Bay explorations of Golden Dawn have resulted in the find of a permanent Manta cleaning station in the Southern Milne Bay area. Sightings of giant Mantas with sizes between 3 to 6 metres in "wingspan" are common. To preserve this place and the unique experience, great care will be taken to only allow few divers at a time to dive that area. The local villagers have confirmed sightings of Mantas for as long as their historical records go back. This dive site is a must for Manta lovers.
  • Cyclone Reef/Tufi: A coral atoll where the dive begins along a wall. After about 100 m the wall has a more gradual incline, which then comes to a point. The current can become quite strong here sometimes. Hold on there and watch it happening: sharks, barracudas, dogtooth tuna - they are all there. The end of the dive is a nice relaxed drift dive over the top of the reef, back to the boat.
  • Veale Reef/Tufi: This is an excellent dive site on an astounding reef. In the Tufi region where typical visibility can be 130 feet/40 meters, this reef site often offers 165 feet/ 50 meter visibility. Dive this steep wall where hammerhead sharks, dogtooth tuna, Spanish mackerel, reef sharks and other pelagics compete for your attention. The reef top is carpeted with staghorn and plate corals in excellent condition. Cuts and crevices sculpture the drop-off and giant sponges are prolific. You can spend your safety stop amongst schools of small fish on the top of this pristine reef.
  • Tufi Wharf: The resort wharf will never cease to amaze you. Perched at the tip of land dividing two fjords, this area was a United States base for P.T. Boats during WWII. Here you can dive in and out of the remains of two P.T. boats - still sporting a deck gun and loaded torpedo tube. In shallower waters you can spend countless tanks of air and rolls of film with our fascinating "little critters" which include an amazing array of nudibranchs.
  • Stewart Reef/Tufi: Tufi's "house reef" offers superb diving both during the day and at night. You can wall dive amongst soft corals, fans and a very healthy fish population. Excellent hard corals and sea whips entice you in visibility that seems endless. Epaulette sharks, decorator crabs, octopus and moray eels come out to play at night making this a great night dive.

Wrecks

In Tufi there is a fantastic shipwreck. The "S'Jacob", one of the best wrecks in PNG, is a Dutch cargo vessel which lies in 55-60 metres of water and has been rated by Bob Halstead as the most interesting wreck dive in PNG. It's deep and you can be sure all precautions will be taken to make this decompression dive a safe one with all back ups needed.

Another great dive is a B17, the Bomber "Black Jack", which is one of the best-preserved B17 planes in PNG waters. It is right at the bottom of a teeming reef wall, which makes the deco stops on the way up a real pleasure.

Other Activities

Tourism infrastructure is not very much developed. However, Alotau has a very nice hotel and they can arrange trips into the rainforest and to see local villages and WWII remains. Or you can go fishing or simply relax at the pool.

Tufi's resort offers a variety of trekking, cultural and nature experiences. It is particularly interesting for bird and butterfly enthusiasts.

Live Aboard Dive Operators

Hotels & Resorts

 
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