| PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Located roughly 300 miles north of Australia, Papua New Guinea, PNG occupies
the eastern half of New Guinea, which it shares with the Indonesian
territory of Irian Jaya, as well as numerous smaller islands and atolls in
the Pacific. The central part of the island rises into a spine of
mountains, known as the "Highlands". The rest of the country is
covered by tropical rainforests, delta plains, flat grassland and mangrove
swamps. The Fly, Sepik and Ramu rivers flow through the country.
The population is made up of Melanesian, Polynesian, Micronesian, and
Chinese. They combined make up the four ethnic groups in the country,
Papuans, Highlanders, New Guineans, and Islanders.
The smaller island groups include the Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, New
Ireland and the North Solomons. Some of these islands are volcanic,
and all are relatively undeveloped. A chain of dormant volcanoes form the scenic
boundaries of Milne and Kimbe bay. It makes for a scenic view,
but also creates some "violence". In 1994, the town of Rabaul was
destroyed by the Tuvurvur eruption.
The coastline is made up of striking coral reefs. Marine life is profuse with more
than 900 species of fish and 400 species of corals identified. Both
areas are famous for fabulous reefs, huge biodiversity and "Muck" diving.
Diving coral gardens or action packed seamounts, where batfish, barracudas,
hammerheads and rays come in to play is done from an inflatable or right
from the deck of the live-aboard. The multi-hued sea anemones,
butterfly, parrot, and scorpion fish, wrasse, octopus, reef sharks, coral
gardens, wall dives, and numerous World War II wrecks make this a stunning
area to dive. A real macro photographers haven. Here you can
take shots of the smallest creatures like the Mimic Octopus, or the Pygmy
Seahorse. |
