Ultimate Milne Bay Adventure... Milne Bay was first place I ever visited in Papua New Guinea. And even after many years and several return trips, my fascination with the area endures to this day. It’s a truly special place with much to see. But it is also a really big area and logistically, getting to all the best locations and spending sufficient time there in a single trip can be a challenge. 2023 marked the 25th anniversary of that initial journey. And so I wanted to orchestrate something really special to celebrate my on-going fascination with PNG, its people, their rich cultures, and of course the diving. So, I embarked on …
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Southern Right Whales of Peninsula Valdés
Southern Right Whales of Peninsula Valdés - The key lies in how you enter the water… Slip ever so gently over the side and swim quietly toward them, always approaching from the front so that the mother can see you coming and assess the level of threat. The mother, ever vigilant for potential orca attacks and protective of her young calf, will prioritize caution and may cut short the encounter if she senses danger. However, she's weary from the constant stress of shielding and nourishing her hungry calf and yearns for a moment of rest. Get it right, and there's a good chance she will remain stationary, permitting you to draw closer. If …
Raja Ampat Pioneers – Max Ammer
Max Ammer... It really is quite incredible that in just over 20 years Raja Ampat has gone from a little known, remote outpost of the huge Indonesian archipelago to one of the must-do diving locations globally. Google “Raja Ampat diving” and you will be bombarded with dozens of options. Ranging across the full spectrum of liveaboard vessels. Huge and luxurious, spa-suite behemoths through to the floating equivalent of backpacker hostels. Plus, on land the options range from beautiful resorts to village homestays. With everything in between! The huge wave of tourism that has washed over Raja Ampat changed many things for the better. …
The Ghosts of the Machines
Kavieng WWII Aircraft Wrecks... World War II came to the Australian territory of New Guinea in January 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Rabaul in New Britain. Followed shortly after by the taking of Kavieng in nearby New Ireland. The invasion turned New Guinea into a major theatre of war in the battle for the Pacific. And there were many brutal encounters between the invading Japanese and the defending Australian forces. Conditions were often appalling; the fighting was incredibly fierce, and many young lives were lost on both sides. To this day the poignant relics of those battles are woven into the fabric of the now …
A Guide to Diving Tasmania
Diving Tasmania... The “Apple Isle” is, in so many ways, the hidden gem of Australian scuba diving. And getting to know a bit more about it has been one of the highlights of my personal diving career! There really is a lot to see underwater around Tasmania. But the reality is you would need a couple of months, together with a significant budget to explore it all. My dive buddy and I only had a couple of weeks… So we reached out to various local divers to get their recommendations. This is what we learned about the “must do” locations. And, looking back I think we got it about right. But first of all let’s start with why …
Diving Beautiful Tufi
Diving Beautiful Tufi... The sun was just breaking as we walked across the tarmac towards the small plane that would take us over the mountains. Anxious to leave on time and with a busy day ahead of them. The two-person TropicAir crew ushered us into our seats as they continued their pre-departure checks. Within minutes we were taxiing towards the runway for our take-off from Port Moresby’s Jackson Field. Once airborne the pilot turned the plane south-east. Heading down the coast as we gained enough altitude to turn north and cross those 4000m high peaks. Early morning is the best time to make that journey over the Owen Stanley …
Raja Ampat Pioneers – Edi Frommenwiler
Edi Frommenwiler and Pindito - I have a theory… Completely unproven of course, but very logical (well, to me at least). And it’s that true adventurers have seven genotypes, rather than six like the rest of us. Let’s just call it the AA++ genotype and those individuals with one have inherited an intense desire to explore the world and can never accept a nine-to-five existence. They tend to embark upon their first big adventures in any way they can, as soon as they can. And, in the case of Edi Frommenwiler his chance came by driving trucks in his native Switzerland. But we are not talking about delivering stuff to supermarkets or …
The Wonderful Witu Islands
The Witu Islands... As they say in the real estate business – location, location, location… And it is Papua New Guinea’s location astride the Equator and at the end of what was historically referred to as the Malay Archipelago, that puts it right in the middle of the greatest marine biodiversity on earth - the Coral Triangle. The country occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea (the second largest in the world after Greenland). Plus the many islands of the Bismarck and Louisiade Archipelagos. And… because it straddles the Equator. PNG is exposed to both the Northern and Southern Equatorial Currents. Plus the …
Angelique Songco Mama Ranger
Angelique Songco Mama Ranger... It's a country that has so much to offer the traveling diver and underwater photographer. But there are certain exceptional locations in the Philippines that really stand out. And top of the list has to be the remote reefs and atolls of Tubbataha! Pronounced Toobahtaaha…The name means “long reef exposed at low tide” in Simal. The language of the nomadic Philippine Sama-Bajau sea gypsies, who are believed to have first discovered the area. Physically the TRNP (Tubbataha Reefs National Park) consists of two atolls and one coral reef. Which are located in the middle of the Sulu Sea - effectively the core …