Diving Papua New Guinea: Port Moresby & Bootless Bay Scuba Diving
Although overshadowed and usually overlooked by diving tourists passing through on their way to Milne Bay or New Britain, and contrary to what you would tend to expect so close to a capital city, the scuba diving around Port Moresby is actually very good and at times simply excellent…
Aerial Photo of Port Moresby - Courtesy of Rocky Roe & Neil Whiting
The diving has a distinctly “local” flavor and there is a strong following from the expats based in the capital, but Loloata Resort in Bootless Bay has a firmly established international reputation based largely on critter diving and being able to almost guarantee showing divers & underwater photographers the rare & beautifull Rhinopias.
The Rhinopias aphane – or Merlet’s scorpion fish to give it it’s common name – was only discovered in 1973 in New Caledonia, and the second find was made by Dinah Halstead in 1980 on the offshore Sunken Barrier Reef some 5 nautical miles from Port Moresby.
Wrecks & Reefs - Neil Whiting
Club based recreational scuba diving in the area began in 1962 when a group of ex-pats formed the Port Moresby Underwater Club, which was eventually replaced in 1975 by the Port Moresby Sub-Aqua Club (POMSAC).
POMSAC is still in existence to this day but is now part of the Royal Papua Yacht Club and, together with the Dive Center run by long time PNG resident John Miller, service the local diving community.
Commercial recreational scuba diving began in 1977 when Bob & Dinah Halstead launched Tropical Diving Adventures based from Bootless Bay using the 8.5m boat the MV Solatai. Bob & Dinah are synonymous with scuba diving in PNG, mainly because of their exploits in Milne Bay aboard their boat the MV Telita, but before they moved down the coast in 1986 they probably did more than any other individuals to explore, document and popularize the diving around Port Moresby.
Together with the Port Moresby Sun-Aqua Club, Bob & Dinah were instrumental in sinking the MV Parama, MV Jade and the Pacific Gas wrecks at Horseshoe Reef, which have become great dive sites – particularly the Pacific Gas.
All this and much more has been documented superbly by long time Port Moresby diver Neil Whiting in his excellent book the Wrecks & Reefs of Port Moresby.
Diving Papua New Guinea: Port Moresby Dive Sites
There are several dive sites in Fairfax Harbour, the excellent natural harbour which takes it’s name from Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby the father of Captain John Moresby who claimed the area for Britain in 1873.
I must be honest and declare that I have yet to dive any of them as all of my numerous dives around Port Moresby have been done around Bootless Bay and on the offshore Sinavi & Nateara reefs and the sunken barrier reef. However I understand that they offer a reasonable alternative to the offshore sites when the weather precludes diving there.
Port Moresby - Fairfax Harbour Dive Site Map
Diving Papua New Guinea: Bootless Bay Dive Sites
The offshore sites centered around the Nateara & sunken barrier reefs and the much smaller Horseshoe & Quayles reefs offer some tremendous diving and when the conditions are at their best, the diving rivals some of the best there is almost anywhere in PNG.
Bootless Bay & Offshore Reef Dive Site Map
The offshore sites are exposed to the elements – specifically the monsoonal weather patterns and the New Guinea Coastal Undercurrent as explained on the PNG Marine Diversity page.
The Coastal Undercurrent is the reason why the sites are so rich & bio-diverse as it brings with it the nutrient rich waters from the deep trenches of the Pacific Ocean. It also explains why those sites on the outer side of the reefs are richer than the ones on the inside because, in very simple terms, they are fed first…
Diving Papua New Guinea: When to Dive Port Moresby & Bootless Bay
Papua New Guinea’s location just south of the equator means that it is very much subject to the monsoonal weather patterns & seasons and in the Port Moresby & Bootless Bay area, from May to October the winds blow from the southeast, then from around mid December through to March the predominant winds are from the northwest.
When the southeasterlies are blowing, the usual pattern is that overnight the prevailing winds subside and the morning brings fairly calm conditions, but by around 11.00 the winds are back and starting to produce some heavy swells. Diving is still possible on the sites on the sheltered side of the reefs, but it does not pay to linger too long as the ride back can be very bumpy…
Conditions are better during the northwest monsoon season and means the sites on the outer reef are much more accessible, but the optimum conditions are during the doldrum periods between the monsoon seasons and the one in November & early December is particularly good.
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