WHERE TO DIVE IN PNG & BEYOND

Deborah Dickson-Smith pinpoints some of the best dive sites in the Pacific, where you can see everything from war wrecks to manta rays and colourful corals.

Ability level: snorkellers. Stay: Tawali Leisure and Dive Resort is the only dive resort in Milne Bay. It is modern, spacious and comfortable, with two dive boats and access to dozens of pristine sites. See tawali.com. All levels, including barrel sponges; at 10 metres hard and soft corals take over, playing host to reef sharks, triggerfish, scorpionfish and anthias; at seven metres hawksbill and green turtles often ‘hang’ around, and large brain coral reach up to just under the surface where the crowds of reef fish make for a serene safety stop. Visibility: +30m Depth: +20m Ability level: Open Water (Deep Diver certification is recommended) Stay: Cyclone Reef has three distinct sites, and all can be dived from Tufi Dive Resort, on whose house reef you’ll find a host of mandarin fish. See tufidive.com.