SCUBA DIVE MILNE BAY
We are a fully equipped diving operation with dive masters and experienced staff. Our 40 foot dive boat," LIA", cruises at 12 knots and gets you to some of the best diving the world has to offer in comfort. She has great exit and entry points, a fresh water shower and toilet as well as cooking facilities. She is not a live aboard. We also run a couple of smaller boats.
Although she is licensed for up to 25 guests we now only allow up to 12 guests on any tour. In this way we are able to give our guests our full attention whilst providing you with a more exclusive experience.
The diving within the bay is excellent but you are limited by what you can reach in a day. If you are a keen diver and you want to get out to some of the best diving in the world then we would suggest at least one overnight on the islands at one of our bush camps. Based on a tropical island you have comfortable tents and beds, basic facilities, good food and access to the incredible diving just 20m from your door.
We will be offering dive courses as well, from beginners to dive master, if you don't dive or if you want to increase your diving skills whilst enjoying your time away. The Dive shop and school is positioned right on the water front and creates a great location for learning to dive or for heading out on trips. It also means that there is no need to carry heavy equipment any distance. All of our equipment is brand new and regularly tested. We try to cover as many sizes of guests as possible but please let us know your equipment requirements and sizes when booking a trip. If we don't have your size, we will get it! (As long as you give us enough notice)
inner bay DIVES
All of these dives are quite close to the hotel and are within the bay. Visibility is good but can vary due to rain and tides but the dives are still excellent. The bay offers great muck diving and excellent night dives just off our jetty, Prices include all Scuba gear hire, skin diving gear, lunch, tea coffee soft drinks, land fees, chamber fees, dive fees, fuel, boat hire, guides and staff. Please feel free to use up your tanks or grab a refill for a quick night dive off our jetty when you return. Please book ahead to ensure we have your sizes and equipment requirements. All equipment is used on a lose replace basis.1. WAGA WAGA DIVES AND WATERFALL DIVE
2 Dives
Min Pax 3
..Max Pax 10
COST = 150 AUD
Jump on the boat, early and we head across the bay to Waga Waga to dive on the “Muscoota” an old war wreck. She sits in 30m at the deepest point and breaches the surface with her bow. Covered in life, this is a great dive and very protected making her a good beginner’s dive. 2nd dive is anchored off the old wharf. A great sandy muck dive the site is home to hundreds of Gobies, living in their self dug homes with blind shrimp. Very cool! After the dives we head up the hill for lunch at the lodge and a walk to the waterfall or springs, if you like, or just relax on the verandah overlooking the bay and spot few birds till we head back to town.
2. Killerton Islands Sullivan Patches Dives
3 dives
Min Pax 3
..Max Pax 10
COST = 170 AUD
Again, it’s an early start, as early as we can get you out of bed, the earlier the better. Off we go, troll along the way as we head for Sullivan patches, a coral patch out in the bay. This site has good currents feeding it and a good drop off so it’s a great site for some bigger pelagic fish and sharks as well as a really good coral cover and plenty of reef fish. Turtles are often seen at this spot. After 2 dives on the two different patches we head back to the islands for lunch, then a final dive on the stag horns and the coral around the island. Homeward bound we troll again in the hope of some fish for dinner.
3. Nigila Island dives and waterfall trek.
3 dives
Min Pax 3
..Max Pax 10
COST = 170 AUD
Lets try and leave early again folks, its amazing on the water and we can have breakfast along the way. We have 3 dives around the islands the first dive is on a Bommie that comes up from the deep with some great drop offs and stag horns. The 2nd and 3rd dives are closer to the islands, with lunch on the beach. All of these dives have shown great fish life with sharks and schools of puffer fish, barracuda and mackerel. In the sand you will find the gobies and around the deeper drop offs, turtles. If we have time a quick trip to shore and a walk to the waterfall is excellent trip. Then its lines out, towels on the deck and lie down as we cruise back to the hotel.
outer bay dives
All of these dives are out of the bay on some of the closer coral islands and require a bit more time on the boat to get there, so early departures are a must. These dives are exquisite and you will see some of the best diving in PNG and the world. Schools of barracuda, Tuna swim over the reef, sharks and turtles. Underneath that is all the smaller fish, the corals the size of dinner tables, eels, crinoids, and bump head parrot fish. Manta rays, Orca’s, Dolphins, Dugong, whales and whale sharks all visit this area. So if our luck is with us, who knows what we will see.
We WILL be back as late as is safe to give you as much time out there as possible. Our hope is that next time you will choose one of our longer trips so we can stay long enough to give you a true taste of the outer bay islands.
Non divers are more than welcome and we will put you into your own dinghy or kayak to cruise the islands or climb a rainforest track up one of the mountains to explore the birdlife and look for CUS-CUS or tree kangaroo.
Prices include all Scuba gear hire, skin diving gear, lunch, tea, coffee, soft drinks, land fees, chamber fees, dive fees, fuel, boat hire, guides and staff. . Please book ahead so we can make the arrangements for non divers and to meet your scuba diving sizes and equipment needs.
1. Nuakuta Island Dives.
3 dives
Min Pax 4…..Max Pax 8
COST = 200 AUD
Known as the jewel of Milne Bay, Nuakuta has excellent diving and around 18 sites to choose from, although, obviously, that would require more than a day trip. From great shore dives, deep dives, sandy quays, large numbers of garden eels, morays, incredible fan corals, shallow dives, plane wrecks, masses of crinoids, schools of pelagic fish, turtle breeding sites, and on and on. The place is incredible. Lunch on the sandy beaches and stretch your legs between dives. Awesome!!
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2. Samarai Island dives
3 dives
Min Pax 3..Max Pax 8
COST = 200 AUD
When we first had a dive on Samari we had just spent months in a kayak, paddling around the coast of PNG. And had seen it all, so I thought.. But the same thing kept happening, the diving just got better and better. When we hit Samarai island, the locals said, ‘check the wharf check the wharf’. ‘OK’ but I’m sure it’s just a wharf. SO wrong. This is truly one of the greatest little beasty dives around. Old posts covered in Hard and soft corals with eels, octopus and lion fish. Great swirling schools of sardines circle the deeper pylons as larger barracuda and trevelly hit at them from the deep water. Pipe fish, seahorses, frog fish lots and lots to see. This is a really easy dive that allows you to sit at a shallow depth, for a long dive and discover all its secrets, almost.
Add to this the dive at Kwato Island or the drift dive, for the more experienced divers, in China straits and you have enough to fill your day a few times over.
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3. Manta Cleaning Station
3 dives
Min Pax 3..Max Pax 8
COST = 200 AUD
This is as you would expect, a manta cleaning station. A Small rocky outcrop in the sand in shallow water, the cleaning station is regularly visited by a good number of Manta’s. To the island care takers this is both an important cultural site and an important source of income. We are welcomed ashore to enjoy the beach and coconuts, or you can hang on the boat, whilst we await the spotter’s call that the black shapes have appeared. Being so shallow gives the divers a real good opportunity to see these wonderful creatures close up. Mantas with wing spans as big as 6.5m frequent this site. Other excellent dives are close by if it is an off day for the gentle giants so you will still get in some great dives but for big mantas, it is worth the wait.
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