One of the advantages of diving places like Rabaul/Kabaira in the New Britain Provence, Papua New Guinea, is that generally the sea conditions are completely flat. This means that you can head to sites that are a bit further afield and get there quickly.
This site is one of the series of three dive sites called Tom, Dick and Harry. They are located on the one reef, a few kilometres west of Cape Liguan and about 7.9 kilometres from Kabaira Resort. It takes about 20 minutes to get to the site in their "slow" boat (does about 23 km.h).
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Kelly and one of the smaller gorgonias | A couple of the huge barrel sponges |
The dive site is located at GPS S4° 22' 14.2" E151° 58' 28.5" using WGS84 as a datum. As this is a drift dive, this could either be your start or end point depending on the tides. We started here. The reef here is a sort of flat topped ridge and you could go either side.
Once you descend, you go to the western side of the reef and drop over the wall. we headed north in a slight current. There are lots of gorgonias and some huge barrel sponges as well as many other sponges and coral. The bottom is over 40 metres here but I stayed at about 30 metres for most of the first section, with the occasional drop to 35 metres.
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Kelly and one of the bigger gorgonias | This huge gorgonia was near the end of the dive |
The reef has a gentle slope for most of the way but there are some more vertical wall sections. As you go, look out for the many nudibranchs and flat worms that can be seen. There are also lots of anemones. Nearly every anemone has not only clownfish, but various species of shrimp. There are clear ones as well as dancing shrimp.
After 12 minutes we moved up to 25 minutes and after 23 minutes we started a gradual ascent to 15 metres. We reached this at about 30 minutes. The next 18 minutes were spent between 15 and 20 metres and then we ascended to five metres where we spent the last 15 minutes of the dive.
After a while the reef turns to the north-east and then further on to the east. This is the northern end of the reef. If conditions permit, you can head south on the eastern side. Otherwise, ascend up the reef into the shallows to complete your dive.
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Rudman's Phyllidiella - Phyllidiella rudimani | I think that this is Bullock's Hypselodoris - Hypselodoris bullockii Note the eggs being laid |
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Another of the nudibranchs we saw here - I have not yet been able to identify it | A flat worm that I have not been able to identify |
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Another flat worm that I cannot identify | A colourful clear shrimp on an anemone |
I had about 25 to 30 metre visibility and water temperature of 29°C. A very nice dive site.
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