New Britain Diving Holidays
Within the coral triangle, the centre of marine biodiversity which has the highest diversity of tropical fish and coral in the world, are the waters of New Britain. Diverse and colourful corals are home to a variety of marine creatures including fish, crustaceans and invertebrates. Schools of barracuda, tuna and jacks are resident at many of the reefs and an array of shark species are regularly sighted, particularly on the offshore reefs.
Walindi is surrounded by extraordinarily rich reefs. At Kimbe Bay, an astonishing 413 species of hard coral were counted on a recent coral count survey which is over half the total world species in one Bay. This statistic makes Kimbe Bay the "Coral Capital of the World" and what's more, this is in conjunction with over 900 species of fish having been recorded, which will continue to grow as more research is done.
To the north west of Kimbe Bay, is a remote group of islands known as the Witu Islands, home to a variety of diving types. The islands and reef are of volcanic origin and rise from very deep water: Garove Harbour is actually a submerged volcanic crater. Most of the reefs are subject to nutrient rich currents frequently passing by which results in an abundance of life. At Lama Shoals, a world renowned sea mount rising to within 15 feet of the surface from the surrounding deep waters, you are likely to be surrounded by schools of pelagic fish including barracuda and trevally making for an extremely exciting dive.
To the north east of Kimbe, is a series of offshore reefs, which are the sunken remains of a huge extinct volcanic caldera. Father's reefs have fascinating topography with swim throughs and arches decorated with soft corals and other sea life. Due to their offshore nature, these reefs attract many pelagic species including shark (such as hammerheads and silvertips!), tuna, barracuda, turtles and rays, which all come in to feed off the reef fish and other invertebrate species that are resident here.
With such huge variety in the diving and marine life there is something for every diver's preference and it would be very difficult to get bored with all this at your fingertips!