Eastern Fields, PNG 2012 - Trip Report
-Picture remote liveaboard diving in unspoiled tropical waters. Channel your inner-Indiana Jones. Consider yourself one of very few that have the opportunity to dive this area each year. Imagine wondrous hard coral gardens, blooming, vibrant soft corals, fully intact sea fans 8-12 feet in diameter, zillions of anthias and basslets in hues of orange, pink, blue and purple, patrolling schools of jacks and barracudas and the e-ticket ride of Carl's Ultimate dive site. Backscatter's expedition to the Eastern Fields aboard the M.V. Golden Dawn experienced all this and much more! The Eastern Fields of Papua New Guinea are sunken atolls approximately 120 nautical miles southwest of Port Moresby in the northern Coral Sea. There is no land in sight, and odds are, you will not see another boat during your entire cruise. Sailing these waters for the past 20 years, the M.V. Golden Dawn, captained by Craig de Wit, expertly knows every inch of this area… how the currents are running and how it affects each dive site. Less than 100 divers have the opportunity to dive this part of Papua New Guinea each year, thus diving the Eastern Fields is not for the beginning recreational diver or the faint of heart. Advanced dive sites and profiles, desirable strong currents, add-in toting around a sizeable underwater camera system, and you have the recipe for adventure diving. During our 14 night stay aboard the M.V. Golden Dawn, we dived many sites around the Port Moresby area and within the Eastern Fields (sloping reefs to sandy bottoms, walls to OMG depths and bombies galore), ending with 2 full days tied up to Carl's Ultimate. Named after Carl Roessler, this site definitely lives up to its reputation. Timing your dives to the incoming current, divers are treated to off-the-hook multitudes of fish. Sometimes better suited to video shooters than still photo shooters (due to the rrripping current), this site was one that guests requested to do over and over! Our extra-special thanks to the M.V. Golden Dawn and her crew for showing us spectacular diving in the Eastern Fields! It was a trip of a lifetime, not to be forgotten any time soon. Planning an underwater photo trip? Backscatter regularly travels to exotic parts of the world for underwater photo expeditions, as well as underwater photo workshops. If you are a beginner to intermediate shooter wanting to improve your underwater photo skills, the workshops are for you. The underwater photo expeditions are small group trips geared toward the serious shooter, with teaching based on individual interest. Guided by their expert staff, you are sure to have a memorable trip whether it's a workshop or expedition. Check out our travel line-up! Looking forward to seeing you under the waves!
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