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Dive Review of MV Golden Dawn, Dolphin Enterprises in
Papua New Guinea/Manus to Wewak Live Aboard

MV Golden Dawn, Dolphin Enterprises, Jul, 2006,

by Julia DeMartini, Hawaii, USA (Reviewer Reviewer 3 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 3025.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 5 stars Food 4 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments Wonderful parts:
Great group of 7 guest divers, all but one are repeat and everyone wanted or plan to return for another excursion. Everyone got along well, are helpful and the meals are full of good cheer and laughter. The De Wit brothers, Craig and Adrian, are the tops with regard to leading dives and knowledge of the sites. Had dived with Craig De Wit in 1994 on the MV Golden Dawn at Eastern Fields. Now, 12 years later his love of the ocean and exuberance have not diminished! Both would 'rub the bottle' to gather sharks of many kinds. We wanted some muck diving and were given the opportunity to find our own critters at new sites. They would guide and show us very 'weird' nudibranches, etc. at their known sites. Alway some exploratory dives on the Golden Dawn--part of the excitement.

Not so good parts:

Large area of the Western Bismarck sea is covered, and Craig took us to the best possible sites. But the overnight crossings could be rough and bouncy, thus, sleep loss. Some sites appeared to have been poached by nearby Asian fishermen. Papua New Guinea does not have the resource to police these activities. But we were still able to see a good number of good size sharks, rays and other pelagics, as well as nervous big groupers of all kinds, including hugh Queensland groupers. Craig works hard to rally local villagers to help in policing the area. We have done live aboards in six different regions of PNG, and plan to return. The boat captain, who is also the proprietor on board, makes a world of difference in these adventures.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Louisades Archipelago, Papua New Guinea in November 2005, Big Island of Hawaii 1990-2006, Indonesia 1997-2003, other Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Carribean and Indopacific destinations
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, rainy, cloudy Seas calm, surge
Water Temp 82-85°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-150 Ft/ 9-46 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 4 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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