Dive Review of MV Golden Dawn in
Papua New Guinea/Wewak to Madang

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MV Golden Dawn, Aug, 2005, by Clinton Bauder, CA, USA . Report 1902.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Excellent trip, worth the expense and travel hassle to go to PNG (and that's saying quite a bit). Besides the 3 in my group there were only 2 other divers. Evidently this part of PNG doesn't yet have the reputation of some of the other areas. Not sure why this is as the diving was flat out fantastic. Amazing hard corals, by far the best and healthiest I've ever seen. Lots of sharks (Grey Reef, Whitetip Reef, Blacktip, Java, Silvertip, Bull and Scalloped Hammerheads) though usually just far enough away that we had trouble getting good pictures. Several turtles including one dive where a large green spent the whold dive with us. Maybe not so many of the weird muck diving kind of critters but we did see a leaf scorpionfish, a demon stinger and quite a few crocodile flatheads. Cuttlefish and lionfish on most dives. We dove quite a few wrecks, mostly from WWII including several Japanese Marus and a B25. The Golden Dawn in a very nice boat and Captain Crag de Wit is an excellent and enthusiatic host. Food was good enough that I gained about 5 pounds even doing 5 long dives a day, often in strong currents. Nitrox is now filled via a membrane system and helium is availabe via prior request. Weather was bit rough by tropical standards though this didn't really affect the diving much. Visibility wasn't incredible but was usually a perfectly reasonable 80 feet or so. Dives tended to be relatively advanced so this might not be an itinerary for a rank beginner but is fine for a competent diver. Travel to PNG is not for the faint of heart or light of wallet. Leave time at the beginning of your itineary in case your baggage doesn't make the same flights as you do. Highly recommended.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	California, British Columbia, Alaska, Baja, Revillagigedos, Cocos, Galapagos, Belize, Bonaire, Palau, Chuuk, PNG (Milne Bay)
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	82-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	4
Water Visibility	30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None other than to use common sense
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Camera table is a bit small but otherwise fine. Plenty of room for chargers both in the salon and the cabins. TVs that worked with both NTSC and PAL and even a digital projector.

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Dive Review of MV Golden Dawn in Papua New Guinea/Wewak to Madang

MV Golden Dawn, Aug, 2005,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of MV Golden Dawn in
Papua New Guinea/Wewak to Madang