Scuba Diving in Kavieng & New Ireland – Pelagic & Walls

About Kavieng & New Ireland – Pelagic & Walls

Kavieng, at the northern tip of New Ireland, is a pelagic powerhouse where world-class seamounts, thundering channel drifts, and lush soft-coral walls meet pristine coral gardens and black-sand macro sites. Echuca Patch and Planet Rock are legendary pinnacles where dogtooth tuna, barracuda, grey and silvertip sharks, and occasional manta rays and whale sharks swirl in vortexes of life, while Albatross Passage funnels enormous schools of jacks, trevally, and eagle rays through a soft-coral corridor. Closer in, Tatawa Reef and the Tsoi Island Bommies reward macro and reef lovers, Baudisson Bay offers calm mangrove muck diving for seahorses and pipefish, and the Kavieng Wrecks add WWII history. North Cape's sheer wall and the remote Blupblup and Manus Island sites extend the frontier for experienced divers and liveaboards.

Highlights

• ✓Echuca Patch: a world-class pelagic seamount with dogtooth tuna, barracuda, and grey reef sharks.
• ✓Albatross Passage: a strong-current channel drift with huge schools of jacks, trevally, and eagle rays.
• ✓Planet Rock: a spectacular pinnacle with vortexes of jacks, barracuda, tuna, and occasional hammerheads.
• ✓Baudisson Bay: calm lagoon muck diving for seahorses, pipefish, and training dives.
• ✓Kavieng Wrecks: a US Navy patrol boat, a Zero fighter, and a Japanese patrol boat, all coral-encrusted.

Getting There

Kavieng is reached by domestic flight from Port Moresby, with some connections via Rabaul or Kokopo. Dive boats depart the island resorts and town wharf for Echuca Patch, Albatross Passage, and the nearer reefs, while North Cape, Blupblup, and Manus are longer runs best done on a liveaboard. The compact geography means most signature sites are within an hour of the bases.