Niugini Dive Adventures - Papua New Guinea




	Niugini Dive Adventures Papua New Guinea

Hollis Reef (East Cape)

Location

The Hollis Reef bank is just on the outside of the western side of Egum atoll, a hundred miles or so from Normanby Island. As it is in the open sea with no shelter, it can only be reached when the water is calm.

The bank rises from a seabed at 600 metres to 6 metres below the water surface; the walls drop fairly steeply towards the bottom. All the walls are interesting and rich in vegetation but the south-east one is definitely the most lush.

Dive

You dive directly from the MTS Discoverer moored above the bank, rarely visited by divers as it is quite far from the coast. The water is crystal-clear and there is a slight current. Swim to the edge of the wall that descends without end into the blue depths. As you go you will be accompanied by small white-finned sharks that approach to satisfy their curiosity . Proceed and you will enter a thick forest of gorgonians and small alcyonarians.

Below 30 metres you may encounter grey sharks that will maintain their distance. In 1988 Bob Halstead and his wife Dinah accompanied Ron and Valerie Taylor on this bank for a shark feeding experiment.

The main feature of this dive is the forest of yellow and red gorgonians, some truly remarkable in extension that covers the south-east wall.

Dimensions, forms, colours and number are amazing but their singularity lies in the fact that they grow horizontally not vertically as is the norm (probably because the wall is so sheer or perhaps the high waves and rough sea have made them change direction).

There are also barrel sponges, whip corals and alcyonarians; humphead wrasse can be spotted swimming in circles above the gorgonians, as too various species of gregarious fish. Large anemones are also to be found with their clownfish and cowrie concealed beneath their shell.

At the top of the bank there are low formations of hard corals with anthias swimming through them and, if you look carefully, you will also see the odd blenny peeking out of its den.

There is no night diving at Hollis Reef. The bank is a distance from the coast and offers no shelter so the MTS Discoverer is moored inside the atoll.

This dive is suitable for all levels of experience.