Wewak is a sleepy tropical town, with a small hotel and an airport. Its attraction stems from its function as gateway to visit the mighty Sepik river and its ancient cultures, or to board a liveaboard dive cruise.

The Hermit Islands and the Ninigo Group have some of PNG's most excellent diving as has been documented on video and in a book through Cousteaus cruise in 1988 ("Cousteaus Papua New Guinea Journey").

The area is one of the most remote parts in PNG. Currently there is one option to dive here, with the live aboard vessel "The Golden Dawn".

The water temperature is warm throughout the year due to the proximity to the equator. Isolated island groups, atolls and a rich WWII history are the features of cruises that start up here.

Best month of the year to dive these waters are between June and September. Visibility is 90 feet plus, but on good days you can even experience 200 feet. Water Temperatures are around 30 C (86 F), so a lycra or very thin neoprene suit will be enough.

The air temperatures are fairly moderate, given that you are close to the Equator. A constant breeze holds temperatures down at a comfortable 30 C (86F).

Divers should be experienced to fully enjoy the diving in this region.

How To Get There

Wewak is at the northern shore of PNG's main island and its only access is by sea or air. Flying time from Port Moresby is approx 100 minutes. Wewak is accessed by daily flights from Madang, Mt. Hagen and Port Moresby on Air Niugini F28 services.

Diving

There is no land based dive operator in the area. The only way to dive is onboard live aboard vessel "Golden Dawn". She offers dive trips in this area between June and September each year.

Expect some exciting drift dives and a bit of wreck diving as well. Around Ninigo and Hermit Islands you can experience atoll style diving in calm, warm water with great visibility. Lots of big pelagic fish and untouched reefs in clear water.

  There is a lot of variety in diving on the northern excursions. The cruise visits very remote Islands, which have almost no contact to the life on the main island. They can only be accessed by boat and life is pretty much like it has been for the last hundred years.

Large pods of Orcas are coming to this area regularly during August and September. Of course dives with Orcas cannot be guaranteed, as nothing is 100% predictable in nature, but the chances for Orca-spotting is there. Additionally chances are even better for Dolphins. Everyone loves to swim with a pod of a hundred Dolphins at a site called Dolphin Pass. Close to one reef near Hermit Islands is a channel which is home to a family of approximately 10 dolphins. Like the ones in Honduras they are very curious to check out divers. Enjoy!

Around Ninigo and Hermit Islands one finds a lot of variety of big marine creatures like sharks and rays. All kinds of rays are common here, such as Eagle Rays, Bull Rays, Mobilat Rays, and Manta Rays.

At the start or end of the cruise you will have the opportunity to dive the wreck of "India Maru", a legendary Japanese cargo ship which sank off Wewak during WWII.

For many years its location was unknown. It was thought that the "India Maru" had the entire gold of the British Crown on board, which was taken by the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. There was a lot of excitement when the first divers explored the wreck in late eighties.

No gold was found. It is however a beautiful dive site as the old steel blends in with the new structures built by the coral during the past 50 years. It's a great dive even for those divers who usually are not enthusiastic about wrecks. Many species of scorpion fish can be found here, as well as ghost pipefish and frogfish.

Other Activities

The small coastal town of Wewak is on the northern shore of PNG's main island. Wewak is a good starting point for excursions along the mighty Sepik River with its ancient culture famous for magnificent wood carvings.

About 425 000 people live on and close to the shore of the mighty Sepik River, one of the great rivers of the world. The Sepik River is to PNG what the Amazon River is to South America. The people on the Sepik River live a very secluded subsistance live, dominated by their ancient believes and cultures.

The artefacts produced by these people are amongst the most beautiful in PNG. The spirit houses (Haus Tambaran) in the Sepik villages are fascinating, as are the many different cultures in the area.

Live Aboard Vessels

• Golden Dawn

Accommodation

• Karawari Lodge, Karawari River