21 Oct 2016

Snorkelling in Tropical Waters Amongst Lionfish and Coral

This morning we had the earliest start of the voyage, for the birders at least with the zodiac heading ashore at 0320 for their morning visit to the Lelet Plateau a couple of hours drive to the south of Kavieng.  For the rest of us the day began amongst the islands between New Ireland and New Hanover where a beautifully calm morning was spent on the beach and snorkelling along the abundant coral reef surrounding our small island in paradise.  There were a number of new species spotted for the expedition, including lionfish and squid plus some excellent photographic opportunities with a profusion of both soft and hard corals.

After a slightly early lunch we headed ashore at Kavieng town where we boarded our mini buses to visit several outlying communities plus Bulminoskiy's grave taking pride of place in the European cemetry.  At one vilage the ladies had woven straw hats for each and everyone of us so we were a colouful looking bunch travelling back through town and returning to the ship by zodiac.  As the sun set we cleared the last of the islands separating New Ireland from New Hanover and set course for Rabaul.

Photo credit (from file): N.Russ