Deka Deka, PNG

By Christopher Crowley (Adapted from "passport to diving the world")

Well Known For :

The dive spot to witness rare marine critters.

Where else can you watch a blue ring octopus climb onto the back of a rare Ambon scorpionfish (pictured above)? The answer is Deka Deka, near Samurai Island at the southern tip of Milne Bay, where even the unexpected is expected with a who's who of rare critters: two pairs of rare Ambon scorpionfish with ears as big as Bugs Bunny; finger dragonets; robust ghost pipefish; spotted seahorses; various pipefish; and a blacksaddle snake eel. On another dive we concentrated on the flamboyant cuttlefish, white-V octopus, the aforementioned blue ring octopus, several nudibranch species, and bubble shells. Want more? I certainly did, and came away with photos of imperial shrimps, squat shrimps, mantis shrimps, swimming crabs, zebra crabs, orangutan crabs, box crabs, and - challenging you to spot them - a plethora of decorator crabs. Who needs several sites to visit in the last week of life? Just give me Deka Deka.

(Ok enough with the stories, I'm itchin' for a dive)