Dive Review of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Paradise Sport in
Papua New Guinea/Milne Bay

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Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Paradise Sport, Dec, 2006, by Janet & Bob Czapski, MI, USA ( Contributor 14 reports with 2 Helpful votes). Report 3504.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	This leg of our adventure didn't start out well because AirNuigini sold our seats while we were clearing PNG Immigration! Our connecting flight from Port Moresby to Gurney Airport in Alotau left without ten of the 11 of us and AG put us up in the Airport Hotel for the night! We were on the 6:30 a.m. flight the next morning and arrived in Alotau the next morning to be met & told that the boat had departed without us! Mike Ball's ground rep made arrangements to "cart" us over to the other side of Alotau...it was 2-1/2 hours of grueling roads with spectacular scenery. He was supposedly in communication with the boat and they were going to pick us up at "Point A". When we arrived there, no boat. After further communication, we were advised that we were to be taken a beach area where the Tawali boat would pick us up and take us to the resort where the Paradise Sport would meet us....after waiting on a beautiful beach for over an hour, it was determined that the Tawali boat had gone to "Point B" rather than this beach we were waiting at! We had to drive to that dock area to get a pick-up! It was a 20 minute boat ride from there to Tawali where we were served cool beverages while we waited for the Paradise Sport to arrive. Apparently, it's Mike Ball's company policy to NOT wait for guests to arrive (although we found out that the NEXT week, they waited for several guests whose flight from Brisbane to POM was delayed). The boat had sailed with one of my group members and five Polish guests...leaving behind TEN group members! It wasn't a great start to the week.... Diving commenced at Dinah's Beach which is one of the premier sites in Milne Bay; we moved on to Kathy's Corner and other "muck" sites. We did a few open water bommie dives, one of which revealed a huge green/black rhinopia! The B-17 bomber dive was enjoyed by all those who did it and the Boga Boga Village visit is always a high spot in a Milne Bay trip. Most of the diving is done directly from the back of the boat and all you had to come up for was a refill of air/Nitrox and fresh camera batteries! The Paradise Sport was doing its last few charters in Papua New Guinea before the boat was sold. It was apparent from the Captain & Cruise Director's attitudes that they were just "biding their time". The chef was great, food was fantastic and the rest of the crew were friendly & competent. Overall, Milne Bay was as good as we remembered it; next time we'll visit it on a smaller, more intimate boat!
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Thailand, Bali-Komodo, Raja Ampat, Lembeh Straits, Malaysia, PNG, Solomon Islands, Caribbean
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm, currents, noCurrents
Water Temp	82-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No restrictions except on B-17 bomber dive.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	None	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Camera storage area is the top shelf behind the diver's station. Secondary shelves hold peripheral gear. Charging area was separate and plentiful. Cameras were handled very well by the crew. If you were looking for specific "critters" you could ask one of the dive guides to take you right to it! They also placed sticks in the sand where unique critters had been spotted....

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Dive Review of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Paradise Sport in Papua New Guinea/Milne Bay

Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Paradise Sport, Dec, 2006,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Mike Ball Dive Expeditions/Paradise Sport in
Papua New Guinea/Milne Bay