DIVE LOG JUNE 2025 issue 412

Battle of Biak. Our final day was spent in Biak before catching a charter flight back to Darwin. Biak is not just a place of natural beauty; it also holds significant historical importance, particularly from WWII. The Battle of Biak was a pivotal part of the New Guinea campaign. The battle began in May 1944 when American forces launched Operation Horlicks with the objective of capturing the airfields on Biak Island. The battle was marked by fierce and protracted fighting, with American forces encountering determined Japanese resistance. The ultimate American victory in the Battle of Biak played a crucial role in securing the northern coast of

duration of the dive let alone snorkelling with them. During our two days spent in Kwatisore Bay we had a total of 5.5 hours in the water with them. At any one time there was a minimum of three and maximum of seven Whale Sharks with us - the whole time. They were often not more than a metre or two away. On occasion, we had to move quickly to allow them to glide by missing us by millimetres. It has recently been discovered that Sailfish, Marlins and other pelagics can be found down the ropes that anchor the bagans to the seabed, at depths of more than 40m, waiting for the detritus from the bagans that the whale sharks miss. Auri Atolls. After two days with the whale sharks, we moved north to the Auri Atolls and the dive sites of Mange’s Drop, a wall dive, and Ange’s Hollow, a slope leading down to coral outcrops on a sandy bottom. Both these sites offer great diving and plenty of shark action including Black Tip, White Tip, Silver Tip and Grey Reef Sharks. There were turtles as well, along with a good spread of macro life including Orangutan Crabs, Crinoid Shrimps, plenty of Nudibranchs and the odd octopus. An added bonus was snorkelling on three ditched WWII American P-38 fighter bombers in about 2m of water only 20m off Rouw Island. Our final dive destination, before finishing back at Biak, was at Pulau Sewandeh and Secret Garden, Holly’s Dog Leg and Cracker Barrel dive sites. Great drift dives in 30m+ visibility along walls and coral slopes. More sharks and macro life to finish off our diving.

Remains of a WWII American P-38 fighter plane

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Dive Log Australasia #412 June ‘25

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