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WINTER 2012
y bookshelf is filled with an
eclectic selection of titles — fish
identification books, photographic
and software instruction manuals,
maps, novels, guidebooks and the
chronicles of history’s great explorers.
But it is my collection of handwritten dive and
travel journals I cherish the most. Filling the
pages of these dog-eared diaries are my own
words and crude little sketches chronicling 27
dive trips to the most memorable place on the
planet: Papua New Guinea.
After traveling back and forth to this remote
island nation for more than two decades, Papua
New Guinea (PNG) has become a second home
to me. I’ve built strong friendships with dive
operators and kind, gracious villagers. With their
help, I’ve had the opportunity and support to dive
many of the country’s stunning coastal regions.
Each time I return, I have to adjust my ears to
the wondrous words spoken in fast Tok Pisin, an
English-based creole that serves as the country’s
lingua franca. Moning tru means “good morning,”
and tenk yu tru puts a special twist on “thank
you.” But best of all are the words for scuba dive:
swim aninit long sol wara translates into “swim
underneath deep salt water.”
Text and Photos by
Michele Westmorland
Spinecheek anemonefish (Premnas biaculeatus) in bubbletip
anemone (Entacmaea quadtricolor), Mocklin One Reef,
Waterfall Bay, New Britain
of Papua New Guinea
twenty Years
of Discovery
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12/21/11