Searching For The Past In The World War II Wrecks Of Papua New Guinea
Lloyd Woo eases a motorboat through the clear blue waters of the Bismarck Sea in the southwestern Pacific, to the edge of a coral reef. When he sights a specific cluster of coconut palms on the shore of one of Papua New Guinea's smattering of northern islands, he cuts off the engine. He turns to a couple of visiting scuba divers, tugging on fins and fiddling with their masks, and explains how to find the World War II-era airplane below.
"Everything's still intact, the propeller's still there, the double wings," he explains. "You get to about 25, 26 meters [85 feet], you'll meet the plane."
The Second World War ended 73 years ago, but history can feel very much alive in this corner of the South Pacific. Invaded and used as a Japanese military base in 1942, the Bay of Rabaul, onThat legacy now helps fuel a modest tourism industry, as visitors from all over the world come to scuba dive around the wrecks.
