Page 358 - Melanesia

STAR OF RUSSIA: There are several wreck America’s military presence in the region channel between Santo Island and Aore
dives in Port Vila’s bay, including the 1874 during World War II. Island collapsed.
Star of Russia, which rests in 36 meters of
water. TUTUBA POINT: boasts exceptional vis- THE CATHEDRAL - At Pango Point outside of
ibility, making it a most enjoyable experi- Port Vila, drop to the bottom of a 20-metre
TUI TAWATE: a well-known New Zealand ence to discover its chasms, caves and rock wall to enter Cathedral Cave, check
vessel involved in the oil savage efforts on swim-throughs, soft and hard coral, and an out its round room, and exit to drift before
the SS President Coolidge, has made a sand abundance of colorful reef creatures and ascending, along the spectacular reef wall,
flat and beyond, a coral garden, her eternal tropical fish. awash with colorful sea life, including “elec-
resting place, surrounded forever by teem- tric” phosphorous clams.
ing fish life. FANTASTIC: The great gorgonian fan corals
and schools of fish bring color and move- HIDEAWAY ISLAND MARINE PARK: A
MILLION DOLLAR POINT: One of the most ment to the scene. Spanish dancers and protected underwater sanctuary, Mele
unique dive sites in the world, Million Dol- dog tooth tuna also present. Reef Marine Sanctuary in Hideaway Island
lar Point is a mass of vehicles and equip- Marine Park boasts the world’s only under-
ment used and then dumped during WWII. Sib Nets: is a unique dive site, featuring gor- water post office. Just 50 meters from the
geous displays of hard coral and gorgonian shore, at a depth of 3 meters.
AORE PLANE: a two-seater spy plane rests in fans in a reef that has been growing since
the reef, and all around it lies ammunition, the end of the Second World War, when the
glass Coca Cola bottles and all the signs of chain nets that ran along the length of the