Michael McFadyen's Scuba Diving - North Efate, Vanuatu
As I have indicated in other articles on Vanuatu, there is much more diving in Vanuatu than the SS President Coolidge. In coming months I will detail some of the better dives that you can do in Vila and Santo.
The main island of the country is Efate which contains the capital of Port Vila. Before World War 2, the main town was on the northern side of the island at Port Havannah Harbour. Named by Captain John Erskine in 1849 after his ship HMS Havannah, the Port was the major centre of activity on Efate during the war. Remnants of the war remain, buildings, a half-track vehicle and a water reservoir can be found and below the water you can see the remains of an anti-submarine net across one entrance to the harbour and several aircraft, including a Corsair.
Hat Island is located on the western end of Port Havannah Harbour. We dived at the western end of the island where the site consists of three coral bommies and a wall. Unfortunately, we encountered a very strong current that made the first third of the dive a bit hard. Despite this, the dive was very good. Depth ranges from 4 to 40 metres. Giant gorgonias, soft and hard corals were found in large numbers. There is very good snorkelling for non-divers here.
Highly recommended for all divers. You can do this dive with Golden Wing.
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