Coral Sea Reef guide

Inspired by the adventures of Hans and Lotte Hass, Bob Halstead learned to dive in 1968. He emigrated to Australia in 1973 and was employed as an Education Officer in the then Territory of Papua and New Guinea teaching Science and Mathematics. By luck he was posted to Milne Bay, one of the best diving areas in the world. With his wife Dina, he gave up school teaching in 1977 and formed PNG's first full time sport diving business. Bob and Dinah set out to systematically explore PNG's underwater paradise, and to study and photograph its marine life.

Their first dive boat was the 10 metre "Solatai" which they used to run camp and dive Scuba Safaris. Later they graduated to a live-aboard dive boat operation with the 20 metre dive charter vessel, the "Telita". Bob has cruised Telita throughout all the coastal regions of PNG and has made over 7,000 dives in the process. He has also discovered several marine species new to science. A fish, Trichonotus halstead, was named after Bob and Dina in 1996. He has won many gold medals in international underwater photographic competitions, including Australasian Underwater Photographer of the year 1983, and has published numerous popular and technical articles on diving and marine life, and six previous books including, in 1999, The Coral Reefs of Papua New Guinea for the European Union, and the Lonely Planet Diving and Snorkeling Guide to PNG, with Tim Rock.

The author now lives in Australia near Cairns, Queensland, and regularly dives the whole Coral Sea region.