Naturaldog
Registered
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 5
Where and when: March 7-15, 2012, two days of land-based diving from the Walindi Resort on Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea, followed by five days/six nights aboard the MV Febrina
Getting there and back from New England: My wife and I blew the last of our freq-flier miles on Qantas business class seats, NYC-LAX-Brisbane. We had been trying for years, literally, to get award tickets to Australia using our AA miles -- finally hit the jackpot by calling at 3 AM, eleven months in advance. The American Airlines phone agents report that Qantas releases a couple of seats at a time to their code-share partners once in a while, and these seats are typically snapped up in about 27 seconds. Two nights in Brisbane -- a pleasant-enough city, but with hotel, dining and bar prices that have to be seen to be believed. Sit down at an unremarkable bar, order two beers and that's $18 AUS, thank you very much. And you're not exactly at a sidewalk cafe on the Champs-Elysees -- Brisbane is an ordinary city at best. Then a three-hour flight to Port Moresby on Virgin Australia, followed by a 90-minute hop on an Air Nuigini Dash-8 to Hoskins (beware the Hoskins "airport" -- no toilet facilities of any kind), followed by a 50-minute van ride to the Walindi Resort on Kimbe Bay, on the north shore of PNG's island of New Britain.
The Walindi Resort: 20 comfortable bungalows on the shore, in a teeming rainforest in the middle of nowhere. This is not Club Med or Sandals -- it's a modest, family-run hotel with no frills, for divers and bird watchers only -- there is no beach to speak of, and land-based activities are only for those who truly care. That said, I have great respect for what Walindi's owners have accomplished here against all odds. I can only imagine the challenges involved in developing and operating a resort in this location. Something breaks and there is no Home Depot -- they have to order parts from Japan, the US, AUS, etc. And I got the impression that dealing with local politics requires a pitch-perfect touch and ear. Max, the founder, together with his charming daughter-in-law Emma and his son Shane, pull it off.
As for the land-based diving in Kimbe Bay from Walindi's dock: very good, but be prepared to bang your way out in an aluminum skiff for 30-45 minutes to get to the better dive sites. Very uncomfortable, the same as any skiff diving anywhere in the world, I guess.
The MV Febrina Live-aboard: A thoroughly enjoyable 5 days -- not just a first-rate dive experience but one of our all-time travel highlights, and my wife and I have been traveling worldwide for more than 30 years. The boat itself is on the small side, but very stable (PNG waters tend to be calm anyway, so this isn't much of an issue). Space is organized efficiently -- we never felt crowded or cramped. There are 8 crew members for a maximum of 12 divers. Head divemasters Josie and Digger are gracious and knowledgeable -- both have 10+ years experience in PNG waters (Digger would have 20,000+ dives in his log book, if he kept a log book). The kitchen is excellent and its staff is attentive and friendly but not obsequious. Staterooms are small but comfortable, and all have private bathrooms with shower, including the two single-bed accommodations (room tip for couples: Go for cabin #3 or #4, with perpendicular bunk beds and an all-important porthole to let in some natural light). As for Captain Alan Raabe: He lives up to his legend. He's as mad as a hatter in all the best ways (think: Keith Richards/Keith Moon/Bill Maher, all in one, with integrity and class), but he runs a tight-as-a-drum ship, and I would wager that he knows that sea better than any one alive. And his actions over the years demonstrate his deep commitment to the preservation of the local underwater ecology and the health of the PNG reef system -- he has personally installed more than 300 permanent moorings on the best dive sites to protect reefs from future anchor damage.
Oh, almost forgot, the diving was top-notch. We spent most of our time at Father's Reef -- a four-hour steam from Walindi. We are not experienced divers, so I'll leave to others the detailed technical descriptions, but I am qualified to say this: It was far and away the best diving we have enjoyed to date. Very good visibility despite heavy rains inland, gorgeous hard and soft coral, sharks and barracuda galore, and blizzards of colorful smaller fish of all descriptions. A real treat.
Getting there and back from New England: My wife and I blew the last of our freq-flier miles on Qantas business class seats, NYC-LAX-Brisbane. We had been trying for years, literally, to get award tickets to Australia using our AA miles -- finally hit the jackpot by calling at 3 AM, eleven months in advance. The American Airlines phone agents report that Qantas releases a couple of seats at a time to their code-share partners once in a while, and these seats are typically snapped up in about 27 seconds. Two nights in Brisbane -- a pleasant-enough city, but with hotel, dining and bar prices that have to be seen to be believed. Sit down at an unremarkable bar, order two beers and that's $18 AUS, thank you very much. And you're not exactly at a sidewalk cafe on the Champs-Elysees -- Brisbane is an ordinary city at best. Then a three-hour flight to Port Moresby on Virgin Australia, followed by a 90-minute hop on an Air Nuigini Dash-8 to Hoskins (beware the Hoskins "airport" -- no toilet facilities of any kind), followed by a 50-minute van ride to the Walindi Resort on Kimbe Bay, on the north shore of PNG's island of New Britain.
The Walindi Resort: 20 comfortable bungalows on the shore, in a teeming rainforest in the middle of nowhere. This is not Club Med or Sandals -- it's a modest, family-run hotel with no frills, for divers and bird watchers only -- there is no beach to speak of, and land-based activities are only for those who truly care. That said, I have great respect for what Walindi's owners have accomplished here against all odds. I can only imagine the challenges involved in developing and operating a resort in this location. Something breaks and there is no Home Depot -- they have to order parts from Japan, the US, AUS, etc. And I got the impression that dealing with local politics requires a pitch-perfect touch and ear. Max, the founder, together with his charming daughter-in-law Emma and his son Shane, pull it off.
As for the land-based diving in Kimbe Bay from Walindi's dock: very good, but be prepared to bang your way out in an aluminum skiff for 30-45 minutes to get to the better dive sites. Very uncomfortable, the same as any skiff diving anywhere in the world, I guess.
The MV Febrina Live-aboard: A thoroughly enjoyable 5 days -- not just a first-rate dive experience but one of our all-time travel highlights, and my wife and I have been traveling worldwide for more than 30 years. The boat itself is on the small side, but very stable (PNG waters tend to be calm anyway, so this isn't much of an issue). Space is organized efficiently -- we never felt crowded or cramped. There are 8 crew members for a maximum of 12 divers. Head divemasters Josie and Digger are gracious and knowledgeable -- both have 10+ years experience in PNG waters (Digger would have 20,000+ dives in his log book, if he kept a log book). The kitchen is excellent and its staff is attentive and friendly but not obsequious. Staterooms are small but comfortable, and all have private bathrooms with shower, including the two single-bed accommodations (room tip for couples: Go for cabin #3 or #4, with perpendicular bunk beds and an all-important porthole to let in some natural light). As for Captain Alan Raabe: He lives up to his legend. He's as mad as a hatter in all the best ways (think: Keith Richards/Keith Moon/Bill Maher, all in one, with integrity and class), but he runs a tight-as-a-drum ship, and I would wager that he knows that sea better than any one alive. And his actions over the years demonstrate his deep commitment to the preservation of the local underwater ecology and the health of the PNG reef system -- he has personally installed more than 300 permanent moorings on the best dive sites to protect reefs from future anchor damage.
Oh, almost forgot, the diving was top-notch. We spent most of our time at Father's Reef -- a four-hour steam from Walindi. We are not experienced divers, so I'll leave to others the detailed technical descriptions, but I am qualified to say this: It was far and away the best diving we have enjoyed to date. Very good visibility despite heavy rains inland, gorgeous hard and soft coral, sharks and barracuda galore, and blizzards of colorful smaller fish of all descriptions. A real treat.
Last edited:
