Rwhiting
Contributor
This was by far the best diving vacation Ive ever done. By the second dive I had crossed off most of what I had on my wish list. By the end of the week I ran out of superlatives. Tawali offers an incredible combination of pristine Indo-Pacific diving with lots of variety walls, bommies, muck, drift, a great house reef you name it. Sightings ran the gamut from squadrons of devil fish (like small mantas) and barracudas, hammerheads and Napoleon Wrasse to incredible small critters Ghost Pipefish, pygmy seahorses, myriad nudibranchs, tiny crabs and shrimps sometimes one on top of another. There were times the fish were so thick it was hard to see coral, and finding a spot with no life to put down a finger to examine something for a while was nearly impossible. The underwater landscapes were as stunningly colorful and beautiful as any pictures Ive seen or could imagine.
I booked 6 nights at Tawali as an add-on to a trip visiting relatives in Melbourne. Bettina at DiversionOz could not have been more helpful. I usually book independently, but the connections, and dealing with Air Nuigini get complicated, so I used an agent and was very glad I did every connection went off without a hitch, and I felt much more confident with the prep I received from DiversionOz as well as several SB contributors Penelopypants to name one who was very helpful.
Flew Brisbane/Port Moresby/Alotau on Air Niugini. Perfect connections - no delays, no lost luggage etc. I was met at the Alotau airport by Morris, the resort marine engineer/driver. The scenic ride along the coast and through the rainforest and native villages to the dock for the last leg of the transfer took about 1 ½ hours. A small boat was there to meet me for the 10 minute ride to the Tawali dock. I arrived a little after 7:00 PM and the excellent onsite managers, Bob and Barbara, were there to meet me. I was just in time for dinner.
I was fortunate in that the there were only 4 other divers at the resort. 2 gentlemen from Tokyo and a Polish couple. For the most part, the Japanese divers dove on separate boats from myself and the Polish couple. The dive routine was either 3 tanks with lunch on board, or 2 tanks, back to the resort for lunch, and 2 more tanks. The dive crews were very flexible a daily recommendation was made by Bob where to go, but really whatever we asked for we could do as many tanks daily as our computers would allow. Night dives were available as often as desired, and the house reef offered interesting and almost unlimited bottom time. Most of the trips were from 5 30 minutes from the resort, with the exception of a magical 3 tank trip across the channel to dive near Normanby Island that took about 90 minutes to reach. Dive guides Junior, Jacob, Angie and Roi were outstanding. Superb knowledge of the reefs, keen eyes for finding critters, friendly, helpful everything you could ask for. I did 4 dives a day except for the day I did a night dive when I did 5.
The resort itself is beautiful and nicely situated on a bluff overlooking Milne bay. Lots of native woods, carvings and crafts everywhere. Rooms are very spacious, with private balconies overlooking the lagoon. There is friendly, helpful staff everywhere. The daily meal routine is breakfast at 7:00 (coffee and tea available at 6 and in-room), lunch at Noon, dinner at 7:00. The food was much better than most resorts Ive been to, and the day boat lunches were by far the best Ive ever had. The chef started with a different soup every night all delicious. Dinner and breakfast are served buffet style, with lots of variety dinner offered chicken, pork, veggies, breads, potatoes, fantastic fresh fruit (surprisingly little fish) and dessert. Vegetarian dishes were also available not just an offer to eat more bread and potatoes. Breakfast had fresh bread for toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, cereals, fruit, and often French toast or pancakes.
The only negatives to report were that my rental regulator occasionally went into free flow when testing the purge valve (fixed quickly), and the small dive boats were not especially comfortable a small seat with room for 2 in front of the wheel house other divers sit on the edge of the boat to and from the sites. If there were more divers, we would have spent more time on the larger boats (we were on one for the trip to Normanby) which are huge by comparison. Spacious decks, lots of seating, on-board head, big camera/gear table etc. I was more than happy to trade a little discomfort for the small group and fuel savings.
In short, Tawali exceeded my already very high expectations. I especially liked diving as much as on a liveaboard, but able to tumble into your room for a quick hot shower or nap whenever you felt the urge. The diving was incredible, varied, and unconstrained (except by your computer), the resort beautiful, clean and comfortable and all the people exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and supportive. Tawali is not inexpensive either to get to, or to stay at, but in my opinion offers an outstanding value. It was a privilege to experience such a fantastic place and people. Truly a trip of a lifetime.
I booked 6 nights at Tawali as an add-on to a trip visiting relatives in Melbourne. Bettina at DiversionOz could not have been more helpful. I usually book independently, but the connections, and dealing with Air Nuigini get complicated, so I used an agent and was very glad I did every connection went off without a hitch, and I felt much more confident with the prep I received from DiversionOz as well as several SB contributors Penelopypants to name one who was very helpful.
Flew Brisbane/Port Moresby/Alotau on Air Niugini. Perfect connections - no delays, no lost luggage etc. I was met at the Alotau airport by Morris, the resort marine engineer/driver. The scenic ride along the coast and through the rainforest and native villages to the dock for the last leg of the transfer took about 1 ½ hours. A small boat was there to meet me for the 10 minute ride to the Tawali dock. I arrived a little after 7:00 PM and the excellent onsite managers, Bob and Barbara, were there to meet me. I was just in time for dinner.
I was fortunate in that the there were only 4 other divers at the resort. 2 gentlemen from Tokyo and a Polish couple. For the most part, the Japanese divers dove on separate boats from myself and the Polish couple. The dive routine was either 3 tanks with lunch on board, or 2 tanks, back to the resort for lunch, and 2 more tanks. The dive crews were very flexible a daily recommendation was made by Bob where to go, but really whatever we asked for we could do as many tanks daily as our computers would allow. Night dives were available as often as desired, and the house reef offered interesting and almost unlimited bottom time. Most of the trips were from 5 30 minutes from the resort, with the exception of a magical 3 tank trip across the channel to dive near Normanby Island that took about 90 minutes to reach. Dive guides Junior, Jacob, Angie and Roi were outstanding. Superb knowledge of the reefs, keen eyes for finding critters, friendly, helpful everything you could ask for. I did 4 dives a day except for the day I did a night dive when I did 5.
The resort itself is beautiful and nicely situated on a bluff overlooking Milne bay. Lots of native woods, carvings and crafts everywhere. Rooms are very spacious, with private balconies overlooking the lagoon. There is friendly, helpful staff everywhere. The daily meal routine is breakfast at 7:00 (coffee and tea available at 6 and in-room), lunch at Noon, dinner at 7:00. The food was much better than most resorts Ive been to, and the day boat lunches were by far the best Ive ever had. The chef started with a different soup every night all delicious. Dinner and breakfast are served buffet style, with lots of variety dinner offered chicken, pork, veggies, breads, potatoes, fantastic fresh fruit (surprisingly little fish) and dessert. Vegetarian dishes were also available not just an offer to eat more bread and potatoes. Breakfast had fresh bread for toast, eggs, bacon, sausage, cereals, fruit, and often French toast or pancakes.
The only negatives to report were that my rental regulator occasionally went into free flow when testing the purge valve (fixed quickly), and the small dive boats were not especially comfortable a small seat with room for 2 in front of the wheel house other divers sit on the edge of the boat to and from the sites. If there were more divers, we would have spent more time on the larger boats (we were on one for the trip to Normanby) which are huge by comparison. Spacious decks, lots of seating, on-board head, big camera/gear table etc. I was more than happy to trade a little discomfort for the small group and fuel savings.
In short, Tawali exceeded my already very high expectations. I especially liked diving as much as on a liveaboard, but able to tumble into your room for a quick hot shower or nap whenever you felt the urge. The diving was incredible, varied, and unconstrained (except by your computer), the resort beautiful, clean and comfortable and all the people exceptionally friendly, knowledgeable and supportive. Tawali is not inexpensive either to get to, or to stay at, but in my opinion offers an outstanding value. It was a privilege to experience such a fantastic place and people. Truly a trip of a lifetime.
