The whale sharks will have to wait for another year I have given in to my other obsession - macro life and booked to go to PNG. We will be in Walindi for 8 nights, Rabaul for 4 and Loloata for 8 nights. If anyone has been to any of these places I would be grateful for your input.
Decision made!
- Thread starter Maggie
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Hi Maggie!
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days on Star Dancer from Rabaul to Walindi in May. Fantastic!
Macro life if amazing (pigmy seahorse, mantis shrimps, mandarins etc), and you won't see more varieties of anemone fish anywhere else.
Don't forget the wide angle though as there are plenty of sharks and big fish to be seen as well. Buzzed by a fast moving bottlenose on one dive as well which was a real highlight!
Rabaul is actually a bit of a dump, although the volcanoes make up for this. Mind you I was told that the wrecks etc in the area are too laden with ash from the last erruption to make them worthwhile dives. Not sure I'd want to spend so long there, I assume Star Dancer would have stopped in the region if the diving was good, but we sailed straight round to the Fathers complex to the NW. I gather it used to be great, so be careful which guide books you read (ie get a recent edition!).
Walindi is beautiful, and the diving in the area is first rate. Its a little basic, but if it were luxurious it wouldn't be as unspoilt as it is.
Make sure you take a full suit of some form, as although the water is VERY warm there is some nasty stinging plankton in places that can be very uncomfortable. Maybe even gloves would be an idea!
Can't comment on Loloata really but have heard some good things.
Although as yet unfinished I have posted a few of my u/w photographic efforts on my web site if you are interested!
Any quetsions, let me know!
I know you'll have a great trip!
I was lucky enough to spend 10 days on Star Dancer from Rabaul to Walindi in May. Fantastic!
Macro life if amazing (pigmy seahorse, mantis shrimps, mandarins etc), and you won't see more varieties of anemone fish anywhere else.
Don't forget the wide angle though as there are plenty of sharks and big fish to be seen as well. Buzzed by a fast moving bottlenose on one dive as well which was a real highlight!
Rabaul is actually a bit of a dump, although the volcanoes make up for this. Mind you I was told that the wrecks etc in the area are too laden with ash from the last erruption to make them worthwhile dives. Not sure I'd want to spend so long there, I assume Star Dancer would have stopped in the region if the diving was good, but we sailed straight round to the Fathers complex to the NW. I gather it used to be great, so be careful which guide books you read (ie get a recent edition!).
Walindi is beautiful, and the diving in the area is first rate. Its a little basic, but if it were luxurious it wouldn't be as unspoilt as it is.
Make sure you take a full suit of some form, as although the water is VERY warm there is some nasty stinging plankton in places that can be very uncomfortable. Maybe even gloves would be an idea!
Can't comment on Loloata really but have heard some good things.
Although as yet unfinished I have posted a few of my u/w photographic efforts on my web site if you are interested!
Any quetsions, let me know!
I know you'll have a great trip!
greg somers
Guest
I have some questions about your trip.PNG is not a destination for the casual traveller.Are you on an organised trip with a reputable company? Are you going to be with others? The reason I say this is because there are some dangers to travelling there,especially for women.In the capital there are major Gang problems with the "Nasties".
Casually walking the streets is not an option there.The Hotels are sometimes surrounded by security fences to keep the locals out and pick-pocketing is very common.Book with reputable operations that will escort you and remember that you will be in a different country than your own and the same freedoms are not guaranteed.A solely dive vacation is the best bet.Be wise and be safe and have a good time.
Casually walking the streets is not an option there.The Hotels are sometimes surrounded by security fences to keep the locals out and pick-pocketing is very common.Book with reputable operations that will escort you and remember that you will be in a different country than your own and the same freedoms are not guaranteed.A solely dive vacation is the best bet.Be wise and be safe and have a good time.
I dived in each of these places just a couple of months ago. We didn't have any problems. Transfer to LoLoata is direct by the resort's bus and boat without stopoffs. The others are direct flights. It is very much like a lot of the other Pacific nations at the moment (I've been in Vanuatu, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and PNG in the last 12 months) - what is in the newspapers overstates the situation somewhat. That's not to say there aren't problems. I certainly wouldn't go wandering around Port Moresby, but if you go from the airport to the resort and vice versa, you should be quite okay. Have a great time - anyone who doesn't like Walindi just shouldn't be diving, and LoLoata has to be one of the best kept secrets in the Pacific.
Thanks every one for your input.
Greg - Thanks for your concern but we are going with a reputable company - Scuba Safaris from here in the UK. They have organised everything including transportation betweem the airports and the resorts. We dont intend to go anywhere on our own and have no intention of venturing into Port Moresby at all. We went to Indonesia last year,took the appropriate precautions, and had no problems. We've been to Zambia in the past and felt more uneasy there than we did in Indonesia. We have also taken out a more than adequate insurance to cover us for the trip. I know you cant be totally safe anywhere but since the IRA seem to have started another bombing episode here (Ealing was bombed two nights ago and is only a few miles from here) I might as well take my chances in PNG.
Greg - Thanks for your concern but we are going with a reputable company - Scuba Safaris from here in the UK. They have organised everything including transportation betweem the airports and the resorts. We dont intend to go anywhere on our own and have no intention of venturing into Port Moresby at all. We went to Indonesia last year,took the appropriate precautions, and had no problems. We've been to Zambia in the past and felt more uneasy there than we did in Indonesia. We have also taken out a more than adequate insurance to cover us for the trip. I know you cant be totally safe anywhere but since the IRA seem to have started another bombing episode here (Ealing was bombed two nights ago and is only a few miles from here) I might as well take my chances in PNG.
greg somers
Guest
Let me state that in the case of PNG the papers DO NOT overdo the local scene.I know people and have seen evidence of what goes on there with the locals.Because you are going organised,it should be fine.In fact,in PNG itself,the isolation and over 900 different languages makes it difficult reporting the news in PNG itself.That's why the overseas reports are often all you see.Violence is common there.Avoid large crowds and stick to the water.Have a great time.
Cheers soon to be tropical ears,
The Thunder from Down under,
The Gasman.
Cheers soon to be tropical ears,
The Thunder from Down under,
The Gasman.
dascubadweeb
Guest
Ms. Maggie, hello! I'm dascubadweeb from big D (Dallas, TX) and we're fixin' to head out to PNG next month. Have you been on your trip yet? How was it? How was the diving? Hope it was/is great.
HI Maggie
Have you paid for your trip yet ?
You may or may not have heard of the volcano that erupted in the Kimbe Bay area of PNG near Walindi. The resort and the diving unharmed, but the airport at Hoskins a write-off. There is another airport up-and-running and serving Walindi, but smaller air aircraft and many fewer flights
To cut a long story short, it is now a quite expensive and drawn out thing to combine a stay a Walindi with a stay at another dive resort in PNG. It would require at least a 2 night stay in Port Moresby in between dive resorts.
Have you paid for your trip yet ?
You may or may not have heard of the volcano that erupted in the Kimbe Bay area of PNG near Walindi. The resort and the diving unharmed, but the airport at Hoskins a write-off. There is another airport up-and-running and serving Walindi, but smaller air aircraft and many fewer flights
To cut a long story short, it is now a quite expensive and drawn out thing to combine a stay a Walindi with a stay at another dive resort in PNG. It would require at least a 2 night stay in Port Moresby in between dive resorts.
It was last Nov/Dec I was in PNG and it was fantastic. You have now confused poor Scuba Jim - he thinks I went again without booking through him. Mind you after reading his posts on the Tahiti trip it obviously would'nt take much to knock him off the edge! Seriously though PNG was superb and well worth the cost. Yes outside the resorts it can be dangerous as a couple from Canada found out to their cost while we were there. We took no risks and had a superb time. I have no complaints at all and I would go again tomorrow. Loloata, by the way, although not well known has excellent diving and is well worth spending a few days there especially if you have to wait for an onward flight. I will certainly revisit there when I am next in PNG.
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