Diving in PNG

[Pam and Stella]

Hello Everyone,

Gosh, how i would love to just take off and open up a resort in PNG.....although i have heard differing opinions on the safety there,,,,And of course there is always the liveaboard idea,,But i would be interested in the boards opinions as to how feasible this pipedream is,, I;m ready for the flames,lol

 

[Lead_carrier]

Need any deck hands?

You'll need an instructor and/or DM.. call me..

 

[landlocked]

Oops, I'm sorry, I read PNW. So where is PNG?

 

[DocVikingo]

Papua New Guinea.

Best regards.

DocVikingo

 

[DiveTub]

I have been Diving in PNG on four occasions and I am heading back up there in April for another 3 weeks Diving.

There are often resorts around that area that go up for sale.
I know of one in Vanuatu that was for sale earlier this year.
And one In the Solomon’s that has just opened its doors 6 months ago.

The hardest thing about PNG is no one owns the land, that is to say you have to lease it from the Government.

Boats on the other hand are an endless money pit; there are a few boat operators that do very well in the region.

Have a look at
http://www.diversionoz.com in the PNG section they list ever operator in the area both resort and Boats.

The region is very safe as long as you steer clear of Port Moresby (The Capital of PNG) and stick to the coast it is just brilliant up there.

If you have any other questions get me off the board and we can discuss

 

[Scuba Jim]

I could say you were bonkers, but I won't.

The best thing for you to do to start with is contact Vilia Lawrence at the PNG Divers Association. Tell her I said for you to contact her.

PNG Divers Association Inc
P.O.Box 1646 Port Moresby NCD
Papua New Guinea
Tel +675 321 3913/Fax +675 321 5650
Email: pngdive@online.net.pg
Web: www.pngdive.com

Second, if you plan to live in PNG then please start learning Pidgin. To gain residency in PNG you need to be fluent in it, if I am not mistaken. And when I say Pidgin I don't mean you have to sit on a tree branch and say "Coo, coo" all day long! If you don't plan to live in PNG and look after your resort, but instead get manager to look after it, good luck. Send me the money and I will give you a much better return on your investment!

Bonne Chance!

Jim (in England, say hello to Vilia!)

 

[Pam and Stella]

Hallossss to ye all,

I need to go of course and check it out, but hey i see americans posting from all over the globe,,,R U GUYS SUGGESTING I AM TOO OLD TO LIVE MY DREAM.LOL,SLAP SLAP...AND I AM QUITE FRANKLY JEALOUS OF THESE PEOPLE DOING WHAT THEY LOVE I ASSUME.

So, i need to cure myself, and cozy on up to some cannibals if need be, teaching the American eight square meal deal,all the food groups.

Thank you for informing me of pidgin speak, i am a pretty quick study,,,perhaps if i just take an extended stay i will get this out of my blood, but i hope not...

A freind of mine took of fto Thailand , and is now teaching conversational English classes in some rural area. Definetely an entreprenurial situation

Yes, in many countries u dont own anything like Belize,,,i have had horror stories after horror stories concerning international biz scandals....Thank you all for your feedback

Safe diving,

 

[RSdiver]

You have several cultural barriers to overcome.
While PNG is a Nation, it is not uniform even amongst the locals.

When I went to Kavieng I stopped off in Port Moresby for a few days to catch connecting flights inbound/outbound. At one point I started chatting with 2 local ladies and their children. It was very interesting to find out that PNG has many different languages across all the different tribes (they said over 100 tribes/languages) and that most tribes do not intermingle as many have historically been warlike amongst each other.

I saw a good example of this on the Kavieng trip.

The liveaboard was required by local law to pay a watchman from the tribe closest to where we stopped each night to stand onboard the boat. Presumably this was for safety, but could have been one way to spread the wealth amongst the locals.

We noticed that the 5 PNG citizens from the Milne Bay area who were regular employees on the liveaboard (divemasters, cooks, and staff) would not go near the locals. In fact they would avoid being in the same area unless there were 2 or more trip guests there.


On the subject of safety in PNG...
We did spend one day on land in Kavieng both inbound and outbound and were strictly warned not to go into town alone.
I'm sure there was a bit of conservative caution in this warning, but it was unlike anywhere else I've travelled.

Quite frankly, I'm choosing Indonesia or Thailand as my next trips - the diving was better and the people in the remote countryside are friendlier.

 

[Pam and Stella]

Thank you RsDiver for your information,,,,,,Being that I am single and going this alone,,,I do desire as much first hand feedback as possible. i have been to Mexico. Hawaii, Belize, Carribean,but never ventured as far as Thailand, Micronesia,Oceania,Oz

I guess i am looking for the most amazing diverse macro life. I had heard Thailand was overated, the corals bombed or bleached out and not a whole lot of diversity..as well as Indonesia.


I realize people have their lucky moments it seems in certain places they travel, but i was hoping not to have to rely on the
fish god"Poseidon".lol. to bless me with the dolphins, Whales, Whalesharks, sharks, Mantas all in one convenient spot.

Scubasearch is such a wonderful and educating site, i am so glad i found it.

Safe diving,

Pam

 

[RSdiver]

Try Richieliu Rock on The Thai-Burmese border. It is a pinnacle that has a great amount of sealife. I have been to Richieliu Rock (Phuket - Andaman Sea) on 3 Dive trips and on the last one we went a week into Burma which was great. It has LOTS of macro as well as pelagics like mantas and whalesharks.

*Click Here* to see 23 photos of Thailand and Burma dive trip

Thai people are friendly and kind, having never been cannibals like PNG and they shun confrontation like the plague. In their culture, the most polite and respected Thai person is the quiet one that speaks softly and smiles very large. I have never felt unsafe, but keep in mind that Bangkok, like any large City (LA, NY, Paris), has its seedy elements.

*Here* is a great website on travelling and SCUBA in Thailand