oira79
Registered
My wife and I went to Papua New Guinea for 10 days on the MV Febrina and a few extra days in Walindi and Loloata at the end of September/early October. I'm going to focus on the Febrina because that was why we went.
FOOD: The good news first. The food is much better than you'd expect for a liveaboard in PNG. Jayne, the cook, is talented and has a good touch on a wide variety of cuisine. (FYI, my day job includes writing about food.) Breakfast is to order. There's a snack after every meal. Lunches and dinners are varied, generous and pretty good. There's always fresh fruit because they trade with natives in distant islands after the boat gets underway. The wines they serve with dinner are decent. We ate as well on this boat as we have on any liveaboard.
ACCOMMODATIONS: The rooms are tiny. Some guests had to leave their bags on shore because there wasn't space for a luggage bag, even empty, under the bed. (Ours fit.) Every room has a private shower and toilet. Every room is cleaned every day, but the bathroom does have a hint of sewage late at night until the morning cleaning.
OPEN AREAS: Febrina is a small boat and doesn't have a lot of places to hang out outside the rooms. There is one big dining/living room with a lot of fish reference books and a rarely used TV. I think we watched 3 movies in 10 days during long steams. The dive deck is too crowded to hang out in. There's an area in the bow where you can sunbathe or watch sunset, but no loungers. The boat is not very stable in windy weather or choppy seas. Bring seasickness pills and/or other remedies.
STAFF: The staff is great. Alan, the captain, is a grizzled old guy who's been in PNG for more than 20 years. It's worth getting him talking about his experiences in the country. The all-native crew is terrific about taking care of guests. They do everyone's laundry once a day, a great service.
DIVE DECK: Because it's so small, the Febrina feels cramped when it's time to dive. You have your own equipment box, but there are 8 of these on each side of the ship, which means as many as 8 divers might be trying to gear up in a small space. All dives are from a giant stride off the back, and only two people can go in at a time, which sometimes leads to a waiting line. All tanks are lined up in assigned spaces near the back. If you're in the middle of the row of tanks -- we were -- you often have to wait until people on the sides are in the water before you can put your tank on. This system would not work if the Febrina took you drift diving, but they don't. There is a small tender boat for emergencies, but it was never used on our trip, even though we had some strong currents.
EQUIPMENT: We rented BCs, regulators and fins from Walindi. Febrina carries no extra equipment on board. Walindi had a good, reasonably new selection and we had no complaints, though it's not cheap, as rental gear is charged by the day. Febrina provides tanks, weight belts and weights and refills Nitrox (extra charge) or air. No rebreathers. Alan says, "Rebreather divers are wankers." Surprisingly, Febrina does not loan or rent lights, even though it offers night dives most nights. My wife's brand-new dive light (ordered off Amazon) didn't work well, but we didn't discover this right away and then we had no recourse for the rest of the trip. I don't know if Walindi has rental computers. Febrina does not.
DIVING: Now we get to the bad news. I'm sorry to say it, but Kimbe Bay was not as good as we had heard. Some of this may have been the weather conditions on our trip. Febrina is not set up for wind and current and we had both. But the visibility was fairly poor, even in calm weather. There was a lot of particulate matter in the water. There is a lot of fish life, and that's the best part: not many large animals (we saw no rays at all, for example, and just a few sharks), but a lot of beautifully colored small fish. There are shiny schools of barracuda and trevally. Very good news is that you don't need a wetsuit. I dove all 10 days in just a skin and was never cold, even on night dives. It's good diving, to be clear, but 3-star diving, not 5-star diving. We had been to Raja Ampat the year before, and Fakarava/Rangiroa the year before that. Kimbe Bay is not in that class. It's as good as good Caribbean diving, but the best Pacific or Indian Ocean spots are better.
THINGS YOU CAN SEE: Small, colorful tropical fish are the highlight: many, many of them. Muck divers can find frogfish and leaf fish and other oddities. We saw interesting octopi at night. The feather stars are very active at night and it's fun to watch them patrol. Turtles follow you on many dives for reasons I explain below. There aren't as many pretty soft corals as Raja Ampat, but the variety of hard coral is amazing. Kimbe Bay is not the kind of place where the wildlife blows you away; it's more about appreciating prettiness.
A COMPLAINT: Generally I liked the dive guides, but one in particular touches the wildlife way more than I think is appropriate. The reason turtles follow you is because he feeds them. He pulls feather stars off of their perches and rearranges them for photographers. Once I saw him rip several legs off a feather star that didn't want to let go of the coral it was gripping. There's always a mixed feeling about this sort of wildlife interaction. I wanted to see a mantis shrimp, and I was somewhat happy when he forced it to scurry from its hiding hole, but I wouldn't personally have kept poking a long metal stick into the hole to make that happen. They bring shark feeding boxes on some dives and I do not approve of that.
OVERALL IMPRESSION: Like I said, it's 3-star diving. I'm not sure that the expense and trouble of getting there make it worthwhile. We don't regret our trip but it's not high on our list for a return visit.
QUICK NOTE ON WALINDI: We liked Walindi. The diving is the same you see on Febrina, so there's no real reason to do extra dives from there. But it's a pleasant place to chill for a couple days before or after embarking. We really liked the hot river visit: a river about 40 degrees Celsius flows from a volcano, and you can hang out in it as long as you like. We also enjoyed the short, cheap nighttime visit to a tree filled with fireflies. The food's not as good as on Febrina, but that will just make you appreciate Jayne more. The rooms are adequately comfortable, and like Febrina, they will do your laundry once a day, a great service, especially if you show up with a bag full of dirty clothes. If you like, you can interact with local expats, who hang out at the bar.
QUICK NOTE ON LOLOATA: This resort feels a little tired. The walls don't quite align, it looks a little dusty and old. And it's expensive for what you get. That said, expats who live in Port Moresby still come here to get away from Port Moresby. The diving isn't as good as Kimbe Bay. The water is colder, not chilly, but you will need a wetsuit (3 mil might be sufficient) whereas you don't in Kimbe Bay. We love the many small wallabies that have the run of the place. It's a very chill place, without a whole lot to do, but that may be what you're looking for.
FOOD: The good news first. The food is much better than you'd expect for a liveaboard in PNG. Jayne, the cook, is talented and has a good touch on a wide variety of cuisine. (FYI, my day job includes writing about food.) Breakfast is to order. There's a snack after every meal. Lunches and dinners are varied, generous and pretty good. There's always fresh fruit because they trade with natives in distant islands after the boat gets underway. The wines they serve with dinner are decent. We ate as well on this boat as we have on any liveaboard.
ACCOMMODATIONS: The rooms are tiny. Some guests had to leave their bags on shore because there wasn't space for a luggage bag, even empty, under the bed. (Ours fit.) Every room has a private shower and toilet. Every room is cleaned every day, but the bathroom does have a hint of sewage late at night until the morning cleaning.
OPEN AREAS: Febrina is a small boat and doesn't have a lot of places to hang out outside the rooms. There is one big dining/living room with a lot of fish reference books and a rarely used TV. I think we watched 3 movies in 10 days during long steams. The dive deck is too crowded to hang out in. There's an area in the bow where you can sunbathe or watch sunset, but no loungers. The boat is not very stable in windy weather or choppy seas. Bring seasickness pills and/or other remedies.
STAFF: The staff is great. Alan, the captain, is a grizzled old guy who's been in PNG for more than 20 years. It's worth getting him talking about his experiences in the country. The all-native crew is terrific about taking care of guests. They do everyone's laundry once a day, a great service.
DIVE DECK: Because it's so small, the Febrina feels cramped when it's time to dive. You have your own equipment box, but there are 8 of these on each side of the ship, which means as many as 8 divers might be trying to gear up in a small space. All dives are from a giant stride off the back, and only two people can go in at a time, which sometimes leads to a waiting line. All tanks are lined up in assigned spaces near the back. If you're in the middle of the row of tanks -- we were -- you often have to wait until people on the sides are in the water before you can put your tank on. This system would not work if the Febrina took you drift diving, but they don't. There is a small tender boat for emergencies, but it was never used on our trip, even though we had some strong currents.
EQUIPMENT: We rented BCs, regulators and fins from Walindi. Febrina carries no extra equipment on board. Walindi had a good, reasonably new selection and we had no complaints, though it's not cheap, as rental gear is charged by the day. Febrina provides tanks, weight belts and weights and refills Nitrox (extra charge) or air. No rebreathers. Alan says, "Rebreather divers are wankers." Surprisingly, Febrina does not loan or rent lights, even though it offers night dives most nights. My wife's brand-new dive light (ordered off Amazon) didn't work well, but we didn't discover this right away and then we had no recourse for the rest of the trip. I don't know if Walindi has rental computers. Febrina does not.
DIVING: Now we get to the bad news. I'm sorry to say it, but Kimbe Bay was not as good as we had heard. Some of this may have been the weather conditions on our trip. Febrina is not set up for wind and current and we had both. But the visibility was fairly poor, even in calm weather. There was a lot of particulate matter in the water. There is a lot of fish life, and that's the best part: not many large animals (we saw no rays at all, for example, and just a few sharks), but a lot of beautifully colored small fish. There are shiny schools of barracuda and trevally. Very good news is that you don't need a wetsuit. I dove all 10 days in just a skin and was never cold, even on night dives. It's good diving, to be clear, but 3-star diving, not 5-star diving. We had been to Raja Ampat the year before, and Fakarava/Rangiroa the year before that. Kimbe Bay is not in that class. It's as good as good Caribbean diving, but the best Pacific or Indian Ocean spots are better.
THINGS YOU CAN SEE: Small, colorful tropical fish are the highlight: many, many of them. Muck divers can find frogfish and leaf fish and other oddities. We saw interesting octopi at night. The feather stars are very active at night and it's fun to watch them patrol. Turtles follow you on many dives for reasons I explain below. There aren't as many pretty soft corals as Raja Ampat, but the variety of hard coral is amazing. Kimbe Bay is not the kind of place where the wildlife blows you away; it's more about appreciating prettiness.
A COMPLAINT: Generally I liked the dive guides, but one in particular touches the wildlife way more than I think is appropriate. The reason turtles follow you is because he feeds them. He pulls feather stars off of their perches and rearranges them for photographers. Once I saw him rip several legs off a feather star that didn't want to let go of the coral it was gripping. There's always a mixed feeling about this sort of wildlife interaction. I wanted to see a mantis shrimp, and I was somewhat happy when he forced it to scurry from its hiding hole, but I wouldn't personally have kept poking a long metal stick into the hole to make that happen. They bring shark feeding boxes on some dives and I do not approve of that.
OVERALL IMPRESSION: Like I said, it's 3-star diving. I'm not sure that the expense and trouble of getting there make it worthwhile. We don't regret our trip but it's not high on our list for a return visit.
QUICK NOTE ON WALINDI: We liked Walindi. The diving is the same you see on Febrina, so there's no real reason to do extra dives from there. But it's a pleasant place to chill for a couple days before or after embarking. We really liked the hot river visit: a river about 40 degrees Celsius flows from a volcano, and you can hang out in it as long as you like. We also enjoyed the short, cheap nighttime visit to a tree filled with fireflies. The food's not as good as on Febrina, but that will just make you appreciate Jayne more. The rooms are adequately comfortable, and like Febrina, they will do your laundry once a day, a great service, especially if you show up with a bag full of dirty clothes. If you like, you can interact with local expats, who hang out at the bar.
QUICK NOTE ON LOLOATA: This resort feels a little tired. The walls don't quite align, it looks a little dusty and old. And it's expensive for what you get. That said, expats who live in Port Moresby still come here to get away from Port Moresby. The diving isn't as good as Kimbe Bay. The water is colder, not chilly, but you will need a wetsuit (3 mil might be sufficient) whereas you don't in Kimbe Bay. We love the many small wallabies that have the run of the place. It's a very chill place, without a whole lot to do, but that may be what you're looking for.
