PNG Scubabboarders 2007

[cdiver2]

A great location. If your interested e mail them and ask when the sing sing is on We were there OCT/Nov and got to the sing sing, Ms cdiver and I the only white faces amongst hundreds of people. Also the weather, dive conditions were the best, no complaints about this resort.

 

[Cacia]

Thank-you!

I heard during the unrests they locked you in the hotels at night.

I am interested in the sea mound in your avatar. U of Hawaii just did a big mapping project of the Pacific Rim ocean floor (sonar beams, or what?) Anyway, any info you have like sites in the public domain, would be appreciated.

Did you look at the link for the resort/liveaboard combo? What do you think of the diving in that area?

Some photographers coming to the PNG trip....definetly topside photography a big draw for me. Did you think the trip up the river was dangerous? How do you find out where the hot spots are at any point in time?

 

[Diver Dennis]

Thanks for the post JL. It would be great if you could come too, we can use your experience.

 

[cdiver2]

Thank-you!

I heard during the unrests they locked you in the hotels at night.

I am interested in the sea mound in your avatar. U of Hawaii just did a big mapping project of the Pacific Rim ocean floor (sonar beams, or what?) Anyway, any info you have like sites in the public domain, would be appreciated.

Did you look at the link for the resort/liveaboard combo? What do you think of the diving in that area?

Some photographers coming to the PNG trip....definetly topside photography a big draw for me. Did you think the trip up the river was dangerous? How do you find out where the hot spots are at any point in time?

You are not locked in at night. The Airways hotel (very plush and cheap) has a very big chain link fence around it, this is to stop the employees stealing wine, silverware etc and selling it at the local flea markets. The streets are not safe to travel at night, I would get a good guide to travel in daylight hours and enjoy

 

[Cacia]

what is the sing, sing? a festival where they dance? Oh, and what does "unsafe" MEAN? ( kill you, rape, take your wallet, eat you, cut your head off,... what exactly happens? )

 

[cdiver2]

what is the sing, sing? a festival where they dance? Oh, and what does "unsafe" MEAN? ( kill you, rape, take your wallet, eat you, cut your head off,... what exactly happens? )

Would mean robbed. You have to realize these people have just recently come into the 21st century and all its trappings that they want, but the infrastructure is very basic. Massif unemployment but no welfare or anything like it, people struggle from day to day just to get food. They are still very tribal so outsiders (of there tribe) are of little consequence to them. Having said that I have not he red of any tourist being hurt, as I said Ms cdiver and I were the only white faces at the sing sing, we left our guide and told him we would meet him back at the car. Sing sing when a lot of the tribes get together body's painted and decorated in there tribal tradition and sing and dance, remember there are over 400 tribes all with there own customs. It is a sight not to be missed.

 

[cdiver2]

From the sing sing

 

[homo maris]

During the unrests I was in the back of a pick up truck roaming around town to see the flying fox bats and going to a coastal village to be greated by a sing sing (a ceremony with songs and dances where one village greats another). I could go in/out of my hotel without problems as long as I had the key to the gate Airways in POM (the shuttle trick) likewise never kept people in.

I use a fish finder to map seamounts and coral reefs. I just returned from mapping fish spawning aggregation reefs in Sian Ka'an Mexico (Diver Dennis' turf). I will PM you the link to the papers I wrote.

Tawali sounds nice. It is in the Solomon seas, different than Kimbe. I have not been there. Normally in PNG the wet season is December to March and the dry season from May to October. In Milne Bay June to September is the wet season on the south coast and January to July is the wet season on the north coast mainland. If we want to go to Tawali it may be better to go in October-December. The Tawali site says August-December is the dry season. From experience (December in Kimbe) the wet season is very very wet (i.e mildew everywhere). Note that Milne Bay is a malaria area so folks will need to take precautions. There should be wreck diving too because of the WWII battle of Milne Bay. If we are set on June then we should go somewhere else in PNG to be in the dry season.

Your description of unsafe is suited for POM without the eating part. Canibals only eat a valiant enemy to get their strength, not a lost tourist they just killed. They let the dogs do that. Seriously outside of POM, PNG is fine. Sorry for the dark humour).

JL

 

[Cacia]

gallows humor is good.

Well, I am feasting my eyes on those pics, ccdiver. Very exciting. i think you need to use the kangeroo for your avatar! whats wrong with you that you haven't already done that!?...oh..you don't care?

Homo maris, we were looking at the resort owned by founder of Oceanic. We have not shopped prices or space, so we will look at what you have said about the weather and both locations, thanks so much. I was liking the livaboard idea for a portion of the dives because three days would be all anyone could stand me on a boat....plus I am jonesing for the topside experience.

ccdiver, how are the people about being photographed? I know some tribes think a photo steals their "spirit".

The kangeroo....what a character.

 

[cdiver2]

gallows humor is good.

Well, I am feasting my eyes on those pics, ccdiver. Very exciting. i think you need to use the kangeroo for your avatar! whats wrong with you that you haven't already done that!?...oh..you don't care?

Homo maris, we were looking at the resort owned by founder of Oceanic. We have not shopped prices or space, so we will look at what you have said about the weather and both locations, thanks so much. I was liking the livaboard idea for a portion of the dives because three days would be all anyone could stand me on a boat....plus I am jonesing for the topside experience.


ccdiver, how are the people about being photographed? I know some tribes think a photo steals their "spirit".

The kangeroo....what a character.

The lady by herself was very shy and would turn away every time I lifted the camera, others were only too happy to have there photo taken in fact I got with a bunch of guys with drums and I was bouncing around like a idiot Ms cdiver taking photos of me, a crowd gathered around us and if they had, had socks on they would have laughed them off.
The photo of the roo for my avatar, I took a leaf out of his book...to lazy to do it but as you like it how about a full frontal
I get a PNG news letter, take a look it will keep you abrest of whats going on in PNG http://www.pnggossip.com/