PNG TRIP REPORT: 50+ Hours Underwater Half a World Away (Part 1)
- Thread starter BubbleBlocker
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airplanejockey
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What a fantastic report. Thank You! We are planning a trip to PNG next Oct and this info and the pictures are a great help.
cheers,
cleve
cheers,
cleve
Wow! Thanks for taking the time to do up this awesome report, I leave in about a week and have been looking for a recent report. I can't wait to get over there now as this post has given me the extra reassurance I was after before I left so thanks again!!! I've got a few questions as well which I'll post when I get a few extra moments 
.
.
OP
As always, glad to help! Glad folks are enjoying the report and finding the information useful. It was a terrific trip, and writing the report and going through all the photos kept the memories alive for me awhile longer. I'd go back in a heartbeat if only it weren't quite so far a way to go in my case. That said, it was worth every mile!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
seahorseseeker
New
Bubbleblocker:
Just want to tell you how helpful your detailed posting was for us. We are off to PNG in a week. One week at Tawali resort and then the 11 day Febrina trip. SOooo excited and as you know there is very little information out there, so we have read and re-read you posts many times. Unlike you, we were paying the entire schlep ourselves and I am very pleased to say that I ponied up the trip cancellation insurance ($1200 for two) and we have already dipped into it. As was warned, the Air Niugini has changed a flight out of Hong Kong which would have given us a 1 hour 30 minute transfer time, so we had to change (now we have 12 hours in Hong Kong) and the insurance is covering it all! This all before we leave the ground. Lets see what adventures occur when we get moving! My husband loved your photos and he is inspired to bring both cameras for this trip. We hope to share them on our return. Thanks again!
Just want to tell you how helpful your detailed posting was for us. We are off to PNG in a week. One week at Tawali resort and then the 11 day Febrina trip. SOooo excited and as you know there is very little information out there, so we have read and re-read you posts many times. Unlike you, we were paying the entire schlep ourselves and I am very pleased to say that I ponied up the trip cancellation insurance ($1200 for two) and we have already dipped into it. As was warned, the Air Niugini has changed a flight out of Hong Kong which would have given us a 1 hour 30 minute transfer time, so we had to change (now we have 12 hours in Hong Kong) and the insurance is covering it all! This all before we leave the ground. Lets see what adventures occur when we get moving! My husband loved your photos and he is inspired to bring both cameras for this trip. We hope to share them on our return. Thanks again!
OP
Glad you enjoyed the report and found it helpful. Have a wonderful trip!!!
KarinW
Registered
Seahorseseeker - Air Nuigini will cancel or move flights without notice! We showed up for our flight out to Hoskins, and it had departed an hour earlier and no one had told us. (Which pushed us back a whole day!) I wish someone had told me to check on our flight the day before 'just to make sure'....
BubbleBlocker - great report!
Something to think about: I LOVED the diving out of Walindi, and would go back in a heart-beat! But what made the trip amazing was PNG itself! If, along with the diving, you can go during a sing-sing, get on a boat on the Sepik River, or check out the Huli Wig Men, you will have an amazing trip! It was like going back 500 years. The lack of infrastructure (and TV and news and roads, etc.) means that people are born and live in the same village for generations. In the Tari area, brides are still paid for with 30 pigs, men and women have to live seperately (because the women will curse the men and steal their power), we spoke to people that thought the world was FLAT!!!!!!! It was the most amazing trip I have ever taken. So please consider - if you are taking the effort to go to PNG, spend half your time diving and the other half on the mainland on a tour (really the only way to do it). It is a 'once in a lifetime' trip where you feel like you are living in the pages of National Geographic!
BubbleBlocker - great report!
Something to think about: I LOVED the diving out of Walindi, and would go back in a heart-beat! But what made the trip amazing was PNG itself! If, along with the diving, you can go during a sing-sing, get on a boat on the Sepik River, or check out the Huli Wig Men, you will have an amazing trip! It was like going back 500 years. The lack of infrastructure (and TV and news and roads, etc.) means that people are born and live in the same village for generations. In the Tari area, brides are still paid for with 30 pigs, men and women have to live seperately (because the women will curse the men and steal their power), we spoke to people that thought the world was FLAT!!!!!!! It was the most amazing trip I have ever taken. So please consider - if you are taking the effort to go to PNG, spend half your time diving and the other half on the mainland on a tour (really the only way to do it). It is a 'once in a lifetime' trip where you feel like you are living in the pages of National Geographic!
Candycrab
New
Great report! We are planning to go to PNG next november/december. We want to do a combination diving and a landbased trip. Hopefully it will fit within our 23 days (flight-time included). KarinW, where did you arrange your mainland tour? Did you spot birds of paradise?
Did anyone dive Milne Bay and Eastern Fields? Which is the best?
Did anyone dive Milne Bay and Eastern Fields? Which is the best?
KarinW
Registered
CandyCrab - Sorry for the delayed reply! We were there two years ago for just under 3 weeks and used Trans Niugini Tours for the landbased trip. Marybeth was our guide. Both she and TNT were fantastic. website: pngtours.com
The trip was broken up by the following areas: a 4 day cruise on the Sepik River; the coastal area at Malolo (we were supposed to go to Karawari, but at the time the locals thought the place may be 'cursed'!); experiencing the Huli tribe in the Tari area (stayed at Ambua Lodge); the annual sing-sing at Mt. Hagen; and then Diving at Walindi (not with TNT, we did this ourselves). It was great. And we saw at least 10 birds of paradise in the Tari area (which is at high elevation). It is best to use a tour company (I am a good traveler, but because of logistics/culture/education, I cannot imagine doing the trip on my own). I am jealous that you are doing this - it really is fantastic!
Karin
The trip was broken up by the following areas: a 4 day cruise on the Sepik River; the coastal area at Malolo (we were supposed to go to Karawari, but at the time the locals thought the place may be 'cursed'!); experiencing the Huli tribe in the Tari area (stayed at Ambua Lodge); the annual sing-sing at Mt. Hagen; and then Diving at Walindi (not with TNT, we did this ourselves). It was great. And we saw at least 10 birds of paradise in the Tari area (which is at high elevation). It is best to use a tour company (I am a good traveler, but because of logistics/culture/education, I cannot imagine doing the trip on my own). I am jealous that you are doing this - it really is fantastic!
Karin
Shasta_man
Contributor
Question if you are still listening BubbleBlocker:
You say you enjoyed one of the areas the most. I couldn't tell if you were referring to Fathers Reef, the Witus, or ...
Which were you referring to?
The killer airfare (as well as travel time) has stymied me so far from getting there but that's also why it's still so pristine... I'll get there ASAP.
You say you enjoyed one of the areas the most. I couldn't tell if you were referring to Fathers Reef, the Witus, or ...
Which were you referring to?
The killer airfare (as well as travel time) has stymied me so far from getting there but that's also why it's still so pristine... I'll get there ASAP.
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