Papuan Paradise

by Jeni Bone on 27 Dec 2008 The US and European yachting, fishing and diving fraternities have known for a long time: Papua New Guinea is home to some of the best marine environments in the world, boasting deep water and high visibility.

Situated in the centre of the Asia-Pacific region, surrounded by the Coral, Bismarck and Solomon Seas, whose constant movements feed and enrich the marine environment, PNG has twice as many marine species as the waters of the Red Sea and an estimated 10 times as many as the Caribbean. Its diving has been rated the Top Dive Destination in the World in Rodale’s Scuba Diving Readers Choice Awards.

With 16 dive operators offering land-based and live-aboard diving along 17,000 km of coastline and 45,000 kms² of reef systems, divers can enjoy minimal contact with other dive groups in reef systems that include barrier reefs, coral walls, coral gardens, patch reefs, fringing reefs, sea grass beds, coral atolls and wrecks.

The wreck sites provide a fascinating collection of ships, aircraft and submarine wrecks from World War II – a diverse range for skill levels from buffs to beginners. Best of all, the average water temperature varies from 25 degrees Celsius along the edge of the Coral Sea to 29 degrees Celsius in the Bismarck Sea.

When it comes to marine tourism and diving particularly, there is no ‘must-see’ list, according to Vilia Lawrence, manager of PNG Dive Association. 'It’s all superb,' she says, adding that’s the PNG advantage over more high-profile and highly marketed destinations – it’s pristine.

'PNG is not the shopping, tourism, fine dining luxury travel destination,' Vilia continues, although she says there are many resorts and some are adding spa facilities these days to cater for the upper end. 'What is ‘must see’ is the culture, the natural wonders and the superlative diving.'

Many travelers and dive groups from the US and Europe choose to coincide their trips to PNG with the two main festivals: the most popular in Goroka in the Eastern Highlands, around National Day, 16 September, and the other in Mt Hagen in August.

Vilia recommends planning your trip during the dry season, which starts around April/ May and runs until early December.

She is reluctant to list a ‘top sites’ selection, but reveals there are plenty of pretty reefs around Kimbe Bay, Port Moresby and Milne Bay. For big fish, head to New Ireland and anywhere out to sea.

If you’re dipping a toe in for the first time, you should make your first port of call any of the resorts or dive shops listed on the PNG Dive site, www.pngdive.com, which offer instruction and fully escorted dive trips. 'You literally walk off the beach and are guided the whole time,' says Vilia.

As well as visa requirements – a 60-day tourist visa on arrival for AUD$40 – the region boasts strong environmental standards. 'We are all about self-regulation because we believe we know the industry and the environment better than the government,' says Vilia. 'We have stringent mooring rules and strongly recommend people contact a local operator to get copies of dive guides and mooring tips. It’s a case of ‘look but don’t touch’.'

Due to the country’s well-developed fishing and dive industries, operated by provincial administrations in each area, the network of operators is professional, eager for business and can be relied on for information about customs checks and fees.

For visiting yachts, the resorts along the coast of PNG offer accommodation with facilities that vary from standard to luxury, including restaurants, pools and spa services.

PNG has its own hyperbaric recompression facility located in Port Moresby. The facility is situated within a private hospital and is operated and maintained to international standards by Hyperbaric Health Australia.

Mark Bishop, an Aussie expat who has lived on PNG since 1972, says the waterways, diving and boating lifestyle (along with business interests) are his main reasons for calling Port Moresby home. He and his wife, Roslyn raised their two children in PNG.

'It’s a great place to grow up, surrounded by a lot of water and heaps of activities,' says Bishop. 'The kids loved it. They went to the local international schools with all the other expat and local kids. Our kids are 30 and 33 and still love boating, windsurfing, diving, kite surfing.'

While it certainly is less urbane than most capital cities, Port Moresby isn’t the remote jungle outpost people imagine.

'People do have preconceived ideas about it,' says Bishop. 'Port Moresby has 300,000 people, so it’s a large community and made up of all sorts. We have good friends up there – a whole cross section of people, expats and locals.'
As for danger, Bishop counters suggestions that it’s a wild and lawless land. 'It’s not dangerous. You have to watch out in certain places, but it depends what you do, like any other city.'

Now in his late 50s, Bishop says he is still 'vital and open to anything', and loves the lifestyle PNG offers.

'I enjoy the diving. I’m not an adventure nut, but I like a bit of everything – windsurfing, diving, kayaking and fishing. I make sure there’s always a balance of work and play.'

Up in PNG, his Maritimo 52 makes an impact. 'It’s the best boat in port, for sure,' he says, describing the craft at the 250 berth marina at the Port Moresby Yacht Club as 'mixture of all sorts, just like the people'.

Bishop picked up his new boat from the company’s Hope Island headquarters, taking his time up the coast. Named Blue Finn, after his two-year old grandson, Finnegan, the boat was loaded up with fuel and supplies and importantly, fitted with every conceivable mod-con his passengers could wish for.

As Bishop recounts, he picked up family in Townsville, including Finnegan and his daughter who had joined the party from Canada, and took them around Hinchinbrook Island for five days. After eight days in Cairns, Bishop readied himself and his vessel for the trip to PNG, via Lizard Island.

Blue Finn made the 150 mile crossing between Lizard Island and Port Moresby in eight hours at 18 knots, due to 'bouncy conditions'.

Once back in PNG, Bishop and his fishing mates began planning their next trip.
'Most of PNG is pretty fantastic,' says Bishop, having just returned from Milne Bay, Normanby Island and Goodenough Island. 'Then we went to the fiord area around Tufi where there are some amazing anchorages. We were about a mile up a fiord and still in 70m deep water.'

Of his favourite haunts, Bishop finds it easy to wax lyrical. 'We head to Eastern Fields, about 100 miles south of Moresby in the Coral Sea, when the sou’easters stop. We’ll be heading to Kimbe and Alotau to meet up with another friend’s dive boat, Telita. Then we’ll spend about six weeks out there, enjoying the dive spots and fishing – yellow fin tuna, dog fin tuna, trevally, mackerel, coral trout.'

Kimbe on New Britain is the third largest port in PNG, boasting 60% of the coral species of the entire Indo-Pacific. The bustling town is the fastest growing city in the South Pacific and attracts a burgeoning tourist industry with its share of resorts and hotels.

Then there’s Alotau, gateway to the Milne Bay Province and some of the most remote island communities in the world. Alotau is still a natural haven and remains relatively free of tourists, despite offering some of the world’s best scuba diving and immaculate coral reefs.

Eastern Fields are the remnant of a volcanic island and thanks to the constant churning of fresh and nutrient-rich water, coral growth is copious. In November and December when the plankton bloom, the sea is filled with Manta Rays and Whale Sharks, as well as frequent visitors in the schools of Minke Whales, Pilot Whales and even Orcas.

For fishing, Port Moresby