Our flights and connections went according to plan with only the usual amount of challenges that we’ve come to expect when traveling to remote areas. However, several of the people that we met while in PNG had some real problems with delays and cancellations so it’s probably not a place to send novice travelers.

When we arrived in Port Moresby (POM), it was good to see the new buildings and to find that airport entry is limited to people actually going somewhere. Connie and I were both dreading this airport because 12 years ago when we were here it was a MADHOUSE! Back then the airport was a dilapidated old building that was used as the central meeting place for people that had nothing to do and security was non-existent. The Kavieng (KVN) and Alotau (GUR) airports were both small but clean and similar to other airports we’ve flown through in comparable locations. The Air Niugini people were competent and the New Guinean travelers were polite and friendly.

The Visa process is a bit time consuming upon arrival in Port Moresby. We were pretty nervous waiting in the line but we made it to the gate for our connection to Alotau (GUR) just before boarding.

The Australian Customs, Security and Immigration people take their jobs seriously. They seemed qualified and competent with well defined and understood rules that are strictly enforced. They are very different from the arbitrary and sometimes mean-spirited TSA people in the US. The Customs people are thorough and about 2/3rds of the travelers had their bags searched entering Brisbane. We got a lecture for forgetting to declare a food item that we brought from home. We could have been fined. The security checks are fairly time consuming leaving Brisbane. We passed through security at the concourse entry and again at the gate, both times they looked through our carry-ons (this didn’t happen anywhere else including the US). Fortunately we had some room in our 1 liter Ziploc bags for liquids because they have a different definition of what constitutes a liquid. For instance, fountain pens are considered to hold liquid, ball point pens are OK. We were at the airport more than 2 hours before the flight time but the Qantas check-in process was slow and we ended up having just enough time get through immigrations, the security checks, and get to the plane.

Tawali – Milne Bay

What a great place! Bob and Barb are great. I don’t have much to add to your trip report except that I wish we had spent more time diving the walls and muck near the resort instead of going to the outer reefs. The Prowler is a fast and comfortable boat but the diving further out wasn’t much, if any, better than the near reefs. The outer reefs did not have the pelagics to match the open water diving at Kavieng.

The Steel 80 tanks spoiled us.

Tawali does have Nitrox at US$7 per tank (I think). We used it but we would have been happier if we had our own O2 meter. We left it at home because we didn’t think we were going to need it. We have some history using another resort’s meter so we like to have our own.

Lissenung Island – Kavieng

We really liked this place, too. Tanya and Peter who were standing in for Dietmar and Ange did a great job. Connie loved the 2 dogs, Chivas and Zephyr. It was great to spend an entire week without shoes, walking in sand!

I think the house reef is about the best I’ve dived. Certainly the coral is in the best shape. We normally don’t do many dives on house reefs because they are usually not in very good shape.

The diving here is dependent on the tides created by the phases of the Moon and we were there mostly during the slack time. Our best dives were on the first and last days when the currents were the strongest. The diving was very good but there is a night and day difference in the level of fish activity between strong current and slack tide dives. If clients have the flexibility, it’s an important thing to consider.

Brisbane - Australia

The Best Western is well located for a one evening stay. It must be near a college or something because there are several restaurants located within walking distance. There is an upscale restaurant nearby but we chose to eat at a more casual outdoor Italian food & wine bar. We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant and the food was good. The hotel restaurant is also open for Dinner. The hotel website is not very clear on the airport shuttle but the hotel does not pick up from the airport so we took a cab to the hotel. Fortunately there was someone at the airport information kiosk to ask as we were looking for the hotel phone number. The reservation for the shuttle back to the airport should be made at check-in. The shuttle is an independent service that runs on an hourly schedule and picks up at a couple of other hotels.

Conclusion

Thank you Caradonna for putting together another great trip for us. It exceeded our expectations and we had a wonderful time.

Thanks,
Chuck & Connie