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When
I went out to Papua New Guinea to teach Biology in 1981, I
didn' t know that I was going to stay there for seven years.
Fortunately I had already learned to dive on the Caribbean
island of St. Vincent five years before so I took some diving
equipment with me to New Guinea. This meant that I could visit
out-of-the-way spots with my buddy, Mike Clarke, another teacher/diver
who has the same holidays and adventurous streak that I have.
The reefs around Papua New Guinea are a continuation of the
Great Barrier Reef northwards. The best reef lies all around
the eastern edge of this continental island, and there are
large numbers of small volcanic or coral islands with fringing
reefs, many of which are unexplored and therefore a draw to
the keen diver.
There
are few roads in PNG except for the Highlands Highway between
Lae, Madang and Mendi, near the Indonesian border. Most people
fly between places. For the first five years we lived at a
boarding school in the windy valley called Aiyura up in the
Highlands of New Guinea, about 250 kilometres from Madang,
the nearest good diving. Although there is a Dive Club at
Lae, the diving isn't the best by the mouth of the wide, fast-flowing
Huon river. One patch reef at Salamua provides the main interest
here plus a few wrecks when the visibility clears.
We
bought an old Toyota Landcruiser and used to go down to Madang
for the weekend, a four and a half hour journey on sealed
and dirt road. We aimed to get there at 6. 30 before dark,
so left as soon as school finished at 1.30 on the Friday afternoon.
The second half of the journey was the worst with 8 rivers
to ford (now mostly bridged) and steep mountain roads to negotiate
behind Madang itself, Between 1981 and 1985 we made this journey
almost monthly and the dust clouds rose to engulf us or the
rivers were too high to ford - there was always something
trying to delay us. However more times than not we would arrive
without mishap at the Country Women's Cottage, the cheapest
self-catering accommodation in town. This very nice cottage
is still situated by the waterside next-door to the expensive,
ethnically decorated Madang Resort Hotel and. if you don't
mind self-catering, is good value for money.
At
the Madang Resort Hotel there is a Dive Shop, full facilities
and a qualified Instructor employed by the Hotel for residents
and tourists. We met Australians, Americans, Europeans, and
many others when they visited this delightful spot on the
north coast of Papua New Guinea. The main attractions for
divers are the many and varied reefs and wrecks on which to
dive, with so much unexplored territory as a bonus. Magic
Passage is within a few minutes boat ride of the Madang Resort
Hotel. It is a 30 metre deep cleft in the outer reef where
huge shoals of barracuda, trevally. skipjacks and other ocean
fish congregate above carpets of colourful coral species.
The sharks are not the man-eating kind ! On the horizon small
islands seem to play leapfrog along the outer reef in the
heat shimmer of midday - don't forget that this is the tropics,
but the breeze is beautiful.
The
wrecked remains of World War II action are seen everywhere.
Papua New Guineans use parts of planes and ships to decorate
their gardens and there are plenty more to see at accessible
depths close to shore or only a boat ride away. You can also
hire boats and diving equipment from the Jals Aben Resort,
20 minutes drive up the coast. Here there Is another Dive
shop and compressor, Dive Master, and even a Marine Biology
Research Station for academics. It really Is a divers' paradise.
Another
four hours drive northwards from Madang is Hansa Bay, one
of many famous sites along the north coast of allied versus
Japanese
November
1985 and found beautiful drop-offs, untouched reef life and
incredibly clear water, The island is so small there are no
rivers, and the microneslan inhabitants are converted Seventh
Day Adventists who eat no fish, turtles or crustaceans. The
turtles (and sharks) are prolific and the lobsters and crabs
make good eating at the Lodge, built especially for diver-tourists.
Massive coconut crabs climb down from the coconut palms every
evening to wet their gills in the sea - they have to be seen
to be believed, They taste pretty good too.
Apart
from the New Guinea north coast, I think that Rabaul (East
New Britain) offers excellent diving and on-land attractions.
Some people would put Rabaul first, but it is my second choice,
mainly because some of the reef itself is damaged by overzealous
fishermen and is poor in parts. However, the wreck diving
is great around Rabaul because the beautiful harbour was a
theatre of war while the Japanese were in occupation. The
locals are extremely friendly and the volcanic scenery is
spectacular. The Rabaul fresh fruit and vegetable market is
reputedly (and by experience) the best in the South Pacific.
I really miss the place a lot ! Divers meet at the Yacht Club
overlooking the harbour and the Rabaul Dive Club has a large
membership. Ocean going vessels, large and small, call in
and there are very good diving facilities available here.
Lastly,
we moved to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea
on the south coast nearest Australia. It resembles a far north
Australian city and is entirely cut off from the rest of PNG
except by plane. Before we left, I heard about a road being
built from a footpath that is used by the intrepid locals
to cross the treacherous mountain chain behind the city. This
road will take a few years to finish, using Japanese Aid,
and will link Fort Moresby with the Wau-Bulolo Goldfields
road, on the way to Lae. Diving from Port Moresby is mainly
in the hands of an experienced sailor and diver called Bob
Halstead who has just had a dive vessel built for trips around
Papua New Guinea to previously unexplored reefs and wrecks,
for example, around the Trobriand Islands ('the islands of
love'). He and his Papuan wife Dinah work with the Papua New
Guinea tourist board to promote diving in PNG. They are both
accomplished underwater photographers who have discovered
new species to science. See their articles on diving in the
inflight Air Nuigini magazine called 'Paradise'. Otherwise
local diving near Port Moresby is disappointing, although
there are a few wrecks and some coral reef.
Why
not write off to a couple of the addresses given below and
find out for yourself- Of course you need to take care in
this developing country but there is so much to see and do
in and out of the water - it's well worth a visit, but remember
it is an expensive part of the world. 'Like every place you
have never been' say the advertisements. How true - rainforests
teem with birds such as the unique Birds of Paradise, and
the local culture is unbelievably rich. The non-diver should
also take plenty of film! Accommodation and good diving facilities
are available at all the main centres throughout Papua New
Guinea and I list the main ones below.
How
to get there
Fly
London to Port Moresby via Singapore/ Hong-Kong and Manila
or Brisbane with British Airways, Qantas and Air Nuigini.
Port
Moresby
Diving:
Bob Halstead, Tropical Diving Adventures, P.O.Box 1644, Boroko,
PNG.
www.loloata.com/
Accomodation:
Travel lodge, P.O.Box 1661 Port Moresby, PNG
or
Civic Guest House, P.O.Box 1139, Boroko, PNG.
Madang
Diving:
Melanesian Dive Centre, P.0,Box 336, Madang, PNG
Accomodation:
Madang Resort Motel, P.O.Box 111, Madang, PNG
or
CWA Cottage, P.O.Box 154, Madang, PNG.
New
Britain
Dive
with the Rabaul Dive Club, P.O.Box 106, Rabaul, PNG
Books
PNG
- a travel survival kit by Tony Wheeler; Lonely Planet Press
shop.lonelyplanet.com/author
detail.cfm?authorid=19&productID=1511
'Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific' by J.E.N.Veron;
Angus &
Robertson. (Great Barrier Reef species are also found in PNG.)
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