Loloata Island PNG Scuba Diving Tawali Dive Resort Tawali Scuba Diving Resort
Walindi Dive Resort Loloata Island - Premier Dive Destination
There is no doubt about it, for scuba diving, snorkeling, underwater photography, or eco tourism visitor interested in off the beaten track adventure experiences combining exploration and discovery, Papua New Guinea has it all. Regardless of its stone age image (which often adds to the adventure)
Papua New Guinea has an amazing number of unique discovery destinations backed by first class facilities which allows even the most timid adventurer on land, or underwater, the opportunity to become a modern day explorer.
My experience with Papua New Guinea began by being the subject of an ITV television Nature Watch special filmed at Loloata Island in 1980. Since then, I have visited on a regular basis discovering hundreds of new species and publishing thousands of images in my many books.
Dive Resort at Loloata Island, Port Moresby has two 'state of the art' dive boats, up to date acomodation and excellent service and meals.
( photo: Neville coleman)
However, my small contribution pales besides the pioneering spirits of the likes of Dik Knight, Roger Steene, Max Benjamin, Bob and Dinah Halstead, Rob Van Der Loos, Alan Rabae and Dr Gerry Allen.
Battling the elements, the topography, the incredible environmental difficulties, traditional enmities and a host of other problems, they bet their lives on the lifestyle of a new frontier. That new frontier has not diminished with the passage of time. Papua New Guinea is still a challenge and at times tests the mettle of even the most experienced expat and dedicated national.
However, for those who know it well, there is no other place that has so much to share, and so much to discover.
Papua New Guinea covers an area of 461,000 square kilometres which amounts to around double the size of the United Kingdom. However, it is not the size on the map that is the most astounding feature of Papua New Guinea, it is the terrain.
Over 37 years I have flown over the length and breadth of Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya and with each new adventure I cannot help but marvel at the never-ending rugged mountain ridges and deep valleys cut by countless creeks and rivers; an unbelievable wilderness that is difficult to comprehend on any scale, let alone transgress.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Where is Papua New Guinea?
Only 160 kilometres north of Australia, the main island of New Guinea makes up for 85 per cent of the land mass while the rest consists of around 600 islands. As one of the largest nations in the South Pacific, Papua New Guineas terrain has kept its secrets for thousands of years but it is this very nature of the land which restricts its development. Millions of kina can be spent on building bridges and roads only to see them all washed away in a single wet season.
The History
It appears that Papua New Guineas first inhabitants (Papuans) arrived from the Malay Archipelago at least 40,000 years ago. More recent immigrations of Austronesian peoples originating from Taiwan sailed through the south-east Asian archipelago colonising the islands and coastal areas.
Steene's Bay, named for pioneer underwater explorer/photographer Roger Steene is a magical sea scape one never tires of looking at. Gin clear water and a myriad coral heads sloping off into the deep water. (Milne Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Early in the 16th century Portuguese and Spanish sailors are known to have visited and in 1526/27 Don Jorge de Meneses named the western tip Ilhas dos Papuas. Six years later a Spanish captain Yigo Ortiz de Retez landed along the north coast near the Mamberamo River and called the island Nueva Guinea. In 1600 the first published map showed the entire island surrounded by water and named as Nova Guinea.
The western half of the island was claimed by the Netherlands as Netherlands New Guinea in 1828.
Outlawed by the early missionaries, trophy skulls were often hidden in caves.
(Milne Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The British claimed south-eastern New Guinea in 1884, renamed their territory as Papua and transferred responsibility to Australia in 1906 where it was known as the Territories of Papua New Guinea until 1942.
Indonesia took control of West Papua in 1963 naming it Irian Jaya. Today it remains a contentious political issue with indigenous peoples who dispute Indonesian rule, but have little respite against modern armed Government forces.
Fully independent since September 16, 1975, Papua New Guinea has a freely elected democratic Government becoming the 142nd member of the United Nations on October 10, 1975 and is also a member of the British Commonwealth.
The people
Today, many foreshore villagers trade fruit and vegetables
for dry goods with visiting live aboard dive boats.
(Milne Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The four million in habitants all belong to the ethnic group of Melanesians who live on the western fringes of the Pacific. Some 1000 tribes have 700 different languages. (In comparison: Europe shares about 40-50 languages amongst over 200 million people).
English is the official business language and is widely spoken. The main language, which is understood by most people in Papua New Guinea, is Tok Pidgin an old trade language which has been used in the Pacific for more than 200 years.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The manifestations of their culture are as multified as their languages. Some tribes in the highlands only began to have regular contact with white civilisation some 60 years ago. In fact, as recently as 1988, one tribe living in rugged mountains of western Papua New Guinea had their first contact with the outer world. The cultures are very self sufficient on a low level. The term stone age culture hardly applies to the complex social network which has been established among the tribes people for centuries.
Land flora and fauna - Incredible biodiversity
With around five to 10 per cent of the worlds total species, Papua New Guinea has a huge number of endemic species, thousands of which are still awaiting discovery. Estimations that there are probably around 200,000 species of insects, but as little area has been investigated this number may prove to be very conservative. Very little expertise is available regarding identification of insects and many thousands await descriptions in museums.
Caterpillar of the birdwing butterfly Ornithoptera priamus bornemanni lives on Dutchman's pipe vine Aristolochia tagala. (Kimbe Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
It is thought there are 11,000 known plants but there may very well be 20,000 species, if ever they are all documented.
This beautiful orchid Dendrobium sp. is just one of the 3000 species known from Papua New Guinea (Port Moresby)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The botanic gardens at Port Moresby have many excellent examples of flowering plants such as orchids and Variata National Park has a wealth of local species.
Feeding mostly on fruit, Blyths Hornbill Aceros plicatus is a large forest-dwelling species which nests in hollow trees. (Milne Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The huge Southern Crowned-Pigeon Goura scheepmakeri
lives throughout the eastern lowland forests. (Female)
(Port Moresby)
(photo: Neville Coleman)
Although birds do not appear as common in Papua New Guinea as they do in Australia there are over 650 species of resident birds. These include 324 endemic species like the many fabulous birds of paradise, exquisite parrots, pigeons, friar birds and tiny sunbirds.
Ranging across Papua New Guinea the Eclectus parrot Eclectus roratus
males are bright green. (Port Moresby)
( photo: Nevile Coleman)
However, walking through even a National park and expecting to spot birds in the surrounding rainforest jungle can be a disappointing experience. Not so if looking for butterflies, for at the right seasons one may see many of the 455 known species flitting around the jungle in search of flowers, or mates.
Shawmayer's tree kangaroo Dendrolagus matschiei
shawmayeri occurs across the central highlands.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
The spotted cuscus Spilocuscus maculatus is widespread and has a number of colour variations.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
There are around 284 species of mammals including tree kangaroos, wallabies, cuscus, bats, bandicoots, rats, echidnas and ring-tail possums; 195 species are endemic to Papua New Guinea.
Frogs are represented by 282 described species, but these are thought to be only half the numbers which occur.
Marine life
Recent studies (Nature Conservancy 2004) show that Papua New Guinea has one of the highest biodiversities of coral reefs species anywhere in the world. For the little that is known about the terrestrial wildlife, even less has been published on the make-up and diversity of its sea creatures.
Eastern clown anemonefish Amphiprion percula often inhabit anemones in very shallow water. (Kimbe Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
It is thought there are around 4,000 species of fish and at least 350 to 600 species of stony corals and soft corals. The area is very rich in molluscs with an estimation of over 6,500 to 10,000 species.
This Doughnut Doto nudibranch Doto sp. is just one of the many hundreds of new species discovered at muck diving sites. (Milne Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Over 400 species of opisthobranchs are recorded and up to 300 kinds of echinoderms. Published records establishing fauna listings on other groups are non-existent but there is no doubt the species are extensive, as has been proven by our many expeditions.
Reef Walking
Walking upright across rubble banks through sandy pools rimmed with sharp coral and on slippery surfaces coated with microscopic algae requires some skill to avoid damage to persons or inhabitants. Protective footwear (sandshoes, hard-soled wetsuit boots, or gym boots) with lace up fronts and thick soles is a must. Thongs and sandals are not adequate protection from sharp coral, or the spines of sea urchins or venomous fish which may be hiding beneath the sand.
When choosing a path across the reef flats it is best to walk on the firmer flat areas and avoid walking directly on the corals. This is just as much benefit to the reef walker as the coral, as many corals are fragile and will often collapse under the weight of a human often causing injury to unprotected ankles or shins or dumping the reef walker into the water or at worse onto the surrounding reef.
When walking in the shallows through pools or on submerged rubble try and shuffle each foot along rather than taking big steps where the foot comes down with the full body weight on it. In this way, small sting rays or stonefish can sense your approach and either move out of your way or by shuffling you move past a stonefish instead of stepping directly on its raised spines. Caution is the key element in reef walking.
Always wear a hat and a shirt for even if the breeze seems to be cooler or the sun weaker on an overcast day this is not the case. Every day in the outdoors is a potential burn day. The surface water reflects the sunlight upwards so it is best to take precautions.
In reality, very few reef creatures are aggressive or have intentions to injure us. They just have various survival systems and behaviours which we are often ignorant of. If we understand them better we can go amongst them marvelling at these devices instead of being on the receiving end.
(Always obtain permission from operator or village before reef walking)
Snorkeling
Papua New Guinea is the perfect place to learn to snorkel. Shallow and protected areas with a wealth of wildlife a mere arms length away. The lagoons and shallow water reefs, provide a never ending sense of amazement to all who share the experience.
With the Pacific Ocean providing such a wonderful opportunity, anybody can snorkel. It doesnt matter what body shape one has, with a shortie wetsuit, natural buoyancy, or help from a vest or flotation assistance life jacket, the shallow water and its wildlife can be everybodys enjoyment, from kids to retired kids.
However, like all adventure activities, snorkelling is of greater pleasure if a few things are known beforehand. Always ensure that masks and fins fit properly. Always clean a mask with soap, drip of detergent or ample spit to make sure it does not fog up and spoil the view.
Snorkeling on the surface means you are face to face with hundreds of easy-to-touch creatures. Investigation is fine but always being very careful how you touch animals. Some can sting, spine, abrade or bite. Even small fish being hand fed have small teeth and can draw blood; the bigger the fish the bigger the teeth.
Sea urchins are not good to touch as the spines are needle sharp and break off in careless fingers. Some sea cucumbers have sticky, noxious defensive organs which are shot out from their anus when they are handled, so dont harass them. Common sense should be applied at all times.
If you are not sure, leave it alone and just look. Quite often dive guides give demonstrations on how to use mask and snorkel and this service is really necessary for beginners.
Scuba Diving
Still decked in warfare regailia these mighty relics lay entombed in their watery graves. (Hansa Bay)
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Papua New Guinea possesses some of the best dive sites in the world. About twice the amount of fish species as compared to the Red Sea, and roughly ten times as many species of corals are found there compared to the Caribbean.
It's "muck diving" sites are world famous with hundreds of new species being discovered. A very special characteristic for PNG diving is the deep water which comes very close to the shore. Only a few metres away from the beaches are vertical reef walls dropping down to 300m or more.
In the more sheltered areas of Kimbe Bay in West New Britain delicate coral formations grow to enormous sizes. Another fantastic dive destination is the Eastern Fields which is situated 170 km south west of Port Moresby.
Intact wreck of a B17 bommer off Tufi give divers a unique opportunity to explore a time capsule. Diving into the past. ( Copyright photo: Bob Halstead)
Short boat transfers to the dive sites sets the diving in PNG ahead of the other popular destinations like the Australian Barrier Reef. Hundereds of wrecks, many of them W.W.II wrecks, are scattered across the nation above and below the waterline. Boats, planes, barges and submarines, some of them still in excellent condition, have been transfered into living coral reefs. Rabaul, Kavieng, Loloata (Port Moresby) Madang and Hansa Bay are good places to go for wreck diving.
My first sighting of the World War II wrecks in Hansa Bay was awesome. Cloaked in corals they had become artificial reefs. ( photo: Neville Coleman)
However it is not only those perfect natural features that make PNG one of the best places in the world for diving.
A small fleet of outstanding live-aboard dive vessels and a number of excellent dive resorts offer outstanding service to divers.
Tawali Dive Resort at Milne Bay. Modern day resort, fully air conditioned and all modern cons.( Copyright photo: Roger Steene)
Live aboard life style at Walindi Plantation, Kimbe bay on " Fe Brina".
Walindi Dive Resort has traditional accomodation, fans, mosquito nets, first class cruisine, excellent dive boats and experienced dive guides.
( photo: Neville Coleman)
Neville Coleman's diving expeditions, fauna surveys, photographic fauna surveys and marine life identification courses include every major group of marine life.
Neville Coleman's expertise in marine life identification extends to the identification of Algae, Sea Grass, Forams, Sponges, Stony Corals, Soft Corals, Sea Anemones, Sea Jellies, Zoanthids, Corallimorphs, Black Corals, Flatworms, Segmented Worms, Crustaceans, Barnacles, Shrimps, Rock Lobsters, Hermit Crabs, Squat Lobsters, Molluscs, Chitons, Univalves, Bivalves, Cephalopods, Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid, Opisthobranchs, Nudibranchs, Sea Slugs, Bryozoans, Sea Mosses, Echinoderms, Sea Stars, Feather Stars, Brittle Stars, Sea Urchins, Sea Cucumbers, Ascidians/Sea Squirts, Marine Fish, Sharks, Marine Reptiles, and Marine Mammals, all found in the waters around Papua New Guinea.
( Copyright Neville Coleman)
Airlines
International Air Niugini and Airlines PNG
Domestic Air Niugini, Airlines PNGAirport
Jacksons International Airport is the gateway of Papua New Guinea, situated about 8km away from the main town centre of Port Moresby. Mt Hagen Provincial Airport has been declared International port of entry because of the mining activities around the highland provinces.
Entry requirements
A 60-day tourist visa is available on arrival in Port Moresby at a fee of K100. To obtain a visa before you enter the country costs K74. You will need travel documents, sufficient funds for your stay in the country and airline ticket with confirmed outbound flights before
expiry date of your visa. As some restrictions apply to several Asian, Eastern European and African countries, please check with the nearest Papua New Guinea mission or the nearest Australian mission, which is allocated in each country for visa requirements before travelling to the country.
Health regulations
Certification or vaccination against yellow fever or cholera is required for travellers over one year of age coming from or through infected areas. Malaria is a serious health risk. Visitors are strongly advised to consult your local doctor or tropical disease clinic to commence anti-malarial preparations before arrival. Water quality is within World Health Organisation standards in most towns. Bottled water is available. In rural areas it is advisable to boil water at all times.
Value added tax (VAT)
All transactions within hotels, restaurants and bars are subject to 10% tax which is included in published prices.
Climate
Warm to hot and humid throughout the year. There is a rainy season which varies from province to province; however, in general, it is driest from May to December. The air is clean; watch out for sunburn, particularly in the highlands, even on overcast days.
Dress
Informal and casual with shorts and open neck shirts worn throughout the year along with traditional items and apparel; ramis, sulus, laplaps and kolos. Thongs, sneakers and sandshoes are not allowed in some bars and restaurants. In the highlands, sturdy walking shoes are recommended, as is a sweater or jacket for cool evenings. Female dress should always be modest.
Electrical voltage
Electrical current on the national grid is 240 volts. The type of plug that electrical appliance use in PNG is TYPE 1. Some hotels provide 110 volt outlets in guest rooms for shavers and hair dryers.
Medical services
Dental, doctors and hospital services are available in all major centres. Medical clinics and aid posts are found in remote areas and several hospitals are privately owned.
Malaria is a real and ever-present danger in Papua New Guinea; every precaution must be taken, preventative medication and preventative measures -
don't get bitten by mosquitoes.
Telecommunication
Papua New Guinea has modern satellite communications, which have brought the world closer at the touch of a few buttons. ISD and STD dialling are available in most parts of the country. Telex and facsimile services are also readily available except in very remote areas where high frequency radios are in use.
Time zone
Papua New Guinea is 10 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Tipping
Visitors to the country are guests and hospitality is an honour in our Melanesian culture. Tips are neither expected nor encouraged.
Transportation
Transportation is mostly by air across Papua New Guinea. A good network of roads connects the northern zone and the highlands region. Hire and rental cars, local boats and ferries, taxis in larger towns, plus local buses. There is no road link between the northern zone and the capital, Port Moresby because of the rugged nature of the terrain.