Trip Report Lissenung Island Resort, Kavieng, PNG

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Toula

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My husband and I have just returned from a 10 day trip to PNG. It was absolutely fabulous!
We had travelled to Cairns to spend a few days there, then flew Air Niguini to Port Moresby, PNG. DUe to the flight connections, we had to overnight in Port Moresby, and although many people say it's an unsafe city, we had no problems. The hotel bus picked us up from the airport and took us to the hotel. We didn't really venture into town too much, but stayed in our beautiful hotel, the Airways Hotel. It's inside the airport complex and thus very safe. It's got a big pool and pool-side bar, big rooms, air-conditioning and a lovely restaurant.
The next day, we took off to the airport early, checked in and departed for Kavieng. Okay, the flight was 45 minutes late, but that didn't stop Dietmar, the owner of Lissenung Island Resort, to meet us at the airport with a welcoming smile. He started the resort 10 years ago and still goes diving on most days.
We took the bus to the Malagan Beach Resort, where the Lissenung boat was waiting for us. Silas, one of Dietmar's staff members, carried our luggage to the boat, all we had to do is take our shoes off and follow suit.
A 20-minute boat ride later, we arrived at the island. I have never seen anything so beautiful and untouched. We were greeted by lush green palm trees, a clean white sandy beach, clear water and 2 singing dogs! Oh yeah, and Ange, Dietmar's partner. She does all the cooking, the marketing, a bit of diving etc. She is a fantastic cook, the food at Lissenung was the best we've had the pleasure of consuming so far at any dive resort or liveaboard. Local seafood such as fresh fish, crayfish/lobster, mud crabs were served regularly, even daily, if you asked for it. Lots of fruit and vegies took care of the health factor and the yummy desserts of the sweet tooth.

Again, the staff took care of our luggage and Dietmar showed us to our room. We had chosen a double with private facilities, but if you want to save a few bucks, you can take a room with share facilities. Our room was lovely, simple but very comfortable. We had a large verandah with chairs, to relax in after a days diving. There was a ceiling fan (don't need air-con here), a large desk with a number of powerpoints and lots of room for our clothes, so we didn't have to live out of our suitcases.
The meals were taken in the big main building, where we also gathered for pre-dinner drinks. I just loved that building, it had a sandfloor! In fact, the only buildings on the island that have floors are the rooms. You don't need shoes here! There are only 7 rooms, so a maximum of 14 guests can stay on the island. When we were there, there were 8 of us and it was great. Dietmar and Ange are so involved in everything, it created a very familiar atmosphere. Not like the larger resorts, where the staff don't know your name!
The little dive shop is very well organised and the dive gear kept in good order. We had brought our own, but the hire gear was hanging in full view and we could see that it was in good nick.

The diving itself was something out of this world! I have never seen so many different types of fish on one dive. There were big things, like grey reefsharks and eagle rays, barracudas, schools of tuna and travelly. But also little stuff, like nudibranchs (now I know where most of the pictures of the book "1001 Nudibranchs come from...), ghostpipefish, pigmy seahorses (7 on one fan at a dive site called "Kavin"!!) and lots more. There are dives in strong current (of course, that's where you get the big stuff), walls, coral gardens, a few plane and ship wrecks and even some muck diving. The diving is so varied and I now believe the saying that PNG has more fish and coral species than any other dive destination. You have to see it to believe it!
Dietmar is great in finding critters and picking the right dive spot for the day. Tame, the local dive guide, is almost even better. He grew up on the neighbouring island, so he knows the waters like the back of his hand. He is extremly knowledgeable and loves to share that knowledge with his guests. The dive guides at Lissenung have found that fine line between not crowding you and treating you like a baby, and still showing you everything there is to see.

We were very sad to have to leave, but unfortunately, that thing "Job" called. But hey, we will be back, no doubt about that!
Ooooh, nearly forgot: They have a 10-year anniversary special running this year. We had no idea about this, as our travel agent had forgotten to mention this, so it was a very nice surprise. We each got a free Lissenung Island Resort T-Shirt, a free bottle of wine and a free night dive. All this added up to US$82 per person!!

Have a look at their website on www.lissenung.com
They have stacks of information on their, prices and the particulars of the special!

Happy diving,
Toula
 
HI Toula
I did Lissenung 4 years ago, I have to say still the BEST wall diving I have ever done. Dietmar runs such a great operation and I hope to get back there next year.

Cheers
Chriso
 
Toula,

I would have to agree Lissenung is a must do. I have had a number of trips with Dietmar and it is great to hear that he still runs an efficient and good operation

Wayan
 
.....flight was 45 minutes late,.....
ahhhh - island time :wink:

thanks for the report...... i was told yesterday that my 40th birthday at solomons was canned so PNG was moved up the list!!!
 
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