I just got off the first cruise for the Spirit of Niugini after its six-month dry dock. We cruised out of Tawali to the islands just offshore (around Normandy Island). This was my second trip to PNG. The last one was on the Star Dancer to the south coast of East New Britain Island in 2005.
Here is the trip report from that one.
Even though its dry season now it rained every day we were there, which really reduced the visibility and made the water look kind of green. We also never saw the sun the entire time. The road from the airport to Tawali was horrible, horrible, horrible. Its been raining there for many weeks and it was washed out and muddy. This was the worst part of the trip. It took us three hours to get from the airport to the resort.
BUT...the diving was amazing. There were areas of bommies filled with soft coral, sea fans, hard coral and lots of marine life around it all. We saw huge schools of fish and lots of fast predatory behavior. We also saw a whaleshark at Tawali. In the afternoons we would do muck diving, which was the absolute opposite of what we experienced on the walls and bommies, but was equally as amazing.
I've posted some pictures from this trip on my scuba meetup group.
The boat and crew did a fine job for this shakedown cruise. Greg, who had formerly been doing some work for PHD, was our cruise director and did an excellent job. He went out of his way to make sure everything was as safe and comfortable for the passengers as possible. Everything wasn't perfect, but then we never went there with that expectation. We had pretty good food, lots of SP beer and wine, A/C, hot water, working toilets, comfortable beds, good charging stations, competent captain and crew, NITROX, and five dives a day if we wanted that. The Spirit of Niugini wasn't as luxurious as the Star Dancer, but had we had sunshine and perfect vis like I did in 2005, this trip would have been comparable. The owners of the boat are working out many of the details that will refine things, but for the most part it was an awesome trip to one of the most primitive and exotic destinations I've ever experienced.
The boat dropped us off in Alotau where we saw the Chertan also either leaving or coming in from a trip. I had not seen this boat before and I did not get onboard, but at a distance the vessel looked like a stubby little fishing boat. Not something I'd be too excited about getting on board after coming this far to dive. I may be totally wrong about my impression, but it didn't look to be very well maintained, at least cosmetically. I guess if the group was small and the price was right, any boat would be OK, but I absolutely agree with the comment that "luxury" and "PNG" don't go hand-in-hand, except for Tawali Resort, which is drop-dead gorgeous.
I'm sorry I can't tell you anything about the Golden Dawn. On my previous trip I also visited Loloata Resort which is out of Port Moresby. While in PM we stayed at the Airways Hotel. Expensive, but nice, with good food.
We also did the highlands before the diving portion of the trip. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND both Ambua Lodge in Tari and Rondon Ridge Lodge in Mt. Hagen. The tours arranged for us there by
South Pacific Island Travel were absolutely perfect. I would go back in a heartbeat. It would be a real shame to travel that far and not do the highlands.
I'm working on a full trip report for this adventure, so I'll post something here when its done.
We too are working on plans to do a photo workshop in Borneo toward the end of 2009, however we are seriously concerned about the major problems they are having with limited diving permits. I hope this blows over, but we are holding off in our bookings on that one until we can guarantee our photographers that they can get to dive once they arrive there. I haven't heard great reviews from recent visitors.
I'm also looking forward to hearing about other's experience in the PNG area. Feel free to PM me if you are looking for other trip details.
Bonnie