Ok, here is part two.
The resort crew came to our bungalow and loaded up all of our bags and told us that we could go hang out at the pool area until boarding time on the boat. We did just that. While there the Captains of both the Star Dancer and the Febrina where there where I was able to meet Captain Allan. We hung out for a while, had a beer and then it was time to go out to the boat. First impression to be honest was "uh oh" As we were walking down the jetty towards the boats. The Febrina was tied off to the Star Dancer and the difference from the outside was was very noticeable. However the apprehension was soon dispelled. Febrina although much smaller of the two is a very nice boat. It is very well layed out and quite comfortable. We were shown to our cabin which had 4 bunks but they only put two guests in these so there was plenty of room. I have been on many liveaboards and I would say this is one of the most comfortable cabins I have stayed in. We had the bunk to sleep in and then we both had a upper bunk to put our stuff on. Plenty of space to spread out. The cabin was clean, smelled good and had a nice little vanity sink and mirror. We did have to share the head but it never posed a problem. There were two full heads in our part of the boat shared by 6 guests. The great thing about these were the size. I am 6'4" and most liveaboard heads are so small that I can barely move in them. Not only was there plenty of space but I could actually stand under the shower head and take a shower.
We got settled in and then went upstairs to get the tour and the briefing. The lounge and eating area is very comfortable, well decorated and there was plenty of room for 10 guests. We had a little reception with snacks and wine while we were briefed and then we hung out until dinner and the Captain moved the boat out to our overnight mooring.
I won't go into a daily menu but the food was good and for the most part plentiful. My only suggestion for improvment in the food dept is for the breakfasts. There was a cold breakfast available every morning before the first dive and then a hot breakfast was served before the second dive. I don't eat cereal and I rarely eat bread. I was very ready for a hot breakfast after the first dive. Our choice of breakfast on most days was eggs and or sausage or bacon. That was it. I found that I could not get used to the taste of PNG bacon or sausage so it was eggs for me. On two days they served pancakes (basically bread) and another day waffles (again bread). I did ask if there was any way that I could get a bowl of rice for my breakfast which finally after the third day I got a bowl and then never saw another one despite asking every day.
This was really a minor issue and only worth mentioning for anyone going on this trip as some people really need an adequate breakfast in the mornings.
The lunches were awsome. Lots of good food and a good selection every day as were the dinners. I did find out that PNG has really great Ice Cream which we had every night for dessert. At dinner there was wine included with our meal and if one chose you could have a beer and I suppose hard liquor although I did not see anyone drink anything besides beer or wine.
The entire crew were very gracious and the service was excellent through out the trip.
Now for the diving.
I have been diving all over the Carib, Hawaii, West coast of the U.S. From Oregon to the Mexican border. Northwest fresh water lakes and rivers. To this date PNG was the best diving that I have ever done. The reef systems were in anywhere from really good condition to pristine. The sealife was so abundant at times to seem overwhelming.
I had a goal to see my first giant clam, mandarine fish, ghost pipe fish, Lion fish, anenome fish, bumphead wrasse, pygmy seahorse and of course all of the different types of coral that would be found there and I was not dissapointed. I got to see all fo those things. The exciting part was the I actually found my first mandarine fish on my own and I also found a juvenile lion fish that was about the size of a quarter.
The diversity of coral both soft and hard was truly amazing and I saw some of the most beautiful hard corals that I could imagine. On one dive the were so many Octopi that I could not even count them. I just moved from one to another and watched theri antics. Unlike the ones I have seen in the Carib, these were out and about during the day and were quite comical, being interested in the divers as we were in them.
We did a huge assortment of dives, most of them being on bommies but some being more typical walls and a few muck dives. I really get into the muck dives so I quite enjoyed them. Some of the group on the boat were not so intriqued but that was their loss. On one dive, myself and another diver were on the bottom for 95 minutes poking around and finding all sorts of interesting creatures. This was were I found the baby lion fish and saw my first ghost pipe fish. On this dive we also saw the funniest little Octopus that was walking around on the tips of his "toes" with two of his tentacles raised up and balled into "fists" like he was looking to box. Great fun!
The also had shark dives. I am not a fan of chum shark diving but I suppose it had its purpose. For those divers that wanted sharks they got to seem them. I myself would go on down the reef and have a nice peacful dive while they were hanging out taking pictures.
We had a group of 4 Italians on the boat soon to be nicknamed the "Italian wrecking crew" I have never seen a group of divers that were so destructive on a reef. When ever we were doing a "shark dive" I knew that at least for that dive the reef was safe from them as they stuck around the entire dive to watch the sharks.
I will stop here for a minute to say that this was my only criticism of the Febrina operation. These divers were truly incredibly destructive. They were kickng and breaking off any coral that got in their way. One of them actually layed down on a huge shelf of coral and the entire shelf broke away and essentially shattered as it went tumbling down the reef. It was truly upsetting to watch. The dive masters did nothing about it. I spoke to the dive master after the dive and she said there was nothing she could do about it.
Moving on, I learned that it was best to just stay away from the wrecking team and I could keep my blood pressure in check and enjoy my trip.
The outter reef dives was where the bigger fish came into feed and were so extremely abundant. Huge schools of barracuda, jacks, bonita. The vis was not as good out there but not to worry the diving was still great. Closer in to land the vis was better and the colors were spectacular. I remember go to Disney land as a child and going on the submarine ride and being fascinated by all of the colors. Then as an adult and starting my diving career I was dissapointed that I did not see these colors under water. Well guess what? You can see them if you dive in PNG waters. The hard corals came in pinks, greens, peach tones, yellow and blue. Truly amazing.
This was a 10 day trip and I loved every minute of it. By the end of any trip I am usually planning my next destination. I have been home now for 7 weeks and have not even thought about where to go next. It will be very hard to top this one.
If anyone is thinking about going to PNG and they are not sure because of the remoteness or of being in PNG for that matter, rest assured it is worth the trip. One fo the things that I was concerned about was malaria so I got meds and not once during the entire trip did I even seen a mosquito. Maybe I was just lucky but for me it was not a problem.
Word of advice though. Having traveled with Air Niugini. Give yourself at least a day before and a day after the boat in case of travel delays. I won't bore you with the trip home, suffice it to say that I was really glad that I had built in two extra days to get home.
Jim
'
The resort crew came to our bungalow and loaded up all of our bags and told us that we could go hang out at the pool area until boarding time on the boat. We did just that. While there the Captains of both the Star Dancer and the Febrina where there where I was able to meet Captain Allan. We hung out for a while, had a beer and then it was time to go out to the boat. First impression to be honest was "uh oh" As we were walking down the jetty towards the boats. The Febrina was tied off to the Star Dancer and the difference from the outside was was very noticeable. However the apprehension was soon dispelled. Febrina although much smaller of the two is a very nice boat. It is very well layed out and quite comfortable. We were shown to our cabin which had 4 bunks but they only put two guests in these so there was plenty of room. I have been on many liveaboards and I would say this is one of the most comfortable cabins I have stayed in. We had the bunk to sleep in and then we both had a upper bunk to put our stuff on. Plenty of space to spread out. The cabin was clean, smelled good and had a nice little vanity sink and mirror. We did have to share the head but it never posed a problem. There were two full heads in our part of the boat shared by 6 guests. The great thing about these were the size. I am 6'4" and most liveaboard heads are so small that I can barely move in them. Not only was there plenty of space but I could actually stand under the shower head and take a shower.
We got settled in and then went upstairs to get the tour and the briefing. The lounge and eating area is very comfortable, well decorated and there was plenty of room for 10 guests. We had a little reception with snacks and wine while we were briefed and then we hung out until dinner and the Captain moved the boat out to our overnight mooring.
I won't go into a daily menu but the food was good and for the most part plentiful. My only suggestion for improvment in the food dept is for the breakfasts. There was a cold breakfast available every morning before the first dive and then a hot breakfast was served before the second dive. I don't eat cereal and I rarely eat bread. I was very ready for a hot breakfast after the first dive. Our choice of breakfast on most days was eggs and or sausage or bacon. That was it. I found that I could not get used to the taste of PNG bacon or sausage so it was eggs for me. On two days they served pancakes (basically bread) and another day waffles (again bread). I did ask if there was any way that I could get a bowl of rice for my breakfast which finally after the third day I got a bowl and then never saw another one despite asking every day.
This was really a minor issue and only worth mentioning for anyone going on this trip as some people really need an adequate breakfast in the mornings.
The lunches were awsome. Lots of good food and a good selection every day as were the dinners. I did find out that PNG has really great Ice Cream which we had every night for dessert. At dinner there was wine included with our meal and if one chose you could have a beer and I suppose hard liquor although I did not see anyone drink anything besides beer or wine.
The entire crew were very gracious and the service was excellent through out the trip.
Now for the diving.
I have been diving all over the Carib, Hawaii, West coast of the U.S. From Oregon to the Mexican border. Northwest fresh water lakes and rivers. To this date PNG was the best diving that I have ever done. The reef systems were in anywhere from really good condition to pristine. The sealife was so abundant at times to seem overwhelming.
I had a goal to see my first giant clam, mandarine fish, ghost pipe fish, Lion fish, anenome fish, bumphead wrasse, pygmy seahorse and of course all of the different types of coral that would be found there and I was not dissapointed. I got to see all fo those things. The exciting part was the I actually found my first mandarine fish on my own and I also found a juvenile lion fish that was about the size of a quarter.
The diversity of coral both soft and hard was truly amazing and I saw some of the most beautiful hard corals that I could imagine. On one dive the were so many Octopi that I could not even count them. I just moved from one to another and watched theri antics. Unlike the ones I have seen in the Carib, these were out and about during the day and were quite comical, being interested in the divers as we were in them.
We did a huge assortment of dives, most of them being on bommies but some being more typical walls and a few muck dives. I really get into the muck dives so I quite enjoyed them. Some of the group on the boat were not so intriqued but that was their loss. On one dive, myself and another diver were on the bottom for 95 minutes poking around and finding all sorts of interesting creatures. This was were I found the baby lion fish and saw my first ghost pipe fish. On this dive we also saw the funniest little Octopus that was walking around on the tips of his "toes" with two of his tentacles raised up and balled into "fists" like he was looking to box. Great fun!
The also had shark dives. I am not a fan of chum shark diving but I suppose it had its purpose. For those divers that wanted sharks they got to seem them. I myself would go on down the reef and have a nice peacful dive while they were hanging out taking pictures.
We had a group of 4 Italians on the boat soon to be nicknamed the "Italian wrecking crew" I have never seen a group of divers that were so destructive on a reef. When ever we were doing a "shark dive" I knew that at least for that dive the reef was safe from them as they stuck around the entire dive to watch the sharks.
I will stop here for a minute to say that this was my only criticism of the Febrina operation. These divers were truly incredibly destructive. They were kickng and breaking off any coral that got in their way. One of them actually layed down on a huge shelf of coral and the entire shelf broke away and essentially shattered as it went tumbling down the reef. It was truly upsetting to watch. The dive masters did nothing about it. I spoke to the dive master after the dive and she said there was nothing she could do about it.
Moving on, I learned that it was best to just stay away from the wrecking team and I could keep my blood pressure in check and enjoy my trip.
The outter reef dives was where the bigger fish came into feed and were so extremely abundant. Huge schools of barracuda, jacks, bonita. The vis was not as good out there but not to worry the diving was still great. Closer in to land the vis was better and the colors were spectacular. I remember go to Disney land as a child and going on the submarine ride and being fascinated by all of the colors. Then as an adult and starting my diving career I was dissapointed that I did not see these colors under water. Well guess what? You can see them if you dive in PNG waters. The hard corals came in pinks, greens, peach tones, yellow and blue. Truly amazing.
This was a 10 day trip and I loved every minute of it. By the end of any trip I am usually planning my next destination. I have been home now for 7 weeks and have not even thought about where to go next. It will be very hard to top this one.
If anyone is thinking about going to PNG and they are not sure because of the remoteness or of being in PNG for that matter, rest assured it is worth the trip. One fo the things that I was concerned about was malaria so I got meds and not once during the entire trip did I even seen a mosquito. Maybe I was just lucky but for me it was not a problem.
Word of advice though. Having traveled with Air Niugini. Give yourself at least a day before and a day after the boat in case of travel delays. I won't bore you with the trip home, suffice it to say that I was really glad that I had built in two extra days to get home.
Jim
'
