PNG in January

[raym728]

I am planning a diving trip to Papua New Guinea at the end of next January. I have read several articles saying the best months to go diving at PNG are May thru October. Can someone give me an idea which part of the country will be the best to dive during the month of January? I will be doing land-based diving and it will be my first diving trip to PNG.

Thank you.

 

[cdiver2]

Going next Sat give me a E after the 26th and I will let you know how it went. Going to Walindi Plantation.
ddiver@tampabay.rr.com

 

[Scuba Jim]

There is nowhere good to go in PNG in January. It is the rainy season.

Best time to travel is Mid March - June and September - November. July & August are the windy season. December - Fbruary is the rainy season.

Take your brolly....!

Regards
Jim

 

[domino22]

Scuba Jim once bubbled...
There is nowhere good to go in PNG in January. It is the rainy season.

Best time to travel is Mid March - June and September - November. July & August are the windy season. December - Fbruary is the rainy season.

Take your brolly....! What is this? I mean the "brolly"? So wait till march to go and skip Feb?

Regards
Jim

 

[DeepSeaFox]

domino22 once bubbled...
What is this? I mean the "brolly"? So wait till march to go and skip Feb?

Brolly = Umbrella (in Aussie)

 

[Scuba Jim]

a brolly is an Pommie word too!

Yes, my advice is to wait until March, the later in March the better, just in case the rainy season carries on slightly longer than it ought too.

 

[beche de mer]

OK, yes, it is the rainy season. But so what? Not afraid of getting wet are you?

In the rainy season you'll find its very hot and humid, and toward the afternoon the clouds build up. Usually at about 3 or 4 pm, it absolutely p*sses down. But that's OK. That's beer drinking time.

This can affect the visibility, but if it's January or not at all, my advice is go. There's still great diving to be had.

If you want land-based, I'd suggest Jais Aben resort in Madang, on the north coast. I was there a couple of years back and it was a very professionally run outfit. Take a look at this site:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~diving/articles/madang96.htm

There is a good variety of dives at Jais Aben with reefs and wrecks. There an island trader, sunk and made safe for diving, and a B25 bomber, in good condition, with guns and ammunition belts preserved.:mean:

 

[reubencahn]

Scuba Jim once bubbled...
[B July & August are the windy season.
Regards
Jim [/B]

Are the seas unreasonably rough then? Are there areas not so affected?

 

[Allison Finch]

Don't listen to the downers. I've spent plenty of time there in Jan. Due to the prevailing weather the best diving is probably out of Kavieng on New Ireland Island. One year we had terrible unseasonal winds out of the west that made the north and south coasts equally bad. We spent 14 days diving the channels that cut the islands. If you can fine better dives that Albatross Channel or Planet Ocean.......Yes, it will rain most afternoons. Who is scared of getting wet? The vis was just fine. Even the muck diving was fine and it usually suffers first. The light is more subdued, that's all. If the winds are bad, it can be rough. Just go to the channels. Be prepared for currents. Yippeeee!!!!!

I am always on the liveaboard FeBrina so we are able to go all over looking for the best dives. There are land based operations on Kavieng too.

Have fun. GO!!!

 

[dykfrasse]

I am also going to PNG in late january 2004. Starting of with a trip to the highlands(Mt Wilhelm trek) and a few days at Loloata Island before a 7-night trip on the Star Dancer(7-14 feb). After that I plan to stay 5 nights in Rabaul and to end it all, a week on Lissenung Island off Kavieng. This will be my first trip to PNG and I will be travelling alone. If you are anywhere near any of these places, drop me a line and we can hook up!
Olof, Sweden