PAPUA NEW GUINEA

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SERENDIPITY IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA



I had a very pleasant one day lay-over in Manila between Palau and Papua New Guinea. My hotel, M Suites, was first rate; modern, clean, quiet, and inexpensive. After a restorative good night’s sleep, I saw an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist in Makati Medical Center and still had time to go to the local mall and buy a small rolling suitcase to carry my underwater camera, and I didn’t even feel rushed.

I arrived at the clinic a little early and had a bagel and tea before finding my way to the room noted on my hospital form. I sat patiently as people arrived and entered adjacent doors. I might still be sitting there if not for a very nice man in a Security uniform who finally asked, “Who are waiting to see?” I told him the name of the doctor and he asked to see my slip. I was sitting outside room 306. The Doctor was in room 360! Oops! I sure felt silly. Arriving at room 360, I was immediately ushered in and the doctor examined my ears, removed the wax that was blocking the Eustachian tubes, issued drops to prevent infection and sent me on my way. It took less than fifteen minutes. Now I can dive in Papua.

I vacillated between going to the mall to buy a luggage bag with rollers, or resume my trip still struggling with my bulky underwater camera bag which weighed about twelve pounds. Finally, I grabbed a taxi, arrived at the mall, asked the doorman where luggage was - second floor, and started shopping. A young salesgirl almost immediately found a bag that fit my specifications but I felt it was too expensive and asked her if perhaps there was a cheaper one. She led the way to another corner of the store and introduced me to a young man who sold me a similar bag for half the price. I was quite happy. Then he suggested that I put in a commendation for the salesgirl, Rosalie. I agreed she had done a great job so Jack and I, and three more young salesmen all trooped over to the central sales counter where I paid for the bag and then wrote a nice letter about how helpful the salesgirl had been. A department head sent for Rosalie and she came blushing and smiling for photographs with all eight of us. It was like a party, everybody beaming and happy. How different the personnel department was in this mall. It really was a delightful finish to a routine shopping trip.

I made it back to my hotel in time to gather my bags, pay my bill and get to the airport. It was a relief to pull my camera instead of lugging it my shoulder, up staircases and through terminals.

I arrived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, around six in the morning. Port Moresby is the capital of PNG, as the locals have dubbed it, and there is some diving there but the better diving is in Alotau. I waited in the coffee shop/cafeteria until the counters opened and then tried to book a tour to Alotau. After several hours it was confirmed…there were no flights that would fit my schedule and get me back to Port Moresby in time to catch the plane to my next destination, the Solomon Islands.

Finally I called John, the dive master Michael had dived with on his trip to Port Moresby the month before. John offered to meet me at the airport and help me find a “safe” place to stay, and discuss diving options. John is Australian, but has lived all of his life in Papua. He was sure it would not be safe for me to walk around in the city so he drove me around looking at hotels, but wasn’t quite satisfied with any of them. He had business to conduct so he asked me if I minded tagging along while he picked up a friend and went to a meeting about installing a new dive hyperbaric chamber in the city. I ate lunch while they met with the City Fathers and made decisions. When we got back to the car John took a call from a friend of his who was going to Alotau to get his boat and bring it back to Port Moresby for the winter. He just happened to have room for one more diver. I said I would take the space. John felt like I should negotiate the price, but it was such a streak of luck…I would catch the plane in the morning and meet Craig at the airport in Alotau, dive for three days and the boat would dock in Port Moresby the night before my plane departed for the Solomon Islands. It was perfect.

John rented me a room in an apartment under his home for the one night. He even gave me a lift to the airport the next morning since he drives his wife to work every day; she works at the airport, and she walked with me to departures.

The airport was very confusing. Flights were taking off every twenty minutes or so, sometimes multiple flights were called, and there was only one gate. The lines were not clearly designated, the noise level was piercing and the room was in constant motion. I couldn’t understand a word that was said over the loudspeaker. I was a nervous wreck by the time I finally boarded the plane. A mere forty five minutes later, and much more relaxed, I met Craig and three other divers, all of whom have been on his boat before; Brad is with the state department, Nora works for Exxon, and Kevin is Craig’s brother-in-law.

Craig showed me around the boat, the Golden Dawn. It is 80 feet long and quite roomy. No wet clothes are allowed in the saloon and no shoes are worn on the boat. I shared a room with Nora. I was a little intimidated since all the other guests have been out with Craig many times. I was the newbie. Outside on the deck there are hot showers with shampoo and warm towels - a nice touch. There were comfortable deck chairs on the next level, with clear plastic curtains to deflect the wind, and a covered dining area with a big lazy Susan built into the table for drinks and condiments. Weather was good so we ate dinner outside; breakfast was more casual and was served in the saloon.

After the boat got underway we prepared for an afternoon check-out dive on China Reef. My weights were perfect at eight pounds, but I was the first one to come to the surface…unusual for me. I used a bigger tank for the second dive. I had some trouble clearing my ears on the first dive so Craig suggested I use a decongestant called Fess Off. It seemed to do the trick. I used it right before the dive and was able to clear my ears easily. The second dive was a dusk dive and the dive site was called Sawasawaga (wonderful name, no?) The water was warm and clear and there was plenty to see on both dives.

The boat has a four by five foot expanded metal dive platform that lowers into the sea. It makes getting on and off the boat in full gear very easy. The staff took my tank as soon as I stepped onto the boat. But I must admit… swimming up to the boat in dim light was spooky. It seemed to hover over me like a huge, brooding sea creature. I enjoyed the hot water showers and tea and cookies after the dives. Dinner was very good as was the conversation. After dinner I lingered in the saloon plugging in battery chargers, and checking photos, and for some reason I just tipped over onto the cushioned bench, fell asleep and slept till dawn. Dumb. I was just too tired to get up and make my way downstairs to my bunk.

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Photos

SOFT CORALS
Reefs, walls, wrecks, and muck diving...Papua New Guinea has it all.

DECORATOR CRAB
Big blue eyes stand out against colorful corals.

ANGEL FISH
So much to photograph.

RIBBON WORMS
Close to nudibranchs, these worms (upper left quadrant) can undulate through the water.

UNUSUAL SNAIL
This was a new creature for me to photograph. It was four to six inches long.

ANCHOR
Clear water...there are many wrecks along the coast.

PYGMY CUTTLE FISH
Pretty coloring, but he would sling sand on himself for camouflage.

NUDIBRANCH
This rather dull looking nudibranch is called a blue dragon.

NUDIBRANCH
This one looks like a little mouse.

CLAM SCULPTURE
Diverse growth on a ship wreck.

BANANA SLUG
This nudibranch gets quite large.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Papa New Guinea
I dream of going to Papua New Guinea. Good customer service deserves recognition. Thanks for taking us along with us on your trip.

[cabochick]

You are my hero
...and never too old! Going diving in PNG seems brave, but fantastic. Such a bucket list for me. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences! Will be definitely looking for that Fess Off stuff...I have such trouble with my ears lately.

[Never too old]

Papua New Guinea
Hey...I don't know if this is just because I have the "hundred day cough" also known as "the chicken cough" but I have lots less trouble with ears and throat if I avoid the chicken and eggs and cold drinks in hot climes while diving.