CuttlefishAs our plane took off from Los Angeles, the words that went through my mind were: Well, Dorothy, you are not in Kansas any more. To digress, there are two basic ways of getting to Papua New Guinea: through Hong Kong and through Australia. Since Australia requires a visa and since Hong Kong has always fascinated me, we chose to visit Hong Kong and spend a day touring as opposed to visiting Australia. The flight from Chicago takes nearly 4 hours to get to Los Angeles and the flight from LA to Hong Kong requires another 13 hours so by the time we arrived we were clearly tired of sitting on airplanes despite the fact that we were well taken care of during the flight. However landing in Hong Kong is quite an experience: it is a city of contrasts and extremes. It is a combination of both very, very old and very, very new. Not only does it have the largest harbor in the world and the most neon signage of any city (an interesting fact!) in the world but it also has the most number of Rolls Royce's.
We stayed at the Regal hotel which adjoins the airport and hence is the ultimate in convenience as you can use your baggage cart to simply roll your baggage to a conveyor belt which brings it right to the check in desk. While the Regal Hotel is fairly expensive, the convenience may make it the best alternative since nothing in Hong Kong is cheap; it is a luxurious hotel with a staff that is eager to please. The rooms are spacious with television and other amenities and it has a view of the airport that is fascinating. Rooms are relatively sound proof. There are several interesting restaurants in the hotel and I would recommend trying the Chinese/American buffet for breakfast as it is an unusual experience.
The following day we boarded an Air Nuigini flight to Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea; this flight had a stop in Manila so we also got a chance to view the Philippine version of an airport. Flying time approximates 7 hours due to the stop in Manila. Arriving in Port Moresby is quite an experience for it is actually a fairly modern airport and is larger than you would expect to see in a relatively underdeveloped country. When you walk out of the terminal you are immediately hit with a cacophony of sounds as people, cars and taxis are all around waiting for parties or trying to get business. We had an overnight in the Port Moresby Travel Lodge which is a 20 minute ride from the airport. Also available are the nearby Airways Hotel and Gateway Motel both of which are about 3 minutes from the airport. Both of these alternatives seemed nice but reports received later were that the Travel Lodge was cleaner and quieter. The Travel Lodge could easily be a hotel from any Midwestern city except for the fact that it had security fences all around. Port Moresby, you see, is not the safest place in PNG. Due to high unemployment crime is prevalent and Port Moresby police are everywhere with riot guns at the ready. If you stay at the Travel Lodge be sure and pay attention to your bill since accounting is NOT their strong suit. In three stays over the next month we were overcharged every time.
The following morning we went to an adjunct of the airport used by Milne Bay Airways. This building was NOT very nice and smelled horrible. The restrooms were every flies' idea of heaven so it is desirable not to drink a lot of coffee that morning. Passengers came in all descriptions and in general had not bathed in a VERY long time so waiting in this room is not for the squeamish. Milne Bay Airways and Air Nuigini make up much of their revenue from over weight baggage charges so be careful of your packing if you decide to follow us to PNG.
When getting on the plane you are very aware that this is a small plane and a small airline. When we took off the plane started billowing smoke into the cabin and cockpit. No problem, we are told, this is simply the air conditioner firing up. OK, I can (hopefully) live with this. Or at least for the 50 minutes required to get to Alatou. The scenery while flying is spectacular and gives you a sense of the level of development in the country. We rarely saw any kind of structure and what there was would be described as primitive.
Well when we arrived at Alatou we were highly aware that we were in the middle of nowhere since there was only a very small shack, er, airport. Chris, the skipper of the Telita was there to meet us and we packed all of our bags into the truck and rode to the boat. The road was primitive and the ride was very dusty. Chris was a fascinating person to talk with so the ride was an interesting one especially when viewing downtown Alatou. So 20 minutes after landing we were on the boat and 20 minutes after that the boat was under way on our home for the next ten days, the Telita.
The boat is getting a bit old but is still very nice and very functional. It is not as pretty as the Febrina (out of Walindi) or the Tiata (out of Kavieng) but it is highly functional and pretty well designed. The cabins are normal sized for a live aboard: small but functional. There are 5 double cabins for guests, one large one for the captain and cook, and one cramped one below for the three crew members. There are two outside heads with showers but there did not seem to be any queue time waiting for heads. The boat is outfitted with a desalinator so fresh water was never a problem. At 66 feet the boat does not provide excess capacity or extra room but it is adequate if a bit cramped at times. Ten is the absolute maximum that can be effectively handled on this boat although there is room in the captains house for an "extra" person to stay on board. If this had occurred, diving and eating would have been exceptionally cramped.
Cuttlefish
The dive deck is large but when all ten passengers want to try gearing up it is seems a bit cramped. Tanks are aluminum and are filled in place. Occasionally one has to ask for a top off if you get short changed but normally 3000 PSI is the rule. You retain the same tank and same space on the dive deck for all ten days of the cruise and there is storage space beneath for your fins and other associated equipment.
The dive deck has a camera table but this would be inadequate if ALL ten guests had cameras. Crew handle cameras with care and know which camera goes with whom rather quickly. Cameras are rinsed by the crew on exit from the water but if all ten guests had cameras there would be logistical problems in storage and camera maintenance. Camera maintenance was done inside on the eating tables as well as on the camera table.
Meals are plentiful and good but not gourmet. I had no problem at all finding stuff that was enjoyable and filling. But this is not the same level of food found on the Tiata. Suzy is a good cook but she is not a chef like Martina of the Tiata. However, Martina of the Tiata had much of the food preparation activity done for her by another member of the crew whereas Suzy did not have that type of assistance. Suzy is extremely knowledgeable about the life under water and can identify almost any critter from a verbal description.
Diving Milne Bay in the south of PNG is different than diving the north or middle of the country. There are critters here that are not found elsewhere and the macro critters seem to be in greater density than in the north. On the other hand, there are sharks but they are not as numerous as in Kavieng.
Water temperature varied from a low of 76 to a high of 78 so we wore skins, polartecs, and a neoprene T-shirt but many on the boat chose to wear a thin wetsuit. Few dives had current and those that did were mostly mild current. One dive had strong current and was done as a drift dive. But currents change and sometimes there may be no current at the start of a dive and it may pick up later once you are in the water.
School of Barracuda
In general there were four or five dives per day but some of the night anchorage's had crocodile possibilities so night diving was not allowed at these. Chris, despite less than optimum weather conditions, was able to find dive sites without major current and in relatively calm conditions. In some cases this was a major challenge but it was appreciated by most of us on board.
Observation point was the best night dive I have ever been on and Dinah's Beach is the best 20 foot dive I have ever seen. Indeed, Dinah's Beach may be the best shallow dive in the world. In one ten foot circular cleaning station were Harlequin Ghost Pipefish (as pictured above), Banded Pipefish, Frogfish, Blue Ribbon Eels, various types of shrimp by the hundreds, two types of Moray Eels, etc, etc.
Harlequin Ghost Pipefish, Merlot's Scorpion Fish, Smallscale scorpion fish, Stargazers, Leaf Scorpion Fish, Angelfish included Blueface, Six Barred, Regal, Imperator, various butterflies, various other rare and unusual critters included crocodile fish, flatheads, etc, etc. By the way this is the ONLY place in PNG where Rhinopias (Merlot's scorpion fish) can be found. We found a mated pair and a single.
Rhinopias
Apanes
Angelfish, such as the Imperator Angelfish seemed more abundant in Milne Bay than north at Kavieng.
Adult
Imperator Angelfish
Sharks and Eagle Rays are present but were not close and not terribly common; schools of barracuda were sighted but only at a distance. Sharks observed were mostly Gray Reef sharks. Hammerheads exist in the area but none were sighted on this trip.
Chris is exceptionally knowledgeable about the dive sites and was more than willing to share that knowledge with any who were interested. Chris even went down with us and found critters such as the rare Leaf Scorpion Fish which is pictured on another page.
All in all the Telita was a very satisfactory experience, the crew was a delight and I would be happy to rebook if Chris and Suzy were still on the boat. Update on the Telita. Unfortunately, the Telita is no more; it is now replaced by another Mike Ball boat the Paradise Star which runs the same Milne Bay route formerly run by the Telita. Chris and Suzy are now retired to Cairns, Australia.
Telita is now apparently resurrected and running trips out of Alatou and Tufi. No current information is available