Papua New Guinea Explorers

On our latest trip to Australia we took a quick detour up to Papua New Guinea. Just a quick flight north from Sydney we arrived in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. This is not a typical destination for most vacationers! We are fortunate to have some amazing friends who live here, so we were able to visit without any travel agent help needed. Our friends picked us up from the airport and were our host and chauffeur for our entire stay. Typically Port Moresby is not considered a “safe” place for tourists and females are advised to never drive or travel alone. There is no Uber or Taxi or public transportation that is safe for tourists to use. Because of the danger factor, PNG is not a common destination. Luckily we were in great hands! We were given a brief tour of the area our first night, and then invited to the local Yacht Club for a scenic harbor cruise along with our friends and their local rotary. We were served dinner and drinks aboard and had a lovely sunset cruise. We had fresh local Baramundi white fish kabobs and they were delicious! We learned a lot about the local area and the history of the country. Port Moresby is the capital of PNG, and the most densely populated city in the country. It was annexed from Britain in 1883 and the port town was the main allied base during World War II. PNG attained independence in 1975. There are capital buildings and modern construction in the city however there are also shantytowns and squatter settlements surrounding the city. PNG is the entire eastern half of the island of New Guinea and is the second larges island in the world. The country is very culturally diverse with hundreds of different languages spoken and over a 1000 distinct ethnic groups. Day two in Port Moresby we got to go on an adventure to and Orchid garden, bird sanctuary and wildlife park. We got to feed birds and watch the Magnificent Bird of Paradise, the national bird. Traveling to the park and around the city was quite a site. There were shantytowns and local markets, we toured a neighborhood with many of the embassy’s from around the world. All of the homes in the city are protected by large walls and guard gates, and barb wire topped fences. The crime rate is pretty high in Port Moresby. We visited one of the local grocery stores, and even there the entrance to the parking lot is through a guarded gate! Many of the villagers had stained red teeth and lips, from chewing on a nut called betel nut, a mild stimulant! For dinner our second night we had a rare treat, Mud Crab! It was unique and amazing and well prepared. A little work to get the meat out but the flavor was amazing. Day 3 we headed out on a small dive boat with some local divers, they took us out to an amazing sunken barrier reef. The dive was incredible, with schools of millions of fish and breathtaking corals. At a depth of about 60-80 feet we circled a massive round reef and swam through schools of all kinds of exotic fish. On our second dive we went to a sunken ship, 70 feet below the surface we swam across the top deck of the ship, it was incredible. Covered in all kinds of sea life and corals, we saw sea slugs, urchins, seahorses and many beautiful and exotic fish. From Moorish Idols, giant grouper, stingray, lion fish, clown fish and angel fish, the sights are truly impressive. Although I got a bloody nose on my dives, I had a fantastic time and it was well worth it. Back on land we enjoyed coconut water fresh from the coconut. We took a quick tour to the War Cemetery from the second world war. In 1942 the Japanese attacked Port Moresby by sea and again by land, those who died in the fighting are buried at this cemetery. Overall we had an amazing time in PNG and loved learning about the land, the nature and the people. For divers I believe this is definitely a top dive destination if you are comfortable traveling in a somewhat dangerous country. After this dive the GBR is now a close tie for me as far as diving scenery.