Paradise found beyond headlines
I’ve just jumped overboard, and everything I’ve heard is true. It’s as if I’ve interrupted a summit of the world’s most colourful fish. And the backdrop is suitably dramatic. This bay is home to more than 400 corals, so vivid they look like a specially curated art exhibition.
Among the thousands of technicolour fish, white sandy beaches, towering jungle islands, and turquoise waters just one thing is missing here in Papua New Guinea: people.
There is not one tourist out snorkelling or diving in an area bigger than the Bay of Plenty’s coast. And that was just the start of a series of remarkable hidden gems we were to stumble across.
A journey to the unknown
Two days earlier, we thumped down at Hoskins Airport, in the green heart of Papua New Guinea’s New Britain island.
We were lucky to make it. For the past two weeks the airport had been shut, thanks to the island’s perpetually grumpy residents: active volcanoes. Mt Ulawun had erupted two weeks earlier, and an unusual wind pattern had spread ash to the airport.
But, as our 30-year-old Air Niugini jet touched down, there was no ash in sight. All I could see out the window was a pristine tropical paradise. It almost reminded me of Bali.
Of course, there is a reason so few tourists ever make it here. People perceive Papua New Guinea to be a dangerous place, not helped by a recent incident where a Kiwi photographer was robbed and had an axe swung at his arm.
But having now entered my second week in the country (the first exploring the verdant Highlands), the perception doesn’t match reality. Violence is often inter-tribal, and rarely directed at visitors. I’d strongly argue you’re more at risk in places like Thailand than Papua New Guinea – if you take the right precautions.
By that, I mean using a reputable tour operator with security and staying at luxury hotels, all of which have 24-hour security.
It’s not the kind of place you pick up a rental car and go it alone.
Despite such a bounty of treasures to explore, there was only one other tourist on the plane.
What kind of tourist was he? The Frenchman explained that he’d climbed Mt Everest, and was now in PNG to experience some of the best diving in the world.
Walindi Plantation Resort is tucked away among lush jungle, an hour from the airport. The resort has diving in its DNA. It was first established in 1983, as a base for its owners to explore an area known as Kimbe Bay.
Now, almost 40 years later, it’s regarded as one of the best adventure bases in the country, with diving, snorkelling, volcano hikes, hot springs, and World War II wrecks to explore.
We have only moments to make ourselves comfortable in our well-appointed beach hut before there is a knock at the door.
Joseph, the resort’s activities manager, has his first surprise ready. We are headed into the jungle, where volcanoes rule the skyline, their bare puffing peaks evidence of an occasional show of force.
After 30 minutes’ driving down a labyrinth of jungle roads, we stop at a small path. Joseph points with a mysterious grin, as if we are about to discover a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.
As we wander down the path, steam starts to waft through the thick jungle canopy, and we round a bend to reveal a tropical hot spring.
As if on cue, fat drops of jungle rain start to pelt down. We lie in the hot spring not talking, enjoying a silent celebration of sulphuric solitude.
Unlikely tropical paradise
Next morning – shortly after the fiery hues of first light explode into the sky – we are on the water, arriving at an island that feels like it’s been plucked straight from the Maldives.
We jump straight into the water to discover a sunken garden – the bay is home to more than 400 species of fish.
For all the intrigue Papua New Guinea has on land, it’s only amplified underwater. We’re in the heart of what’s known as the coral triangle – a region between Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and East Timor – home to one of the most abundant marine environments in the world.
The corals cover every colour of the spectrum, rare to see in a world of almost universal coral bleaching. Technicolour fish dart around us in all directions – they don’t get visits from humans very often.
After emerging from the water reasonably wrinkled, we lay on a little strip of sand. In an age of increasing over-tourism, not one other soul is within sight, even if you used a telescope. Falling asleep under the sultry sun, this is how a holiday should be.
While we were awed by what we saw snorkelling, most guests at Walindi are serious dive enthusiasts.
The resort operates a luxury live-aboard boat that does multi-day trips to far-flung reefs. Guests dive for days on end, and those I spoke to describe it as one of the best underwater experiences on Earth. One remarked how he was surrounded by schools of barracuda, sharks and squads of squid while exploring some of Earth’s richest coral reefs.
The lovely locals
No visit to Papua New Guinea is complete without a glimpse inside a traditional village. The