I finally had the chance to head out and explore some parts of PNG that have been on my bucket list for a very long time.
The PNG kiters booked out a charter on the MV Golden dawn for 9 days traveling out east of Alotau towards some remote islands and reef systems. we scored excellent weather conditions with steady 20 knots SE trades and sensational water.
I dragged my family along, 3 kids (5, 4 and 2) and my wife who is heavily pregnant with No.4. the rest of the crew were all PNG based kiters with varying levels of experience. 1 fellow had not even managed to get up on his board yet!
Our plan was to push hard and cover nearly 500km going to 2 spots a day. But that all came to an end on the 3rd day when we anchored up to a lagoon so picture perfect there would have been a mutiny if the capt had pulled up the anchor. 2 days later we managed to move on with a much reduced itinerary. no longer heading as far east as i would have liked. But still with many new locations along our way.
This part of PNG seems to be an endless arrangement of low lying atolls punctuated by some massive towering islands. It felt like every stop had something special to offer, from compact shallow lagoons. km long sand bars and shallow coral reefs teeming with life and disappearing into the blue depths. the local villagers were extremely happy to see us and share their way of life. one old man was so overcome that we had chosen his island to stay he wanted to kill a pig and have a feast.
I mixed up my time with kiting, diving, photography and playing with the family. 1 good kite sesh each day was enough for me. the diving was sensational and right off the boat where we were kiting.
while i had taken a big quiver of 4 kites and 3 boards, everyone else had a 2 kite set and the trusty twin tip. two of the more experienced riders turned up with just a single kite and board. 9m switchblade and a 10m VarialX. they only missed 1 day of riding the whole trip. while the wind was reading a solid 20 most of the time it was not as punchy as 20 knots we get in port moresby. i spent most of my time on my 13m C kite which would have had me over powered back home.
because of the reduced itinerary we didn't get out to the wave spots i had hoped to ride. the one island we did get to there was sizeable swell rolling in, unfortunately we had a low tide and the waves were braking onto dry reef. pity as there were some sweet sets lining up. flat water spots are dime a dozen out here, but it will take more time to sus out the best waves. plenty of wind plenty of swell and 100km's of reefs.
Disclosure: my uncle is the captain of the boat, i have been helping to establish kite tourism in PNG, i don't receive any benefit from people coming here, i just think PNG is an amazing place with some great conditions to kite in and want to share the experience.
here are just a few pics from the trip, there will be many more posted on the "pom kiters" face book group page in the coming days so check it out if you want to see some more pics.
sheesh crappy slow ass PNG internet, that took way to long to up load.
any way here are a few pics.
our first trip of 2012 on the 'Golden Dawn. there are a few more to come this year :)
next cruise is departing on 27th of August and we are super excited to head for the south Pacific's reefs on the Golden Dawn and looking at Jason's photos from this trip you can see why!
Just bloody awesome jay. If ya go in hols next year July give us a hoy and we can join up families. Give the kids someone to play with. Wow those photos are amazing. Hey is that on an airush wave? If so what ya reckon?
Appreciate you looking into it. I didn't get an email back from the golden dawn ( or whatever is is called) he must have been sailing you guys around!
Yeh let us know as we will be looking to book soon. Either pig or sanur but I'd rather join you guys in png hands down. Plus the kids loooove the water. Also be real educational for them to mingle with the locals. Trying to keep growing up in this capitalistic world grounded. We do sponsor some children in indo, they have one each, but that's arms length really.
Cheers jay
Ps my fab shot is your son diving on that reef, awesome.
Yer that looks awsome i also would like to know how much for me , my wife and a 13 year old boy . looks like the perfect holiday . You could bank that one in the memory and recall it back for years that is what a hoilday is all about . Ps do they have scotch over there .
sorry guys link should work now. now set to public.
craig is often out of contact for e-mails as he is usually out of range on the boat. right now he is taking a super yacht around from madang to alotau this week. fun for him! but also try marvin at intheloop for bookings.
eppo mate the kids love it. i had my older two diving with me. in the villages the kids all gather around, they rarely get to see white skinned kids and they have fun together. just have to make sure you and the kids don't have a flu or anything, the people are so isolated that minor illnesses for us can become a major health risk for them.
looks like there is some interest for a family get away. craig has no issues with kids on the boat. i'll see if we can put together a Family trip. I'll bring my kids along and we can make a fun holiday.
surface - if you are specific on your scotch just pick up a few bottles at duty free and BYO on the boat. :)
some pics of the kids having fun on the trip
finding turtle bones on the beach - we also found whale bones and loads of perfect shells - one beach had loads of fossils in some ancient line stone/reef along the shore
snorkeling on a WWII japanese zero fighter
scuba diving - very shallow for the young kids
chasing the village pigs
hanging out with the village kids
searching the rock pools while we kite
shore break
trading with the village elders
