- DESTINATIONS / Pacific Ocean
- 28 November 2019
Expect the unexpected
Far off the beaten track, wild and spectacular Papua New Guinea remains largely undiscovered by superyachts. Yet its many cruising grounds – each one promising a different adventure, a different landscape and, above all, a different cultural experience – will thrill the soul.
Papua New Guinea (PNG) lies just to the north of Australia, east of Asia, and to the west of all other Pacific Islands nations. It is made up of half the island of New Guinea (the second largest island in the world), plus around 600 other islands.
With a total landmass roughly similar to that of Spain, the population is around six million and there around 800 languages spoken, making Papua New Guinea the most linguistically diverse nation on earth. The three official languages are English, Hiri Motu and Tok Pisin, a widely spoken creole made up of English, German, Portuguese and Papuan words.
From highland tribesmen in headdresses and war paint for a pig sacrifice to drum beats rising from stilt villages along the mighty Sepik River, cruising Papua New Guinea offers a rare glimpse into ancient tribal lifestyles that may well soon disappear forever.
While the country’s cultural offering is unimaginably rich, there are also traditional superyacht pursuits beyond counting – guests can dive superb WWII wrecks and coral reefs and float through perfect tropical archipelagos, swimming ashore to coconut palm beaches where their footprints are the only ones in sight …
Planning our trip
Put the word out for other superyacht captains who have visited Papua New Guinea and there will be very little response. Those yachts that have visited the country have typically done a brief stint while transiting between the Solomon Islands and Indonesia, or spent a month or two cruising through.
Overwhelmingly, Papua New Guinea is an untapped cruising ground where a decision to visit is not influenced by the yachts that have gone before.
Is Papua New Guinea a worthwhile cruising destination? Would I find enough to keep the owners and guests happy if we were to take the yacht there?
These were questions that I had to consider when my old friend Peter Mooney of Scuba Pix in Cairns introduced me to Craig de Wit. Craig is a long-time PNG resident and has run dive boats in Papua New Guinea for 30-plus years. He has set up a superyacht agency in Papua New Guinea called PNGYS.
What became apparent at our meeting in Cairns is that PNG has many different cruising grounds within the one country – and each is very different in scenery, marine diversity, and culture. The fact that these great cruising options are all on offer year-round and within a two-day run from Cairns makes this destination easily accessible – closer even than the Whitsunday Islands, in fact.
I could immediately see the potential to do at least a full year of cruising in Papua New Guinea, using Cairns as a base for reprovisioning and downtime.
Six months in, we are halfway through our planned trips. I can say Papua New Guinea is a total surprise and an absolute must-do for any superyacht owner that wants some of the very best there is in adventure cruising. So far we have been cruising Milne Bay out toward the Louisiade Archipelago, and have completed a quick recon further north to New Britain.
There are two distinct zones for seasonal planning. Southern Zone is the Milne Bay and Loiusiade Archipelago area, and the best time to cruise there is November to April. The Northern Zone includes everything north of Tufi including New Britain, New Ireland and the northern islands, as well as the mainland coast and Sepik River. If wanting to cover both regions, the best month is November.
There is a sense of raw adventure at every turn in New Guinea.
While tourists have been travelling to the country for many years, most of the destinations that you’ll see from a superyacht have hardly had any contact with the modern world.
Cultural considerations
The overall experience is warm and genuine; residents are friendly and helpful, and you could not find a more welcoming experience.
That being said, you do not want to attempt cruising Papua New Guinea without local support and a guide, who is essentially your liaison between you and the resource-owners. In PNG, rules of ownership are quite different, and the sea in front of the village is also owned by someone (unlike in Western nations where the ownership ends at the high watermark).
The resource-owner has the right to decide if you are allowed to be in that beautiful bay or even dive on the reefs.
Typically, they are more than happy for you to do so, and one of the main jobs of the guide is to make sure the correct owner is compensated with an agreed fee for the diving or anchoring. It’s a very delicate balance and is often dynamic as well, so this requires some finesse to maintain the status quo and keep everyone happy.
What is also important is the etiquette of giving or cultural exchange. It’s one thing to give monetary donations or physical goods, however, this needs to be done in such a manner that other villages are either included or benefit in some way.
If this is not followed, you can incite jealousy, which can cause ramifications down the track. I have witnessed this myself and can attest to the fact that it is not an easy task to manage. It cannot be stressed enough how important this is and how necessary a guide is in this process.
Agents and provisioning
Clearance and immigration procedures are best handled by an agent and we found the process fairly simple, with most documents completed as a pre-arrival. Local officials are friendly and accommodating.
Probably one of the hardest things about cruising Papua New Guinea is provisioning as you really need to bring most of your Western produce in from overseas. Because of the lack of freight services within PNG, this can become an expensive exercise. We have used Angela Pennefather of Melanesian Luxury Yachts, who offers cultural guidance as well.
Local knowledge will provide you and your principal with the best experience, but the untouched and pristine country of Papua New Guinea will take care of the rest.
When cruising Papua New Guinea, the advertising campaign ‘Expect the unexpected’ is very apt indeed. It is stunning in every way, above and below the sea. Each bay is different, and the diving, trekking, village visits and vistas left us spellbound, wanting to come back for more.
