All images below, are uncropped frame grabs from our 6K & 4K film stock footage.

(Please note: Active words are linked to more information and trip adviser/other reviews.)

We were very happy to have been invited to join Tom Campbell and Beth Davidow on a dive trip to Papua New Guinea aboard the MV Chertan liveaboard. Reef Mantas, Spawning Coral, Stunning Hard and Soft Coral, beautiful Anemonies and Clownfish, Spawning Crown of Thorns, amazing makro and so much more………..

Our favourite airline Singapore Airlines was able to book our return trip on one ticket, including our Air Niugini links, which really helped with the very poor service experienced from Air Niugini, with our bookings being cancelled twice by Air Niugini for no reason at all and having to have the booking reinstated. (These are cell phone images)

Our Singapore Airlines baggage allowance was honoured by Air Niugini and the fact that our bags could get checked all the way through from Cape Town to Alotau was wonderful thanks to our booking with Singapore Airlines. Flying from Cape Town to Singapore on Singapore Air, then on to Port Moresby, arriving at our final destination of Alotau with Air Niugini. Aircraft Landing in Alotau can be cancelled at the last minute, due to poor visibility and one of our four checked in bags got delayed for 24 hours from its last link of Portmorseby to Alotau, so do remember to give yourself at least one or two days extra , leading up to your livaboard departure date. Though our bags were checked in all the way, they do have to be picked up and transferred in Port Moresby for customs reasons.

This is a sequence of early morning coral spawning that we were lucky to have witnessed and filmed in 6K and 4K for our video stock library.

Filming with our 6K RED and 4K Black Magic Cameras in their Nauticam dive housings, our Dive and Sea monitors and, of cource, our robust Keldan lights, we decided that we would do two back to back trips, so we had 26 days of unlimited diving.

(These are cell phone images)

We had three visits to the Tawali Skull Caves and knowing that Cannibalism was a way of life in this part of the world and that the last reported incident was as recent as 2012, added to the eerie and unsettling feeling that caused the hair on the back of our necks to rise as we entered the dark, hot caves.

Our liveaboard anchored near the shore on more than one occasion and the locals would sometimes place a stick on the beach with a human skull stuck on it. Presumably to discourage us from swimming ashore.

We managed a total of 87 dives, filming some really magical soft and hard corals and amazing encounters with huge Reef Mantas in 8 m of water. Even though the visibility was poor, it was wonderful to be in the water with these elegantly graceful creatures again.

On one of our night dives we encountered spawning Crown of Thorns Starfish and the following morning took a closer look at the damage that they do to the coral reef.

Water temperatures ranged from 26 to 27 degrees Centigrade and diving was super easy and relaxed. Fortunately, as there were no dive briefings. A few of our favourite dive sites were : Deacons reef, Michelles, Tanjas.

There were also plenty of unbelievable macro opportunities and we spent many afternoons and nights on the gravel slops, filming critters that sometimes were no bigger than a pea.

We also took the time to add a number of vertical shots to our Stock Library as the underwater environment made this very easy.

The dive guides, (George, Eddie and Sev) on board the MV Chertan had very keen eyes and were great at spotting and finding critters. Thanks to Captain John and all the Staff on board who were friendly and very helpful.

We were surprised at the limited numbers of large fish and schools of fish, especially considering the presence of such healthy coral reefs and the fact that the local fishermen do not use nets.

The hard and soft Corals were in pristine condition and are the best that we have seen, with the possible exception of the Misool area in Raja Ampat.

Unfortunately, as with every Ocean and every Reef environment, on even the most remote island, the signs of mans neglect are evident. Papua New Guinea, is no acceptation to this infection.

We increasingly force the extraordinary creatures, of our esoteric Oceans, to live and die in our Big Blue refuse dump.

We Knew that the MV Chertan was an older vessel and that we were not to expect too much, but from a cleanliness, facilities, noise and food perspective, it was VERY disappointing indeed. Probably the less said the better. Feel free to contact us directly for further input if you wish. We would not recommend the MV Chertan at the moment, which is such a pity as we think many of these issues could be sorted out with ease and it is the only liveaboard to visit this coastal part of PNG to the best of our knowlage. The staff are really fantastic, so we do hope that our concerns are noted and addressed for future clients.

………………………..Too soon and it was time to return home again.

Tips and things to remember for your Papua New Guinea trip:

The Alotau airport can be closed at the last minute due to poor visibility and one of our four checked in bags got delayed from last link of Port Moresby to Alotau, so do remember to give yourself at least one or two days extra time to make it to your destination.
Take Mosquito repellant. (These are cell phone images)
Ensure that you have a warm, light jacket, as we had a number of unusually wet and windy days, where one got chilly.
Book all your flights on one ticket.
If possible do not fly with Air Nuigini. Apparently, Air PNG is more reliable and organised.
Check to see if your carrier has Scuba allowances.

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This is a personal blog. Any views or opinions represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blog owner and do not represent those of people, institutions or organizations that the owner may or may not be associated with in professional or personal capacity, unless explicitly stated. Any views or opinions are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual.

All content provided on this blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information.

All images below, are uncropped frame grabs from our 6K & 4K film stock footage.

(Please note: Active words are linked to more information and trip adviser/other reviews.)

**Updated December 2020 - We can regrettably no longer endorse this Liveaboard**

Oh..... Raja Ampat...... with the Barker Friends & Co, on our Favourite Liveaboard, the Seven Seas and all the fabulous staff........we waited for Two years for this magical trip and boy, was it fantastic! How very fortunate have we been to be able to join the Barker Friends and Co. group once again! Yahooo! AND, we also added a few days, on land, at the stunning Papua Explores Resort

Flying with our favourite airline, Singapore Air from Cape Town to Manado and then the final domestic leg with the very competent Garuda Indonesia from Manado to Sorong, we could not wait to be reunited with our Barker friends and all the Seven Seas friendly staff.

Arriving in Manado, too late to catch a connecting flight to Sorong, we stayed overnight at Novotel Manado Golf Resort and convention centre and then flew off early the next morning to Sorong where the friendly Seven Seas staff picked us up and transferred us to the liveaboard boat. We spent 12 nights on the Magical Seven Seas. Do read a few independent reviews from our co divers Sonia Google, Sandy Kelly and a wonderful poem by Rob Barker.

We truly love being on the Seven Seas Liveaboard and can highly recommend it to anyone wishing to dive in Indonesia. The chef's, food was fantastic, thanks Totok Sugiharto for going out of your way to ensure that we always had a vegetarian alternative meal.

The Diving was unbelievable, as usual and with the added knowledgeable assistance of Karl, Irwan and Jefry we once again were shown so many wonderful Marine life treasures. It was lovely seeing Karl Klingeler, Captain Mr. Wahyudin Ismail and Mr. Abdul Rifai H. Djudje, and all the friendly, highly competent cruise and office staff, Candra and Guteri again.

From the time we were picked up at the airport to the time we were safely handed over to our transfer to Papua Explores Resort, we were so well looked after, it felt as though every step was taken to ensure a smooth, happy, magical time.

Thank You to you ALL! We did find that the Dive sites are much busier than they were two years ago and we congratulate Karl and his team for always booking dive sites whenever possible, choosing and sometimes changing sites to ensure we had great dives.

We hope that Raja Ampat will be closely controlled, so that it does not turn out to be another Red Sea, with far too many boats and divers in the water. This precious environment needs to be protected at all costs. We thank the Seven Seas for another mind blowing trip and have booked our next one already. Roll on the Forgotten Islands. We can not wait to share time with you all again!

Our hard working camera gear supported us all the way. Prepping, charging, filming, rinsing, data retrieval and then all over again, 4 to 5 dives a day. Our RED Dragon and Blackmagic Production camera’s, Keldan underwater lights and Dive and See monitors never skipped a beat. Not to mention their respective Nauticam underwater housings that protected the camera’s under hard working conditions, strong currents and at depths of down to 40m.

…………..We then transferred over to Papua Explores Resort for 9 nights in a tastefully decorated water bungalow, where we so enjoyed 7 days of fantastic diving and met the truly dedicated team of Raja Ampat SEA Centre, lead by co-founders Tunc Yavuzdogan, Selen Yavuzdogan, Lynn Lawrance, Arnaud Brival, Tresye Marlessy and by the well trained Coral Gardeners Tomy Kumanireng and Yermi Mambrasar. They have been incredibly successful in Coral Rehabilitation, including rehab on unstable coral rubble. We were blown away by their success and have been so privileged to film their work. We wish them everything of the very best. Related Blog Post.

A HUGE THANKS to Arnuad and his team for such a magical dive experience!!

It was so encouraging to see how Papua Explores have embraced the local community and are continually working with them in so many wonderful ways to uplift, protect and conserve. Their use of Eco Safe shampoos, sunscreen etc. is encouraging to note and we hope that many other resorts and liveaboards in all marine areas will follow suite soon. Papua Explores also hosts two members of staff from MMF, so that they can continue to do their ongoing scientific research. Just another reason to support Papua Explores. Congratulations, we were so impressed that we will share your good vibe and encourage everyone to support you, in all your great efforts. We can not wait to return!

Too soon and it was time to head back home again.

Raja Ampat you hold a special place in our hearts and we do hope that your future will be protected at all costs.

Tips for Raja Ampat:

Do not forget your Insect repellent
Use ONLY Eco safe detergents and sunblock.
Pick up any litter you may come across and get it disposed of correctly. Lets start making a difference...every single one of us!
Booking Garuda Indonesia Flights online, even from South Africa was super easy and we received all flight changes via email promptly.
Indonesian people are so warm and friendly, learn some words in their language and make a connection.
Your Raja Ampat Marine park fee gives you a years access, so if you are moving around Raja you can use the same paper work and disk and there is no need to buy a new one at each resort/Liveaboard etc.

Until next time……..