Glancing through the aircraft window, visitors preparing to land at Port Moresby's International Airport, the gateway to Papua New Guinea, are greeted by the surprising and magnificent sight of the Papuan Barrier Reef. The view of this iridescent ribbon, bordered with the surf-fringed deep blue of the depths of the Coral Sea and calm lagoon waters resplendent with islands and reefs, is enough to make any diver want to get straight into the water. My advice is - do it!

The Big Name PNG diving destinations such as Walindi, Madang, Kavieng or Milne Bay are well worth visiting - they have great facilities and superb diving - but you should not miss out on the excellent, and convenient, diving close to Port Moresby. The best news is that you do not have to stay in Port Moresby itself to do this, there is a local paradise close at hand called Loloata Island Resort.

To spend a few days, or a week - or longer - diving the reefs and wrecks of the Papuan Barrier Reef simply get off your aircraft, board the Loloata Island bus which is always available (by arrangement) for airport transfers, and enjoy a 15-minute drive on a sealed road through the attractive Papuan bushland away from Port Moresby to Bootless Inlet. Here, a waiting ferry takes 10 minutes to reach Loloata Island Resort. One flight, no overnight, no waiting around - this is easy diving. Even better, the Air Niugini flights from Hong Kong and Singapore are overnight flights, which means that you can step on a plane one evening and be diving at Loloata the next morning!

Loloata Island is one of three islands in Bootless Inlet southeast of Port Moresby - only a few kilometres in distance but a world away in atmosphere. 1.2km long and about 300 m wide, the island is entirely owned by the resort and is otherwise uninhabited. A high ridge runs along the hill which extends the length of the island with a walking track on top, affording, wonderful views of the mainland, mountains, other islands and the reefs, and featuring a track down to the deserted beaches.

The hill accounts for the name in local language. Loloa means hill and Ta, one - Loloata is, thus, "one hill." The resort is nestled on the beach at the northeast end of the island and consists of 16 beach-front units accommodating up to 3 persons per unit. All the units have ensuite bath and balcony. The licensed restaurant provides delicious and generous meals, often featuring a smorgasbord of international and PNG dishes. There is a fully stocked bar and fine Australian wines are available. Converted from a private residence in the 1960's to a modest guesthouse in the early 1970's the resort was established in 1978. Since then, it has been gradually improved and expanded over the years as its popularity grew. There is a comfortable, friendly and relaxed ambience to Loloata which is very popular with Port Moresby residents anxious to get away from town for a break, as well as a growing list of guests from overseas.

The credit for the success of the resort must go to manager and developer Dik Knight and his excellent staff. Dik has lived in PNG for 27 years and is an avid diver and adventurer, having explored just about all of PNG's accessible diving. As you might expect he has set up a first rate dive operation at the resort, run by the exuberant resident diving instructor Mike Burden and his assistant Stephen Taugopi.

The latest addition to the facilities is a fast 9m dive boat Dive Loloata, capable of taking up to 10 divers for 2 dive trips. The supercharged and turbocharged Volvo diesel engine has the boat skimming along at 20 knots or more with a full load. The boat is covered for sun protection and has a camera wash tub and hot freshwater shower for after-dive rinses. The GPS navigation system enables quick positioning on the dive sites, many of which have underwater moorings which Stephen efficiently ties up to. In constant radio contact with the resort, the boat has all the expected safety features. Other Loloata boats include a fleet of diesel outboard powered Banana boats and a large twin hulled diesel powered catamaran ferry.

Water sports activities are popular on Loloata, which has kayaks, windsurfers and even surf skis for guests use. There is fascinating snorkeling right at the beach and safe swimming. Walking around the island is well worthwhile, as the shoreline has different habitats of mangrove, coral rock and white sand. The island itself is a natural garden preserving the native bushland and features some PNG marsupials.

The main attraction is of course diving. There are wrecks ranging in size downwards from a 65m long gas supply barges, a tug boat and even private yachts. These have been sunk deliberately and have established marine growth and fish life. There is also an intact A20 Havoc aircraft ditched in World War II.

The reefs are an excellent condition and this is probably the highlight of Bootless Inlet diving - the profusion and diversity of the marine life and the ease of access. The outer barrier reef is only about 6km offshore. I timed one dive trip and it took under 10 minutes on board Dive Loloata, to travel from one of the top spots on the outer barrier, the End Bommie, to reach Loloata Island.

Dive sites vary from outer reef walls plunging hundreds of metres where encounters with Hammerhead and other sharks are not uncommon, to the many passages through the outer barrier where the congregations of fishes have to be seen to be believed. Sheltered reefs inside the barrier are thick with gorgonians and soft corals and the fringing reefs around the islands offer totally protected diving, no matter what the weather.

There are many first rate dive sites to choose from. For aircraft enthusiasts, the World War II A20 Havoc aircraft wreck is fully intact and was discovered by Dik Knight on an exploratory dive only 2km away from the resort. The wreck rests in 18m on a silty bottom with its nose resting against a reef slope which rises to a pretty coral garden. The nose cone, complete with machine guns, was broken off when the plane ditched, and can be found by swimming directly behind the tail.

The Tunnel is about 5km from the resort and consists of a swim-through in 12m along the outer barrier reef. There is a sloping wall with healthy populations of sea whips, sea fans and soft corals. Nearby, the Big Drop is a dramatic vertical wall on the outer barrier starting at about 8m. Sharks and rays are regularly seen and the wall has excellent coral growth and some large sea fans in deeper water.

The End Bommie is a spectacular dive with depth of 5-30m, where a small bommie extends from a saddle which connects it to the main reef. The Bommie is in one of the passages and there is usually some slight tidal current - and masses of fishes. There are many fans and other gorgonians and soft corals. There is also a resident Lacy Scorpionfish and quite often other unusual fishes such as Stonefish. The schooling sweetlips and other residents are used to divers and easy to approach. This is a beautiful dive with marine life as rich as you will find anywhere.

Suzie's Bommie is an isolated and pristine Bommie situated on white sand 6km from the resort. Acting as an oasis the bommie is covered with life. Baldwin's Bommie is outside the barrier reef and as such is more exposed to the weather. However, on calm mornings it is well worth a dive. Its deeper profile at 15-35m makes it a likely spot to see sharks and rays. There are large schools of fish with the right current and excellent coral growth.

Slightly further away but in easy reach of the fast Loloata boat are several dive sites in passages in the barrier reef southeast of Bootless Inlet. The Chimneys, the Pumpkin Patch and the Pinnacles are three of the favorites. All have interesting topographies with towers and walls and superb cover of soft and hard corals. The fish life is extraordinary, though divers can expect to experience some currents.

The best wreck is the magnificent 65m long Pacific Gas which rests upright with its bow in 14m and the propeller at 43m. The aft superstructure is superb, full of fish life and with the chance of meeting some big groupers. Mangrove Jack hang around the decks and I was surprised to find the exquisite Red Striped Anthias, which is found commonly deeper than 30m. The bridge is full of tiny baitfish and Lionfish are all over the place. This is a really lovely dive for the more experienced diver. The mast reaches to 10m and a buoy near the mast enables safe decompression stops. Penetration into the engine room is possible for properly trained wreck divers.

The 27m long Pai, a fishing trawler is also upright and a fascinating dive having attracted its own resident fishes, many of which are quite tame. This wreck is sheltered by an outer reef and may be dived most of the year. There is a reef immediately behind the stern of the wreck, enabling enjoyable diving in shallow water after visiting the wreck. Interestingly Hammerhead sharks are sometimes seen in this area.

When I dived from Loloata in February - the middle of the wet season - the surface waters had visibility of about 10m, not great for tropical water but good enough to appreciate the marine life and the fine macro photography. The good news is that when I descended to 18m there was a sudden improvement and visibility easily exceeded 30m. This is a common occurance where clear water can be found beneath a surface layer of water made murky from run off. There are many days throughout the year when the visibility will easily reach 30m or better on the outer barrier and yet other days when it will only be 10m. Inside the lagoon the visibility is typically 10-15m year round. Diving is available all year no matter what the weather or visibility, but October through December are considered the best months.

Diving Loloata Style
Loloata Island Resort offers instruction and guided dives, but is happy to allow experienced divers to plan and conduct their own dives. Typically, Dive Instructor Mike Burden will give a brief but effective description of the site and of the critters living in the area, then divers do their won thing. For divers itching to photograph the elusive Lacy Scorpionfish, Mike or his assistant Stephen will find one and guide you to it. Divers are asked to always make a safety stop in shallow water, which is simple as all dives except the Pacific Gas wreck have adjacent reef rising close to the surface. After finishing my first day's diving, I started to gather my gear up to carry from the boat, but Mike insisted I leave it - "We take care of everything for you, we will wash and dry your gear and have it back on the boat for you tomorrow morning." They did, too, super service!

Getting There
Air Niugini operates international flights to Port Moresby from Australia in conjunction with Qantas, comprising 6 flights a week from Sydney (5 hrs 15 min), via Brisbane (3 hrs) and 14 flights a week from Cairns (1 hr 20 min). There are also 2 flights a week from Hong Kong (6 hrs 30 min) and Manilla (5 hr 15 min) with Philippines Airlines, and 2 flights a week from Singapore (6 hrs 25 min) with Singapore Airlines. Port Moresby is the hub for flights to the rest of PNG, with services provided by Air Niugini, Milne Bay Air and other airlines.

Air Niugini, P.O. Box 7186, Boroko, PNG. Head Office Telephone +(675) 327-3200, Fax: +(675) 327-3482 / 3550. Bookings Telephone: +(675) 327-3444.

Arrival
A 60-day non-extendable tourist visa is available on arrival for $K15, or a tourist visa for longer stays can be obtained before entry.

Diving Conditions
Wind: The Southeast Trade Winds from May-November can reach 25 knots at height of season, however, they rarely blow all night, being encountered by strong land breezes from the ranges behind Port Moresby. There is often calm water all the way out to the barrier reef early in the morning. From January-April usually light winds swing unpredictably between northwest and southwest.
Rain: There is very little rainfall in Port Moresby during the southeast season. Even in the rainy season, from December-April average rainfall is much less than most coastal regions.
Water Temperature: Varies from average lows of 25 degrees C in July/August to average highs of 28 degrees C in January/February.

Currency:
The currency consists of the Kina which is divided into 100 toea. One Kina equals US $2 currently.

Dive Operators/Lodging
Loloata Island Resort, P.O. Box 5290, Boroko, PNG Telephone: +(675) 325-8590 / 1369, Fax: +(675) 325-8933. Rates US $200 twin, US $140 single (including all meals). Two dive trips US $70; equipment hire available.

Health:
Port Moresby has less of a malaria problem than other coastal areas in PNG, however repellents and malaria pills (not Larium) are recommended.

Bob Halstead and his wife Dinah started the first full-time diving business in PNG and the first PNG liveaboard dive boat, "Telita." Bob, an underwater photographer since 1969, now lives in Cairns, where he is trying to sort out all his slides.

Article ©1997-98 Bob Halstead and published with his permission. All Rights Reserved. Images ©1997-98 Neville Coleman and Robin Burr and published with permission. They.cannot be copied, downloaded or used in any way without the written permission of the copyright owner. For more information, see About The Loloata Web Site