Seldom visited by scuba divers, are the remote D’Entrecasteaux Islands and  Trobriand Islands, off the North-East tip of Papua New Guinea. These islands and the Melanesian people who live there are wild!



Rising up to 4,000 metres from the ocean, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands include Goodenough, Fergusson, Dobu and Normanby. Each group has it’s own charm and the islands look like those of French Polynesia. Even the Cousteau team mounted an expedition to these islands and filmed the thermal pools on  Fergusson  Island, many years ago.

These days, the D’Entrecasteaux Islands are visited from time to time, by scuba diving liveaboards. Our journey started in Madang and carried us through the Siassi, Trobriand and D’Entrecasteaux Islands.

Malai  Island in the  Siassi  Islands, was our first stop where native stilt houses were decorated with chambered nautilus and natural fibre fishing nets. A pet hornbill hopped about the village chasing a young boy, who was terrified at it’s great bill.

At  Malai  Island, we enjoyed a deep wall dive with coronation trout, chinese footballer, hordes of three-spot butterfly fish, schools of unicornfish  and an old green turtle. Several big hump-headed maori wrasse fossicked among the coral.

At  Aromat  Island, often named “Little Hong Kong of the Siassi’s’, a flotilla of canoes and kids paddling on lumps of foam, swam over to greet us.

Ashore, pigs wandered freely through the village. Fisherman cleaned their catch of coral trout and other reef species. Our Italian friend Sergio sang the locals the classic song: Marina Marina. Everyone, young and old, followed like kids after the pied piper. Six hundred islanders live on this tiny atoll, living on fish and some fruit/vegetables, transported from the mainland. Many have moved to nearby Umboi  Island.

The Trobriand Islands, lying north of the D’Entrecasteaux Group was our next dive destination. It was the jewel of our trip. These beautiful islands consist of four major islands and many islets. Named after Denis de Trobriand: an officer with the French D’Entrecasteaux Expedition, the islands are made of coral, some rising 50 metres above sea level.

At  Kaibola  Beach,  Trobriand  Island wood carvers swarmed around us, offering exquisite carvings of black ebony for sale. At Kitava  Island we were treated to a charming traditional dance at the community school.

The Trobriand Islanders are excellent farmers and much of their lives are spent growing yams. Yams are their staple food and an object of great respect. The bigger the tubers, the bigger the farmer’s social status. Some yams grow so big, they need to be carried on wooden planks by several Trobrianders. A yam festival is held in July and August each year, where the locals sing and dance for several days.The traditional yam harvest time runs for several weeks, but since 2003, a three day ‘Milamala’ festival has been run in August for visitors.

It was largely because of the yam festival, during which time young men and women are encouraged to freely take partners, that the Trobriand’s gained a reputation as the ‘Islands of Love’. The Trobriands were made famous following World War 1, by Polish anthropologist: Bronislaw Malinowski, who wrote the books: The Argonauts of the South Pacific, and The Sexual Life of Savages.

Trobriand chiefs tell visitors today, they should not think of the Trobriand Islands as a sexual paradise, where they can expect free sex. Visitors are though very welcome and there are several tourist lodges named Kasaipwalova’s Bweka Lodge, Butia Lodge and Kiriwina Lodge.

The Trobrianders rich culture with magic, festivals and intricate carvings set them apart from the other tribes in Papua New Guinea. We enjoyed a beachside BBQ on the tiny island of  Nuratu, close to Kitava  Island. A flotilla of Trobriand dancers paddled over by canoe and armed with ghetto blasters put on an exciting dance show.

At  Kaileuna  Island, we saw many yellow-margin trigger fish,  building nests. We were glad they were not the titan species, as this species is more aggressive and a well known biter. We were charged several times by a titan triggerfish near Madang, when we swam near it’s nest.

We watched fire gobies, teira batfish, blue band gobies, male striped boxfish, yellowtail coris, whaler sharks, sleeping nurse sharks, dogtooth tuna, eagle rays and blue-fin trevally, near Kaileuna Island.

At  Kitava  Island, we did a lovely wall dive to 30 metres with dozens of sea fans festooned with feathery crinoids. We saw unusual starfish and big fish: dogtooth tuna, mackarel and barracuda.

I will always treasure the Trobriand Islands for it’s spectacular scubadiving, fun-loving Trobrianders and real sense of magic.

In the Amphlett Group of islands: spectacular little islands rising sharply from the sea, we dived at a site where thousands of anthias swarmed around coral heads and a sea turtle rested among delicate corals. We popped into a small village near  Nabwegeta  Island, famous for it’s ‘upside down’ pottery.

At Nabwegeta, we inspected a big Kula canoe with decorated splashboards and woven sails. The villagers gather around and help to heave these huge outrigger canoes ashore, chanting a magic spell. With high sides for long sea voyages, it was reinforced and decorated with painted murals, string and shells at it’s bow and stern.

The Kula trade involves the ceremonial exchange and bartering of Kula: special necklaces and armbands made of shell. Kula is very much part of the culture and once a person enters the Kula Ring, they are in it for life.

At  Fergusson  Island, hot volcanic vents spewed boiling water, several metres into the air.  Standing on the edge of one of these gaseus pools, I was one step away from being boiled. I was sweating and the sulphurous gas making it hard breathing. We searched for bones, as the Fergusson Islanders used to boil their captives in this boiling pool. A bizarre pitcher plant grew happily within inches of the pool.

“This place is wild, the people are wild” yelled Sergio, our vibrant Italian friend, with an untamed gleam in his eyes.

Another vent erupted and through the steam flew a pair of ecclectus parrots. We saw a large black, crow-like ‘bird of paradise’ named Manucodia chalybata. Later, we visited the village of  Deidei.

The grandeur of these islands is matched only by it’s intense marine life. On a dive near  Goodenough  Island, the reef plateau at only two metres was covered in beautiful delicate hard corals. Thousands of purple anthias swarmed over the pristine coral heads.

Almost every conceivable Papua New Guinean reef fish, ducked and wieved among the fragile corals, feeding on the plankton enriched water. The dropoffs, to 30 metres were  adorned in huge barrel sponges, sea fans and enormous purple vase sponges, covered in sponge gobies.

The area’s richness in marine life is thanks to the tidal currents which push the deep ocean water, through the channels between the islands, carrying food for the hordes of dainty anthias.

On  Fergusson  Island, we walked to the Budoya Mission where we were given a warm welcome by the children, who had fun trying on my sunglasses.

Observation Point in the D’Entrecasteaux Group is one of the most unique places in  Papua New Guinea for bizarre marine life. Many fascinating discoveries have been recorded here, especially by diving legend: Bob Halstead.  Some of the rare and unusual animals found here are a rare striped octopus, flambuoyant cuttlefish, ghost pipefish, flying gurnards, razor fish, spiky devilfish and silver moonfish.

There’s a great dive near the Bunama Mission Station on Normanby  Island. In a bay on the western side, there are many sand anemones inhabited by panda clownfish and porcelain crabs. The sea grass beds around  Normanby  Island are home to an incredible biodiversity of marine animals including double-ended pipefish, seahorses, frogfish, squid and the venus-comb murex shell. It’s an awesome night dive.

I can highly recommend a dive trip to the Trobriand and D’Entrecasteaux Islands. With a combination of superb scubadiving, and magical cultural experiences, this is a wonderful dive/travel experience.  

More Info on Trobriand:

When To Go...
The best time to dive the Trobriand Islands is in November/December, and April/May. October can be good, in some years. Trade winds can adversely affect diving in other months.
                                           
How To Book...
Trobriand Island and D’Entrecasteaux’ Islands scuba diving expeditions can be arranged by request, on the diving liveaboards: MV Golden Dawn, and MV Telita. The Star Reefs adjacent of Tufi Peninsular and/or the D’Entrecasteaux Islands, can be included, depending on the length of charter. Some historic WWII wrecks: both aircraft and ship, are in this region.  Milne Bay is famous for it’s marine critters, but these outer reef systems are teeming with pelagic marine life.
 
MV Golden Dawn:
www.mvgoldendawn.com
MV Telita:
www.telitadive.com
MV MTS Discoverer:
www.mtspng.com