Surfing in the Land of the Unexpected
photos courtesy of Jason Pini, Surfing Association PNG
by Konrad Borowiecki
posted 2009-04-18
When we think about fantastic surf spots in the world usually the first thing that comes to mind are Hawaii, Australia, Mexico, California and Portugal. But there is another location on the surf map, undiscovered, unpredictable, un-spoilt, beautiful and exotic. This destination is perfect for the European surfer staring out the window of his apartment, office or car at the cloudy, grey sky and cold, wintery conditions. This location, a hidden getaway, distant and remote, will surprise even the most skeptical with challenging waves breaking of scenic beaches, reefs and points without the crowds. Few know of this place, travel agencies rarely offer this direction that is why it is a surfer's dream! The place in mind - Papua New Guinea.
Photo courtesy of Jason Pini,
Surfing Association PNG
Papua New Guinea or PNG in short is located 160km to the north-east of Australia and lies just south of the equator. A country diversified and picturesque, discovered in the early 1500's by a passing Portuguese fleet, is made up of a wealth of dense tropical rainforest, highlands, long rivers, tropical islands and white sandy coastline. Papua New Guinea's 19 provinces are home to 5 million inhabitants, many local cultures and 800 local languages with the main one being Pidgin, spoken throughout PNG. Declared independent in 1975 Papuans still keep their old and various traditions alive by doing rituals celebrating births, deaths, marriages and other initiations. Travelers to PNG can experience the local variations of costumes, rituals and dance at a number of Sing-Sing shows - cultural and tribal shows held around the country annually with the most famous being the Goroka and Mount Hagen shows in the rugged Highlands. With this in mind PNG offers such a variety of activities travelers with completely opposite scopes of interest will be satisfied. Activities such as trekking through the highlands and jungle tracks, relaxing on numerous island resorts, diving amongst the coral reef and WWII wrecks, cruising the Sepik river and of course… Surfing.
The early days
Surfing in Papua New Guinea found its start in the mid 80's when a group of young, local surf enthusiasts, headed by Andy Abel set up a club in the northern coastal village Vanimo in the West Sepik province. Since then the sport has developed greatly where it has become affiliated with the PNG Sports Federation as a sporting body and has become a member with the International Surfing Association. Interestingly the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea, with Andy Abel now its president incorporated a unique system, called the bottom-up approach, where the local communities own and manage their respective clubs cooperating directly with the association. Through this system local communities have direct access to surf tourism operators from markets like Australia, Japan and now Europe and reap the associated benefits, giving the profits back to the local people.
Photo courtesy of Jason Pini, Surfing Association PNG
Are we there yet?!
Surfing potential in PNG is unlimited. All year round the conditions and climate welcome surfers to visit the numerous surf spots scattered around the mainland and islands. Our journey begins in one of Europe's many large airports where we travel on our selected flight to Singapore. After the near 12-hour flight we have a choice of continuing directly to the Papua New Guinea capital, Port Moresby with the national carrier Air Niugini or traveling through Australia for a much needed stop-over in Cairns or Brisbane, with daily flights to Port Moresby simplifying our onward journey.
Having arrived in Port Moresby we are transferred from the airport to our hotel. Along the way we notice the many street markets selling sweet potato, coconuts, sugarcane and a local favorite -- betel nut, the seed of the Areca palm, chewed and used as a stimulant by locals. The diversity of the people is clearly visible with islanders and coastal people having soft, tender features unlike the highlanders, whose warrior tradition stands out immediately. After visiting some of Port Moresby's sights and local art galleries it is time to get ready for the upcoming days of wet fun.
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No Limit Adventures is a small international company made up of people with passion for travel, sports and adventure. Being long time residents of Australia, over the last 10 years we have been discovering the charms of PNG. Having made good friends, acquaintances and partners amongst locals, business operators and governing bodies over the years allows us to see PNG from a different perspective and thus helps us invite travelers seeking journeys a little out of the ordinary.
