Loloata Resort Island, Papua New Guinea

By Richard Booth

Loloata is a private island resort situated in Bootless inlet, a few miles down the coast from Port Moresby, PNG's premier city. It is reached via water borne taxi service, which consists of a quick 10 minute ride across the water from the mainland. Lotoata Island is a relatively small island, being approximately 1.2 kms long and about 300 metres wide. Apart from guests and staff, the island is otherwise uninhabited.

Loloata is dominated by a large hill with a distinctive high ridge, which extends the length of the entire island, thereby giving it its name, Loloata, which in the local Muto language translates as 'one hill'. A brisk walk along the ridge path at dusk can provide a wonderful opportunity for observing dramatic sunsets across the water, as well as great views of the local reefs, the nearby islands and the distant Owen Stanley mountain range.

The resort itself consists of 22 beach front colonial style bungalows, each complete with its own en-suite bathrooms and individual balcony situated on stilts over the water. Air conditioning is also available in some of these units, but at an additional cost.

Electricity is available at all times, and is 240 volts.

The licensed restaurant provides meals of a reasonable standard, although most guests do not travel to this resort with gourmet food in mind. Three meals a day are included in the price of the accommodation. Water is available in plentiful quantities, as the resort has two desalination plants in addition to the usual rainwater tanks. This resort has a friendly relaxed atmosphere which appears to make it popular with locals and ex-pats as a great place to escape the stresses of Port Moresby life. It is also gaining popularity with a growing number of overseas visitors, who use it as 'a stopping off point', whilst en-route to the better known PNG diving destinations such as Walindi, Madang and Milne Bay...

The resort however offers more than just diving based activities.

Non-Diving activities on offer include the following:
Snorkelling
Kayaking
Water skiing
Sailboarding
Line fishing
Volleyball
Table Tennis
Beach walks
Bush walks
Sightseeing tours
Artefact Shopping Trips to PNG Arts in Port Moresby.

Currency:
The local currency is the kina. Credit cards accepted at the Loloata resort include Visa, as well as MasterCard.

Dive facilities:
Loloata has its own fully equipped dive centre complete with two aluminium 9m dive boats. These boats are covered for sun protection and can speed comfortably along to the various dive sites at a steady 20 knots with a full dive load.

Normally divers assemble at the pier for the first dive trip at 8:00am, with the afternoon trip departing at 2:00pm. Between dives the waters immediately around the resort also offers excellent snorkelling, with the opportunity to observe all sorts of strange and exotic sea life.

Dive Sites:
The waters around Loloata offer varied diving opportunities. It is a dive area perhaps most noted for the variety of small critters that live upon its reefs, and in particular the relative abundance of rare species such as the Rhinopious (Merletts Scorpionfish), and pygmy seahorses. Loloata has therefore become increasingly popular with underwater macro photographers seeking the opportunity to capture these elusive species on film.

The area however, also offers the visiting diver the opportunity to dive on a variety of interesting wrecks, as well as other wonderful dive sites of a more scenic nature. Pelagic species frequent these waters, although few of the sites really offer the opportunity of guaranteed pelagic encounters in the same way as some of the more famous and well known PNG dive sites.


Required level of dive experience:
The varied nature of the many sites around Loloata means that all levels of dive experience can be catered for. All the boat dives include the service of experienced dive guides who will keep an eye on the less experienced divers, as well as act as 'expert spotters' for locating some of the more unusual and elusive marine species that lie hidden in these local reefs.

Scenic dives sites:
Suzie's Bommie:
This site consists of a pristine coral bommie situated on white sand. My logbook records sightings of harlequin ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses, a purple stonefish, a large black frogfish, as well as large schools of batfish and sweetlips. Depths on this site range from 12-32 metres, with some current evident throughout the dive. When conditions are right, this site can offer a world class diving experience.

The End Bommie:
This area is noted for walls covered with gorgonian fan corals, seawhips and soft corals. It is also an excellent site for searching out the elusive rhinopius, as well as pygmy seahorses. Most of the more interesting stuff is to be found in the 6-30 metre range.

The Big Drop:
Excellent wall dive with large gorgonian fan corals to be found in deeper water. My Logbook entries note sightings of grey reef sharks and a solitary marble ray. Another excellent site for pygmy seahorses and ghost pipefish..

The Pinnacles:
10-30 metre depth. An area with a series of lovely coral peaks covered with sea fans, over which passing pelagic fish are often observed. Usually a rich variety of reef fish can also be found, as well as resident sea snakes.

Lion Island:
The waters around Lion Island make for a good 'muck diving' site. Underwater visibility however tends to suffer because of the nature of the soft sandy bottom. Numerous weird and wonderful forms of sea life can with a little bit of patient searching, be found hiding amongst the sea grass on the sandy bottom. This array of fascinating creatures includes flying gurnards, ghost pipefish, and marble snake eels. There is also an assortment of wrecks to be found in the waters surrounding this island, ranging from an old landing craft, a small yacht, to a sizable intact fishing trawler...


Wreck dive sites:

MV Pacific Gas:
Deliberately scuttled as a dive site in 1986, this small ship lies with her stern situated in 43 metres, upright and resting on a gentle slope with her bow lying in 14 metres of water. The vessel is still very intact and in the excellent visibility often encountered on this site, makes for a magnificent spectacle, which has become well colonised by corals and schools of fish. Originally built as a gas tanker, the two large gas container tanks were removed prior to the vessel being sunk, leaving a large open cavernous hold to explore. Both the bridge and engine room areas can easily be penetrated and explored in relative safety.

MFV Pia II
This former prawn trawler is another vessel deliberately sunk as a dive site in 1982, in the shelter of Horseshoe reef. Its protected location means that the wreck can be dived in most weather conditions. With her keel lying in 28 metres of water, and with a total hull length of 25 metres, one has plenty of time to comfortably explore this wreck and its resident sea creatures without accruing the need for lengthy decompression stops.

Boston A 20 Havoc aircraft wreck:
This WWII bomber of the Royal Australian Air Force was forced to ditch in the sea after suffering battle damage on a bombing raid against the Japanese. This wonderful aircraft wreck is intact and sitting upright on the sandy bottom with only its nose cone and cockpit canopy missing and despite its lengthy immersion in sea water. Jealously guarded by the local diving community, it has not suffered at the hands of souvenir hunters, resulting in a wreck in which the aircraft controls and instruments remain in place, with even the rear gunner's machinegun barrels still pointing menacingly upwards, a legacy from its last ill-fated mission.
The aircraft came to rest at the base of the reef in 18 metres of water. The area however is very silty, so underwater visibility tends to deteriorate very quickly as over enthusiastic divers explore this unique sight. If you want to obtain decent U/W photos then you need to be quick into the water. The nearby reef lacks the marine life and scenic beauty of other more popular sites, so this dive is really one for the wreck enthusiast.

The local area offers many other dive sites in addition to the ones highlighted above. More details can be found on the . Loloata website

Diving Conditions:
The southeast trade winds season generally lasts from May-November. These trade winds tend to pick up strength during the course of the day, making it difficult to dive on some of the more exposed sites. The southeast trade wind season however, has the advantage of pushing clear blue water up from the Coral Sea, often resulting in a significant improvement in underwater visibility. This combination of fresh winds and the movement of water however, also results in a drop of water temperature to around 25 centigrade, making a thin wet suit a recommended item of dive kit.
From January -April is usually a period of settled light winds. The water temperature rises to 28 Centigrade during this time.

Health:
Throughout PNG malaria is a serious endemic health problem. Lariam is the recommended anti -malarial prophylaxis for this region of the world, although this particular drug is not usually recommended to be taken when engaged in diving activities, as some of its side effects in certain individuals can appear very similar to decompression illness symptoms. After consultation with my GP, regarding my intended stay in PNG, I was prescribed a course of Doxycycline, which I took with no apparent ill effects. Whilst the Port Moresby area has less of a malaria problem than other coastal areas in PNG, it is still a wise precaution to follow basic malaria guidelines, by taking the prescribed medication, using insect repellents, and ensuring that one covers up exposed flesh between dusk and dawn, by wearing long sleeved shirts and long trousers. Adequate medical insurance which covers diving related injuries as well as medical evacuation in the event of a serious emergency is a must.

Time
PNG is 10 hours ahead of G.M.T.


Travel to and from PNG
In my own case, I flew London Heathrow to Singapore where I transferred to an Air Niugini flight to Port Moresby. A 60 day tourist visa can be obtained at Jackson International Airport (Port Moresby) for 100 kina, at Port Moresby on arrival. Some travel companies recommend that a visa is obtained in advance of the planned trip from the PNG Embassy. A departure tax of 30 kina is also payable on departure from the country. Further details can be obtained on current entry visa requirements from the official PNG tourist website:

In summary, Loloata offers great diving with the opportunity to explore interesting wrecks as well as observe rare sea creatures in their marine habitat. The journey to PNG is a long, somewhat exhausting and expensive undertaking. Would I be prepared to make this trip specifically for the purpose of staying at Loloata? If being really honest I would have to say probably not. However, I would definitely recommend making the effort to stay at Loloata as part of an extended trip which also included a liveaboard trip or visit to another PNG resort.

In my own case the above trip was booked through Maldives Scuba Tours. Tel +44 01449 780220 Email: info@scubascuba.com Website:

Other UK based agents;

Scuba Safaris. Tel +44 01342 851196
Email info@scuba-safaris.com
Website: www.scuba-safaris.com
Dive Quest, Tel +44 1254 826322 Email: divers@divequest.co.uk Website:

Loloata Resort contact details:
Loloata Island resort
P.O.Box 5290
Boroko, N.C.D.
Papua New Guinea

Tel. 675-325-8590 or 675-325
Fax 675-325-8933
Email: loloata@loloata.com
Website


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