Surfing PNG

[micklbaker]

Any tips of places to surf in PNG for a land based attack. I will be in Lae for work and looking to get 3 or 4 days surfing in after. Any suggestions on closest proximity or are the outer islands worth the trip?

Thanks

[jaffa1949]

You will need some luck and knowing when you are going, would be helpful.
You have surf camps at Tupira in Madang province and Vanimo in the west Sepik all plane flights away and whether you have to go back via Port Moresby.
The main season is about November to early April for the spots on new Ireland, Kavieng etc.
Although there is a long NE fetch from Lae it is pretty much a sandy delta flat area with not much to shape a swell into anything meaningful.
PNG surfing is well documented and well controlled to avoid Bali-nisation , that is over commercialisation by owners outside the country and arrangements are in place to ensure the local people benefit from a visit.

If you go off the beaten track , be prepared and have gifts for the chief of thearea in which you wish to surf. The reefs are their sea fields and it is a courtesy.
There are also salt water crocodiles Be aware.
You could end up being the first surfer in some areas, represent surfing with big smiles courtesy, and respect for the people on whose reefs you surf

[Aqualife]

Hi,
I lived in Port Moresby for a while and for most breaks you need a boat. Please look up the PNG Surf Associations Website and contact Andy Abel. He is the President and the one who got PNG into (modern) surfing. He is a really nice guy. He sent to the Sunshine Coast to boarding school where he started surfing and brought boards back to PNG and started the Surf Association. He knows virtually every break in the country and organizes everything to do with surfing, so he will be able to help for sure. I have only surfed Vanimo, Kavieng and Port Moresby and there isn't much around Lae I am aware of but Andy would know. Good luck. It's a really interesting place. I had people hanging off palm trees watching me surf and it's sometimes sketchy. Didn't have crocodiles but plenty of water snakes in the water. Was an experience. Lae is much safer than Port Moresby, so that would be a good thing. There are usually a few Australian surfers who work there about which you will meet in expat clubs, the Yacht Club and some such. You can also fly for weekend to places and surf.