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Chromodoris kuniei image made at Tufi, PNG in 2001. The orange sponge gives a fantastic contrast to the nudibranchs vivid colours.
Made with a Nikon F80 and 60mm macro lens on Kodak Ektacrhome 100 Extra Colour film.
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PNG 2001 Trip Report - Tufi: Scandanavia in the Tropics
Intro
Described as "Scandinavia in the tropics", Papua New Guinea’s fjord-lands are home to one of the secret gems of Pacific diving - Tufi Dive Resort . Starting with the flight into Tufi, you gain a sense of the unique geography of the fjords - steep drops from the top of the fjords to the water-line, which continue underwater. Perhaps because of this unique geography, Tufi plays host to some truly unique diving.
Nestled between the Owen Stanley mountain ranges and the Solomon Sea, the fjords around Tufi were carved not by glaciers but from the lava flows of volcanoes – some still reportedly active. The village of Tufi is small, consisting of a school, a small hospital, a trade store, and 2 small general stores – and the Tufi Dive Resort. The Resort sits atop a ridge, commanding majestic views of the fjord and the ocean.
Tufi is relatively unheard of in the international diving community, and the management are working hard to raise its profile, promoting the wonders of the reef diving around Tufi. Perhaps equally appealing to many divers and underwater photographers is some of the best muck diving to be found at a land based resort, certainly in PNG. Fast becoming popular as a quick getaway among the Port Moresby expatriate population, Tufi offers a lot to divers wanting to visit a remote and untouched location.
Getting There
Tufi is remote, and part of the adventure is getting there. The first leg is getting to Port Moresby, with Air Niugini offering regular services from Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Singapore and Manila. Most international Air Niugini flights are operated on a Boeing 767 aircraft, although flights from Cairns may be on a smaller Fokker F28 jet.
Depending on your time of arrival and the status of connecting flights, you may find that it is necessary to overnight in Port Moresby. Port Moresby is a picturesque city, situated on a scenic harbour, but it does unfortunately have moer than its share of problems with crime. The general recommendation is to stay at the Airways Hotel, situated close to the airport, which has 24 hour security for the protection of guests. A popular alternative with many divers is to stay on Loloata Island, itself a dive resort, which is somewhat sheltered from most of the crime. Many traveling divers visiting PNG have a few days at Loloata to experience a different diving destination.
PNG is a very mountainous country, and thus the main transport network is by air, with produce and cargo by sea. The flight to Tufi takes about 60 minutes, and features a spectacular crossing of the peaks of the Owen Stanley ranges, the main mountain range on PNG’s main island. Regular schedule flight operate 4 times per week on Airlines PNG (formerly Milne Bay Air). The planes are small, and well suited to the flight through the ranges. The landing at the village of Tufi is also interesting, with the plane coming in from the sea to approach a grass runway.
On arrival you are met by the staff of the Tufi Dive Resort, who load your baggage into a four wheel drive, before leading you on the 2 minute walk to the resort. There you are met with a welcome drink, before being given an orientation and being escorted to your room.
For larger groups or custom itineraries, a private charter plane can be arranged through the management of Tufi.
The Diving
Offshore Reefs and Wrecks
As with many of PNG's diving, the offshore reefs around Tufi feature deep sea mounts and colourful reefs in clear water. Coral growth is impressive, and pelagic encounters are frequent.
The offshore reefs are mostly a 20-50 minute boat ride from the Tufi wharf, on one of the resort’s 6 boats, although most reef dives are conducted from the largest vessel, Crystal. However, other boats are used when there are a lot of divers at the resort, in an effort to keep the groups small (maximum is about 8 guests). A couple of “further afield” dives are conducted from a smaller boat, Kulau, a faster vessel for the longer runs. The smaller boats are generally used for excursions in the fjords, and sometimes for fishing trips.
Most of the reefs are surrounded by deep water, varying from 50 to 600m in depth, allowing the diver to pick the depth that suits their experience and objectives. Typically the walls come to within 4-6m of the surface, allowing long multilevel dive profiles and plenty of shallow water for safety stops. On one dive, we spent over half an hour in 4.5m watching the courting and mating ritual of a pair of octopus, ignoring the schools of mackeral schooling around above us. The myriad of colourful reef fish didn’t even get a look in.
The house reefs used by Tufi are Stewart’s Reef and Paul’s Reef, both of which are about 20 minutes away. These sites abound with spectacular coral growth, and are good for both critters and larger animals.
A little further away lie a couple of the resort staff’s favourite sites – Minor Reef and Mulloway. At these sites the drop offs are immense, with depths plummeting to hundreds of metres. Encounters with black tip, and white tip reef sharks, and gray whalers are common on these dives, and the dive crew report regular sightings of manta and eagle rays.
All of the offshore reefs offer superb wide angle photo opportunities, with an impressive array of hard and soft coral growth. Any photographer visiting Tufi will have macro and close up capability for the muck diving in the fjord, but don’t overlook this for the reefs either.
The above is a short summary of some of the offshore reefs around Tufi, but there are many others – known and unexplored. The crew makes efforts to get to unexplored reefs on a regular basis, and guests are afforded the honour of naming new sites.
Also worth a mention are two further afield dives – the wreck of the S’Jacob, a Dutch ship wrecked during WW2, and the Blackjack, an American B52 plane. Coral growth on the S’Jacob is reportedly spectacular, but lying in 50-60m in the open ocean, several hours boat ride from Tufi means that this wreck is infrequently dived, and only then by very experienced divers wanting to make the outing.
The Blackjack is a little closer, being about an hour away in the fastest of Tufi’s boats. Reputed to be the world’s best plane wreck, the Blackjack lies in around 40m. The dive profile here is to drop down a wall, and then follow a line out to the plane. Excellent photographic opportunities are offered by this site.
It is worth noting that all offshore reefs are in the open sea, and that little protection is afforded from the South East Tradewinds. Those prone to seasickness will want to take appropriate precautions, and may want to consider visiting in the calmer seasons.
There is no doubt that Tufi offers great offshore diving, but to us its real uniqueness lies in the diving in the fjords, which offer great muck diving right at the dive shop, as well as spectacular coral growth up and down the walls of the fjords.
Tufi Wharf
There are few diving resorts anywhere that have truly unique diving literally at their doorstep. Tufi is one of those, and its fair to say that you could do dozens of dives right at their dive shop wharf without seeing everything.
The dive shop is at the bottom of the hill, nestled in a very protected inlet in the fjord. Adjacent to the town pier, the dive shop has its own private wharf from which a magical dive begins – a dive with a bit of everything.
The standard dive profile is to descend near the wharf, and then pick a depth that suits your needs – the fjord drops away to over 50m. Immediately around the wharf is a trail of debris comprising of left over equipment from Tufi’s time as a PT boat base during WW2, as well as the general discarded items from everyday life. Two of the PT boats lie broken up in deeper water – around 40m – with a deck gun and loaded torpedo tube making interesting photo opportunities. There is also an old landrover and the remains of a small yacht.
In the shallows around the wharfs are some of the more interesting subjects for critter finders. This area features an impressive variety of nudibranchs, juvenile fish, several species of ghost pipefish, and lots of other weird and wonderful creatures. Each night at dusk is a dive called “The Muck” lead by one or more of the Resort’s able critter finders. On one dive, expect to see no less than 5 species of pipefish, including ornate and robust ghost pipefish. Juvenile batfish hide in small caves, while the grand prize, the mandarin fish can be found right below the town wharf for those with good eyes. Don’t miss “The Muck” – it’s a dive we did every evening for 10 straight days. We were still finding new stuff after this time.
The Fjords
Above and below the water, the terrain of the fjord-lands is a large part of what makes Tufi unique. Created by volcanic lava-flows, the sides of the fjords are walls and slope sharply down to a bottom in excess of 50m. This is wall diving without very little water movement – it’s a very relaxing way to meander about and enjoy your diving.
Coral growth is nothing short of spectacular in the fjords, with the entire sloping wall looking like a cabbage patch. Large, 2m –plus high sponges stand proud of the bottom. The fjords have an excellent display of smaller tropical fish species, but pelagics are not uncommon. We saw several turtles and some large dogfin tuna, and mantas and other rays are reported from time to time. As with the Tufi Wharf muck dive, stay on the lookout for small stuff – nudibranchs and other slugs abound, as do all sorts of shells. Large lobsters are a common sight, a fact reflected in the serving of fresh lobster in the resort several times a week.
The fjords are very different diving, something that any diver could spend countless dives (and rolls of film) enjoying. With water temperature averaging a degree or 2 warmer than the offshore reefs, and visibility in the 10-20m range, what more could a diver want?
Dive Shop
Adjacent to the Tufi public wharf is the resort’s dive shop complex. It is here that all of Tufi’s diving expeditions start from –shore, reef or fjord. The dive shop is impressive – large and well thought.
Each guest is allocated a locker for dry gear and a space immediately under it where the basket for mask, snorkel, fins and other small accessories is stowed. Individual hanging space for BCD, regs and wetsuit is adjacent. Dive gear is left here for the duration of your.
The dive shop has an equipment workshop, a separate tank room and a retail area, with plans to stock basic items and accessories, as well as film, batteries and spares.
Outside is a large deck, with plenty of shade, leading down to the water line where entries are made for muck dives, and some fjord dives. The dive boats come along side here also. On the deck there are rinse tanks for dive gear, including two large ones dedicated for camera gear. Snacks and water are generally available, and there are freshwater showers. The only thing missing is a toilet – you need to go back up to the resort for some needs.
Before you arrive at the dive shop each day, the staff set your gear up, leaving you the arduous task of donning suits and getting in the water. If you’re going boat diving, make sure all your gear has been loaded. At the end of a dive, your gear is whisked away, washed and stowed properly. The staff is careful with gear, especially cameras, putting it straight into one of the dedicated rinse tanks at the end of the dive.
The dive shop serves as the focal point for other water activities, including canoeing and kayaking, as well as fishing trips (optional).
The Resort
Facilities
The Tufi Dive Resort was purchased by new owners in 2000, and was extensively remodeled before re-opening in early 2001. At the centre of the resort is a magnificent new “round house” building, which houses the restaurant, bar, gift shop, library and video lounge in a large open area. This building is also home to the resort office, kitchen and dining area. It is a magnificent building – large and airy, and constructed of materials and in a fashion that give it a truly Melanesian theme.
The accommodations are in smaller buildings (1 or 2 guest rooms apiece) surrounding the roundhouse. The gardens are manicured beautifully, and feature a rotunda where guests can laze about, and a large deck overlooking the fjord. The deck area has a barbeque, and is a perfect place to relax. Dinner is served here every night when the weather permits.
The library and video lounge area has a reasonably well stocked collection of magazines, books, videos and DVD’s, and there are plenty of games available.
Accommodation
The accommodation at Tufi is superb. We stayed in a cabin that had a single room, with a verandah overlooking the fjord. The room was airconditioned, was spacious and had a private bathroom. For the photographer, there was plenty of room to setup camera gear.
This is 5 star living in a very remote location.
Eco-Friendliness
Being so remote, the management of Tufi has made efforts to maintain the unique feel and to integrate properly with the local environment. The resort itself is largely built using local materials, and in a design that fits well with the local style.
A pleasing feature, common to many dive operations in PNG, is that all of the regular offshore dive sites are moored, reducing damage to the reef from the dive vessels. On the exploratory dives, the boat will generally stay mobile, rather than anchoring. Comprehensive briefings for each dive stress key considerations for “reef-friendly diving” practices.
A major part of eco-friendliness is integration with the local economy, and here again Tufi has made excellent efforts. Apart from direct employment of a large number of local personnel, the resort also purchases many fresh foods locally. They have also donated desks and other items to the local school, and use this as a springboard to education about the environment. Projects are undertaken in conjunction with the community to improve facilities, including the track from the village and resort down to the wharf area, and the upgrading of the public wharf.
It is the remoteness and the responsible attitude to integrate with the community that will ensure Tufi continues to be a unique diving destination.
Final Thoughts
Tufi was the first overseas dive destination that we went to together, and holds a very special place for us. It is simply gorgeous, with spectacular diving at the doorstep. As a photographer, Des would happily spend an entire 2 weeks diving 4 times a day in the fjords and around Tufi Wharf. So even if severe tradewinds blew out all offshore reef diving, a photographer and those that love a slow paced dive with a bit of everything would happily go about and not even notice.
In fact, the offshore reef diving was, to us, a bit of an anticlimax. It was good, but compared to other destinations we we've visited (before and since), it was ordinary. Tufi Wharf and the Tufi Fjord are what makes Tufi Diving special, and we would go back just to dive these sites again.
Highly recommended.