Birds of Paradise and sub aqua diving in PNG

Hi all,

I would like to see Birds of Paradise in Tari, Tari Gap and Mount Hagen. I gather these are the best spots. Can anyone tell me how to contact cheap lodges for prices and bookings ? Apparently email is not available for these lodges and I would need to book in advance in order to arrange pickup from the airport.

The birds are my priority. I've heard that the end of the season in late September or early October when the birds are still displaying and tour companies have gone is the best time to visit. Is this correct ?

Also any info on sub aqua diving in Port Moresby ? I'm keen on Manta Ray but I don't like strong currents - getting too old for that.

Any info appreciated.

your options for scuba from moresby would be 'the dive centre' which was based at the gateway hotel
(i am not certain of their current operating status or contact) or the loloata island resort which is in the process
of re-opening after a refurbishment and expansion

for birds if you are really serious then you should go on an organised trip through a birding club or society - their are several specialist operators

the birds of paradise live all across PNG but have been extensively hunted near any of the towns (thats where all those headdresses come from) so you need to get away to find - they usually appear in fixed spots (so easy to hunt) early morning so you need to be at our near that spot before dawn - not easy if you are staying a town - you definitely need a guide that knows the birds and has secured permissions from the various landowners

i suggest you read some trip reports here and on the tripadvisor forum

booking smaller guesthouses in advance is never easy - if you just turn up in tari there will be lots of people
at the airport offering to help - ask other passengers for assistance as well - beware the security situation is pretty sketchy up there

Hi davidmarsh,

during my PNG trip, I have been to Wagu lagoon a few weeks ago and there is a good place to spot the "Lesser bird-of-paradise".

You will get up early to cross the lagoon and walk for 15-20 min to be in the forest before 6:30 am when the birds (we saw 8 male and some female), are most active, jump around and sing. They get less active by 8:00 am when the sun becomes more powerful. As majordom said, they always hang out in the same trees, thus it is nearly guaranteed to see them.

Futhermore, there is versatile birdlife in Wagu lagoon to watch besides the bird-of-paradise plus crocodiles.

In Wagu village you will find a lovely guesthouse (big Sepik-style wooden stilt-building with simple rooms equipped with mosquito net and bed) owned by a villager named Mathew, which is also mentioned in the LP guidebook (60K per night).

Thanks for your replies.
The difficulty with going to Tari on spec and hoping for contacts is that it is hard to plan an itinerary and flight dates. It would also be difficult to establish a budget: knowing how much local cash to carry.

Wagu lagoon sounds interesting. Where is it in relation to Tari ?

wagu lake is on the south side of the sepik river just west of ambunti

i have been there several times and seen the lesser bird of paradise - travelling there though is even more
expensive and difficult than tari (but not as dangerous) - you will see other birds in this area but no other species
of bird of paradise

Well, I do not have experience with traveling to Tari, but if you have a guide who takes you from Wewak or Pagwi and can bring you to Wagu lagoon by boat, it will not be difficult. However, it will also not be cheap. Just to see the birds in the lagoon and have a short trip along the river e.g. to some villages, I think 4 days are fine (including coming from and going back to Wewak). In this forum you will find contacts of several guides and you can contact them in advance to discuss itinerary and price. With 1 or 2 spare days you can plane your flights accordingly.

if birds are really your priority then you need a specialist tour that knows where the birds are otherwise
you will waste a lot of time - we spent a fruitless day near mount hagen trying to see BoP but only heard
them (at least i was told i heard them) - we were luckier at wagu where they are protected and there are fewer people about - where there are people there an no birds (well no interesting ones) and where there are no people there are no roads (or electricity or plumbing or anything)

have a look here at what you might do and see on a birding tour - this is not a recommendation i know nothing about this company but they have a nice website

http://www.tropicalbirding.com/australasia-tours/new-guinea/papua-new-guinea/

http://www.tropicalbirding.com/wp-content/uploads/pdfs/Australasia/PNG/TRPNGCustomAug2017.pdf

as with any agent organised trip you need to make sure you are speaking with someone that has been to PNG

there are too many agents who are at the top of a chain of sub-contrators and the flow of money and information
sometimes does not work as well as it should - people pay thousands of dollars and then are having to buy
food for the guide as he has not been paid or are stranded and cannot get hold of anyone to amend a schedule because of weather (for example)

new britain is also on the birding radar (see the above itinerary) and is safer and easier than the highlands and in kimbe bay has spectacular diving - no mantas though for those you need to go to milne bay or get a live-aboard

Thanks for all replies.

Unfortunately, I've just heard from a tour operator running hotels including Ambua and Rondon Ridge that Tari is not safe now due to tribal dispute. Both Ambua Lodge and Warili Lodge are closed.

I will wait and see. Perhaps the situation will improve.

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