getting to PNG from USA or Indonesia....also need visa for Americans?

Hello,
I am doing a photo mission out to Indonesia and would also like to shoot Papa New Guinea....Can't find much info about getting there though....
Has anyone taken the flight from California to PNG or from Indonesia to PNG? Is a visa required? I'll be taking my surfboard along...is there storage at the airport to leave it there while traveling through PNG before heading to INDO?
thanks,
Micah

1. Best (cheapest) way to travel to PNG from USA
   fly USA to Australia.
   Aim for either Cairns, Brisbane, Sydney in that order Cairns being the cheapest for your next leg of the journey.
   fly Australia to Port Moresby
   Virgin Blue/Airlines PNG (www.virginblue.com.au) are generally the cheapest. They codeshare with Airlines PNG (www.apng.com.pg). It will be the same flight same conditions, but if you travel with Airlines PNG you will get a 32kg bag allowance rather than 20kg with Virgin.
   other option is check Qantas (www.qantas.com.au) or Air Niugini (www.airniugini.com.pg) who also codeshare their plane, but are generally a bit more expensive.

2, PNG/Indo
probably a toss up of flying PNG/Cairns/Indo or PNG/(KL or HK or Singapore)/Indo Air Niugini is the only carrier flying PNG to KL/HK/Singapore, but flights are expensive. You would need to do some research with the fares from the sites listed above.

1. There is no storage at the airport. (If you ask me nicely I could hold onto it for you whilst you travel PNG, I am in Port Moresby). But you may want to take your board with you and head to Kavieng http://www.surfingpng-newireland.org.pg/

EDIT :
4. Yes you will need a tourist visa. 100Kina (US$40) available on arrival.

Edited by: suencam

No flights from Indonesia to PNG, only overland crossing from West Papua.
Visa required, and can be troublesome to obtain in Jayapura - the PNG consulate there is really unpredictable.

More on this crossing

I travelled to PNG in late October-November, 2009. My travel originated in Boston to Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia for an overnite & then on to Port Moresby. Yes, a visa is necessary & it's easily obtained from the PNG authorities in the US before you leave; check the Lonely Planet for address. A visa is also necessary for Australia even if you are just transitting thru the country. it's actually an electronic travel authorization & can be done online for about $US20.

papua New Guinea is a beautiful country. good luck