Info on Milne Bay area or other recommendations for a week in PNG

Hi
I have just returned from my second 'work' trip to PNG. Although I was in PNG for over three weeks both times I was unable to do anything but work - spent a few days in Port Moresby and the rest of my time on mine site. It is absolutely killing me that I have not seen any more of the county and so the next time I go for work, which looks like may be in November, I am hoping to take a few days leave afterwards and so have about a week to go somewhere.

My initial thoughts were to head to the Sepik, however, quite a few of the Papua New Guineans I worked with said I should head up to Milne Bay rather. I haven't yet been able to find a PNG Lonely Planet, so my initial investigations about the area have been on the internet. Apart from this website http://visitmilnebay.com, which gives some detail on different places stay there is just about nothing on TT. Can anyone recommend any places to stay or things to do in the Milne Bay area? If I just arrived in Alotau with a place to stay for the first night, do you think it will be easy for me to organise the rest of my week from there?

Or do you think I am making a mistake and should head to the Sepik rather? Another consideration is that I'll be flying through Mount Hagen for work, so it is an option to try do something from there. I am also open to other suggestions.

Things to consider
- I will only have a week max and will need to make sure I can get back to POM for my flight home
- I am willing to spend a bit a money but can by no means go overboard with my spending as I already have a 3 week trip to India planned for a few weeks later
- I am female in my early 30s and will be travelling alone (not sure if this makes a difference)
- I love hiking/trekking, I like the beach and am a diver, I love forests, animals etc, I am very interested in meeting and interacting with local people, experiencing some PNG culture
- I am not that interested in history/war type stuff

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks!
Carolyn

Edited by: CarolynH

You can download the relevant bits of the LP guide from the website, quite cheaply.

Hi Carolyn,
If you have only a week, you're female traveling alone, you dive, and like hiking/trekking, Madang might be nice. It's a pleasant coastal town, low-key, and very pretty. The Lutheran Guest House is good value and friendly, and you can get in a dive or two at the Jais Aben Resort (expensive, but you don't need to stay there to dive with the on-site dive companies; that said, however, if you decide you want to dive, don't take my word for it, and contact them first). I visited twice, and really liked the place.
The Sepic is interesting, but - in my opinion - only if you go inland (to Ambunti, for example). I found Wewak interesting, but only because it was the first town is stepped foot in when I was there; otherwise it's just another coastal town, but not anything like Madang). As you've been to PNG before, I assume you know that traveling alone as a woman can be a pretty dicey proposition, no matter where you are. Good luck.