Anyone surfed Papua New Guinea

[Hoody]

Hi all. Me and a couple of mates intend to surf Vanimo, PNG this November. I reckon we could all be described as "of intermediate skill level". Anyone been there. Are we likely to have fun. Got any stories to share???

[surf patrol]

Are you planning a charter?

[Hoody]

Yep. Would be going with the perfect wave. Aussie owned and run. Package includes flights, accomodation, food, one surf transfer (land based) per day. 24/7 emergency assistance is pretty enticing as well.

[surf patrol]

24/7 emergency assistance is pretty enticing as well.

[jaffa1949]

The old pidgin English for surfing was " i go long soda wata qiktime."

The reports on Vanimo have been pretty good, take anti malarials , very important, there is the possibility of the often fatal falciparum malaria being present.

PNG is one area where I would follow all good medical advice about tropical diseases.

Don't be put off by what I've said about disease the experience you will have will be amazing.

I surfed PNG in 1970 I wasn't the first, I heard of a board under a house and I and was able to borrow it!

Probably soldiers in WWII surfed too.

A man from Tanna ( Tommy Tanna) in Vanuatu taught early Australians how to bodysurf.

Take care have fun

[Hoody]

Hay thanks Jaffa. My research has rapidly changed from surf conditions to avoiding malaria. Start to wonder why I would stray from beaches like Broken Head, Tallows and Belongil. Then remember the only way to guarantee a relatively uncrowded surf is to hit the water pre dawn on frosty July mornings.
So bugger it, take the right meds bathe in tropical strength aeroguard and be gone I say. The waves may or may not be there for the 10 days we are but the crowds definitely won't be.
Cheers

[surf patrol]

Make sure your trip photos find there way here.

Best way to avoid malaria - don't get bitten. Cover up your legs and arms and sleep under a mozzie net. Those anti malaria drugs can be pretty nasty.

[Hoody]

Hi ya surf patrol
Never been great at watching life through a camera, but between us I'm sure there will be something to post. Would be cool to contribute to this site

The malaria thing is a tough choice. Have started reading a bit on different drugs. None sound ideal, some worse than the risk of malaria. But then again I don't trust myself to not get bitten whilst hanging out in the tropics for 10 days.

Cheers

[jaffa1949]

Let's give you a little information re malaria, stuff that might help; check a few thing with your doctor about this too.

There are different types of malaria, all are not nice and one, Falciparum can be fatal: The mosquitoes are most active around dawn and dusk ( true) but don't depend on that, long sleeves and long trousers at those times help, anti insect lotions and creams very helpful DEET ingredients, mosquito coils to make smoke, just don't burn your accommodation down. Most important mosquito net make sure you use it!!
There are other mosquito borne diseases, dengue fever, typhus, encephalitus to name a few, all nasty, so the best advice is to avoid being bitten. BTW you will not see a malaria mosquito they are too small!

Now about anti malarials yes they can be nasty and yes they don't not always work, they basically lessen the risk of contracting malaria, not prevent it!

A lot of malaria is now resistant to quinine and quinine type drugs so telling your doctor where you are going will help them prescribe the correct thing.

Doxycyclin is an antibiotic that stops the malaria parasites setting up in your blood, you start taking it before going and for some time after coming back ( and that Is important) it can make your skin photosensitive Easier to sunburn ( who needs that in the tropics) and people can be allergic to it>
Lariam is another but with similar properties as to prevention but has been found to have possible psychotic side effects, hmm.

I survived the fatal malaria in the 70s, absolutely horrifying, I will never go without antimalarials in risk zones!

[surf patrol]

Jaffa you are a legend mate. Where haven't you been and what haven't you experienced???
I found the following link has been good
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destination ... guinea.htm

Don't worry you have me convinced. Will do my own research, talk to a doc with experience it tropical diseases, and take it from there. Have also read that the use of treated mossie nets has reduced the incidence of Malaria in the local PNG pops.

PS have wacked a quick pic of the surf before work this morning in the photos section. Doesn't do justice of course, it was actually pretty sweet out the back. And no mozzies
Cheers
Pete

[dtc]

My parents used to live in PNG and I visited many times (not to surf). Dont worry too much about malaria (and dengue fever) - that is, be careful but dont stress - just make sure you slap on the DEET insect repellent and cover up as much as possible when on land particularly early evening and night (you will want to wear your boardies and singlet but bring some long sleeve cotton/linen shirts and put them on - actually, some outdoor stores now have DEED impregnated clothing. I dont know how effective they are or whether they offer benefits over just using DEET). You can get sunscreen with DEET as well, which is useful.

Watch out because DEET does have a habit of 'eating' into clothing and watch bands etc, so be prepared to have to dump your rash vest at the end of the trip.

The above applies to most countries in the tropics, from Indonesia to India to Africa and Central America. Obviously lots of people travel to these areas without problems, so just be careful but not stressed.

[Hoody]

Thanks for all the advice guys. The DEET treated clothing also makes good sense. Don't think I'm stressing, just enjoying the use of this chat forum to get some great advice.
Cheers

[esonscar]

I'm scared for you now! - I reckon stick a bung up your ass to stop creepy crawlies from . . . well, you can imagine!

Enjoy

[Hoody]

Deet treated bung ?

[jaffa1949]

Pidgin for you;

" Mi tellim u dis pella Deet i eatim clothes bilong u, u gotim nutting bilong tying bilong u i bi arsgras das ol."

To help with the translation, mausgras is a mustache pella is fella as f is pronounced p and
mixmasta bilong Jesus Christ is a helicopter, pullim i cum pushim i go brutha bilong ax is a cross cut saw, you'll have no problems in Pidgin English.

Most SWers speak it fluently after a prolonged Friday

[dtc]

If you havent already, see if you can get hold of the film 'Splinters', which is a documentary about surfing at Vinamo (about surfing by the locals, not a standard '5 cutbacks by pro to loud soundtrack' type film).

[Hoody]

Hay thanks dtc. Just checked out the splinters U-tube trailer. Won't be dropping in on the locals. Don't want to get carted away in Jaffas mixmasta bilong Jesus Christ!!!

[dtc]

Yeah, the trailer is pretty in your face and there are plenty of social problems in parts of the country, like there are in parts of every country (the rest of the film is thought provoking but not all like the trailer). I'm sure the resort will tell you about any safety issues - my experience was that as a 'white man', you were more or less treated very well and often 'better' than the locals (for example, in many shops the locals are made to leave their bags at the front door, but the white folks can haul in backpacks or whatever they want without query). Dont know if Vinamo has any major security issues, but you do quickly get used to seeing guards everywhere and people carrying large knives (bush knives). But, seriously, the security issues are generally no issue with a bit of common sense so dont let it put you off.

[Hoody]

Thanks again for putting me onto Splinters dtc. Got hold of the full length version and watched it Sunday. Your spot on about the trailer. It leaves you thinking Vanimo might be the most violent surf village on the planet, but the full length tells a very different story.
I am really looking forward to checking this place out and not only for the surf which looked great, with a range of waves to suit pretty much all levels.
Cheers
Peter

[jaffa1949]

When you think about PNG the government and PNG surfing association is ensuring that the swamping of local culture doesn't occur and money is fed directly into the local communities.

Some of my local friends have been to Vanimo , good time ahead for you.

Another surf film coming out is Drift with Sam Worthington from Avatar!