Hi All,

Justin one of our consultants has recently returned from a PNG Christmas. He came back with a few good yarns and a tonne of images. Staying at Nusa Island Retreat and Rubio he scored some great waves.

Captain Andrew Rigby (Captain Undies) of the PNG Explorer was also able to catch up and he had great dinner onboard with all the crew including their new chef (also Andy’s sister and a very skilled chef) Justin puts it down as one of the highlights of the trip.

Captain Undies also handed over some pics and a small blog see,  below and enjoy

PS- The PNG Explorer has some availability left for 2012 and looking ahead into 2013 it’s getting full. This is one trip that should be on your bucket list a real ‘must do’.

WS

Christmas update for 11/12 season by Captain Underpants

Just about to kick off the sixth trip for the 11/12 season bonanza of uncrowded perfection in a remote part of the world thats actually really easy to access, weird isn’t it! The Legendary PNG Explorer and her crew have been roving around the PNG outer islands giving the term “taking the piss” a new meaning. Pumping empty waves, more yellow fin tuna than one can poke a stick at, awesome food and of coarse the coldest beer in PNG.

We got really lucky for trip five this season when Danni Gitsham an Australian Doctors International volunteer joined us. Danni has been working with ADI doing clinics around New Ireland Province to treat people who cannot access proper medical attention. In Particular Danni ran a clinic at Ungalik Island where she treated 54 people diagnosing three cases of diabetes, saved one lady’s life by treating a severe abdominal infection, diagnosed and supplied the correct antibiotics for all kinds of things. A truly amazing person.

Another point worth noting is just when you think every wave has been discovered another pops up! Can you believe this! Check out the images below. PNG Explorer and her crew has found that many waves in PNG now were running out of names. If anyone has any suggestions please send them in!

All the best for the new year.

Captain Underpants

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hi All,

Andrew Rigby (PNG Explorer captain and frothing surf pioneer) has started filming their trips and posting them on Youtube. This last one came through and it looks like SOOOOOO MUCH FUN. Not macking, gnarly waves but clean, fun and NO CROWDS. I challenge anyone on the East  Coast  to find a similar wave with no-one else on it but your mates in this miserable wave drought we are currently Suffering. Ahhhhh…. we need to escape summer frustrations.

Enjoy WS

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hi all,

October is almost upon us. 4 more days and the Summer season kicks off there’s some small activity in the northern pacific already as if its waiting and getting ready to send the first small ripples down south to the north facing breaks of Carolines, PNG, Samoa and Tonga.  Summer spots are still pretty open if anyone is keen to escape their locals dismal offerings. If not hopefully these pics will put in good stead and see you through until the next swell arrives.

Enjoy WS:)

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hi all,

Summer is creeping up, slowly but surely the sun is rising that little bit earlier. Soon we’ll be shedding wet-suits, flicking the tiny beads of sweat from our brows and frustratingly kicking the sheets off at night as we listen to rhythmic tappings of ceiling fans, the incessant noise both comforting and frustrating – Personally I can’t wait. This Winter has seemed a little overbearing plus its hard to get up in the cold and the dark to catch the AM surf and the sun sets before you can get the afternoon one in. Don’t get me wrong, this Winter has been kind to Australia.  Swell has come in and smothered our coastlines like an welcome hug from a fat, over zealous aunt. But I’m over sniffles, cold feet and wrestling in and out of the rubber suit I want board shorts, bikinis and the greasy coconut smell of  wax melting in the  sunshine. Summer won’t be the Coca Cola advert I’m imaging, I always feel cheated by this but its not the first time we’ve been lied to by a corporate beverage company and it won’t be the last. However peering out from the end of this Winter over the dizzying heights of a Summer filled with potential and promise I can’t help but to feel optimistic. So here’s to a Summer riddled with Surf, Sunshine, scantly clad beach bodies and gloriously long days followed by warm nights and if not….. well there’s always a Summer Surf Escape. Here’s some pics of previous Summer’s from the Carolines, Tonga, Samoa and PNG.

Just to set the mood……

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hi All,

          The following pics have come in courtesy of PNG Explorer captain (and avid surf enthusiast) Andrew Rigby. He’s been recording the summer so far with a lens and as you can see he hasn’t missed a moment.  The images have had us drooling since they came in and we couldn’t keep these little surf porn gems hidden any longer.  Andrew will be submitting some words soon. But in the meantime look at the images and imagine, that’s what we’ve been doing in at World Surfaris HQ. It doesn’t make for an efficient workplace but we’ve pencilled in a couple of PNG surf trips for 2011/2012 summer. You might want to join us – Click here and get it started.

Enjoy

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

This just in from Gavan Clark recently returned from a PNG surf trip with the boss Shaun Levings, onboard the legendary vessel the PNG Explorer Hi All

Well back from PNG and what an adventure it was.

Started with a flight to Port Moresby where I met up with the 6 other guys booked on the trip, and then jumped on another flight to take us to Kavieng in the outer islands. The flight to Kavieng was a real eye opener as we saw endless potential for waves as we flew over countless points and river mouths.

Finally arrived late in the arvo, made our way through the airport or should I say shed! Grabbed our boards and gear and headed out the front where we were met by Andrew the Skipper and owner of PNG Explorer and our surf guide Darty and some of their crew. The boards and gear were loaded into a ute and we all jumped aboard for the short trip to the harbour. Now after a full day of travelling one gets a tad thirsty so the boys where more than stocked to hear Andrew say “there’s an esky in the back full of beers on ice so help your selves”

need I say the we did not have to be told twice!!

Arrived at the harbour to find the Explorer waiting for us, the boards, the gear were loaded on and after a quick guided tour of the boat we settled in for the next week. We knew we were in for a great week as sat down for our first meal only to find that Andrews wife Jude had prepared a feast of lobster to be washed down with cold beers.

The plan was for us to up anchor around 2am and head to the outer islands in search of waves. Forecasts were for a week of light winds and 4 to 6ft of swell so the boys went to sleep amped for a big week.

Awoke at daybreak to find we were weaving our way through the islands and heading for a spot the skipper and surf guide thought would be on.

Speaking of Andrew and Darty, now I thought I was keen when it came to surfing but these two were unreal as while they were Skipper and Surf Guide they were the keenest most excited surfers I have ever met. Over the next week I swear I heard the words Pumping, Frothing, Going Off, Arvo Session and Who’s Out There, Lets Go a thousand times Ha Ha.

We came up on our first surf spot and before Andrew even dropped anchor the he is yelling to us to wax up and get out there. We jumped into the long boats and headed to two breaks close by in a bay. One was a nice cruizie right-hander and the other a hell short barrelling wave called the “Slab”. Talk about jumping in the deep end, as after a week without a surf I was sitting on this small slab of reef that the swell hit, jacked up and turned into a great short barrel.

Half the crew went to the other right while the rest of us took on the slab. Over the next few days we scored some sessions while the Slab also lived up to it’s name with a few beltings and injuries dealt out with our tour leader Shaun coming off second best after pulling into a very late one only to be pitched and leave a bit of skin on the reef after head butting it. So it was back to the boat and out with the Suture kit and try out my sewing skills. A bit rusty but 4 stiches later the job was done and it looked pretty good if I say so myself, as for Shaun he had the new name of “Scar Face” but to his credit was back in the water after just two days.

Unfortunately during the week the swell backed off and we coped a bit of cross wind so while it was not epic the boys surfed fun waves every day. We got to surf some awesome set-ups and if they got swell they would be world class. The bonus was that we were the only boat out there so it was a max of 8 in the water at every break.

If we were not surfing, our time was spent catching some awesome fish which seemed too easy as one of our crewman Glen was the hell fishing guide much to the skippers disgust as every time we went with him he put us onto the big ones. We caught that much the local islanders loved us as they got the leftovers.

One of the trip highlights for me was visiting the islands and meeting the local villagers. It was like stepping back a hundred years as they still live in grass huts, chew beetle nut, barter for food and transport is by dugout canoe. One island we visited we bartered bags of rice for big Mud Crabs which the locals catch with their hands, hold down with their feet and tie up with vine and with the size of the Muddies, god knows how many toes have been lost Ha Ha. The welcome we got from each island was awesome as each is packed with kids, not much else to do when you have no power or TV I suppose !! They are the happiest kids I have ever met and need nothing more than a ball to have fun as I found out when I found a football on the boat and took it ashore and ended up playing with around 50 budding footy players.

These kids are also water mad and are out there on chunks of foam and old boards the crew have given them.

Finally our week came to an end and on our last night the local villagers came out to the boat and sang songs to farewell us and to finish off they got all the boys up to dance and of course we ended up the laughing stock as seven grown men made fools of them selves.

As the PNG Explorer docked back in Kaveing harbour and we said our farewells to Andrew, Jude all the crew, I could only reflect back on the last week and know that with every where I have travelled this was up there with the best.

If you want a surf adventure and not just a surf trip this is the one.

The Boat, Andrew, Jude and their crew, the food, the whole set-up is awesome and it definetly is on my return list.

Have attached some pics of the trip for you.

Merry Xmas to you all and remember, ” Only a Surfer knows the Feeling”

Cheers

Gav

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hello again,

         The final instalment of the PNG Explorer pic teaser is here and now. So sit back grab a hot drink or cold if you’re that way inclined and start dreaming of the ideal getaway in perfect PNG. The Explorer is running trips for the Surf season October – April 2010/2011 Book Now and stop dreaming!!

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

The PNG 2010/11 season is approaching quickly. If you want to surf PNG this summer you need to get onto it NOW! Spaces are limited and flights are filling if not filled already.

The below is a selection of great shots from the PNG Explorer and if you were looking for some motivation to get planning and get going then look on.

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hi All,

       PNG surf season is just around the corner and we thought it was hight time we get you pumped for it and what better way than to show you some lovely pictures!!! Courtesy of Andrew Rigby and some of the lucky photographers who have had the priviledge to be part of the action in Papua New Guinea on board the PNG Explorer!! Incidentally PNG Surfaris is having a corker of a stay pay deal for the beginning of the season and if you need more incentive than that,  then look on.

This will be the first installment…… there will be more!!! 

Hope they find you well and get you pumped for the PNG season- Enjoy!!

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.

Hi all,

       Andrew Rigby skipper and Surf pioneer in PNG extends a warm welcome and invites you to join them in the 2010/2011 season, for uncrowded wave perfection in tropical paradise on board the PNG Frontier Surfaris!!

“We are the ONLY operators that offer uncrowded waves in four DIFFERENT regions” “PLUS, we are the only roving commercially surveyed surf charter vessel in PNG”. Safety is number 1!

It’s the off season here now and I’m sitting on the beachfront deck down the New Ireland coast enjoying an onshore southeast tradewind.

I get the jitters and the thrill of excitment just writing this, I’m thinking about charters. It’s the moment that we leave for a trip that gets me fired! I call out to Edwin our engineer to start the main engine, while I flick on the nav lights and all the nav aids. Just to see the radar swinging in the haze of the steaming lights has me buzzing on the adventure ahead. Guests are fed and asleep after the days travels, the time is 00:00 hrs with a six hour steam through the broadwaters of the Tsoi islands via Steffan Strait. While I lock in behind the helm, with a mug of goroka coffee…I’m amped. 

ETA 06:00 hrs Ungalik island. Lavongai, and 500 hundred frothing locals hanging out to meet the new bunch of guests. Cameras are posied as the anchor chain rattles down the hawse pipe. Its our guests first taste of PNG island life..are the kids really chanting “Andrew” on the beach? Its all a bit too much as everyone is frothing from the three lineups they have just steamed past into the anchorage. “What fins should I use?”…. “do I need booties?”…. “Man did you see that set?”….. “no one out and its pumping!”.

Welcome to PNG.

2010/11 season is shaping up to be a cracker. The tail end of last season we managed to finally bed down an new area we have been exploring over the last few years.

Bingo! Last trip of 09/10 season we found “Apostles” and “Manalos”. Two similar shaped world class left points three hundred metres apart and no surfer for a hundred miles! We were lost for words when we rounded the headland and looked at the two set ups begging to be surfed. It was three to four foot, offshore and just so much fun. I can’t believe we are still finding waves after four seasons! It’s just when you say “nah been everywhere on that island apart from that one bay to the north east” Bam! You arrive to perfection. If I could kick myself in the ass I would. That’s surf exploration for you.

We are the only operator that access these two new breaks.  Now, with the insight for the ideal conditions, it’s an easy call one day to then be surfing it the next. Just an overnight steam and we’re on. But, it doesn’t end there…around the corner and a quick boat ride there is another fun slabbing right. 

We have three main regions to surf which ensures the best conditions for any swell and the assurance of your aussie captain and surf guide to put where you want to be.

The dive deck is fully operational so for those with the ticket, its your opportunity to get the double whammy above and below the waterline. New Ireland is renowned for its dive sites. Dive WWII wrecks the Sanko Maru and Midget Submarine, experience first hand the diversity of marine life in  these waters on the breathtaking walls, coral gardens and bommies.

I hope this arvo inspiration has you informed and as buzzing as I am right now. Come join us this 10/11 season and I’ll show you personally what I love.

This post comes from World Surfaris, the leading adventure surfing holidays company. Want to Surf Maldives or Surf Indonesia then talk to us.