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"Sun,
diving, good food and a tropical paradise. We were truly were spoilt
on our holiday at Tufi Dive Resort…"
By David Harasti - January 2003
 In
January 2003, I was fortunate enough to spend a 2 week holiday
at Tufi Dive Resort in Papua New Guinea. For months we deliberated about
where we would go; we wanted world class diving, nice accommodation
and a location where we could chill out and do relax. Somewhere
in the Pacific was obviously what we required.
We eventually settled on Papua
New Guinea as we hadn't visited the country before and many other people
had raved to us about the diving. So PNG it was. We chose to stay at
Tufi Dive Resort after receiving some good back from friends who visited
6 months earlier. Our attraction to Tufi was that it offered coral reefs
and good visibility as well as excellent muck diving in the Fjords of
Tufi. Tufi had everything we were after.
 Before
we departed we decided it was time to 'go digital', the good old Sea
& Sea MMII had served us well but now was the time to upgrade. We
purchased the Nikon Coolpix 5000 and ordered an Ikelite housing and
strobe from Cape Byron Imports 2 weeks before we left; talk about cutting
it fine. Fortunately Tony at CBI pulled some major strings and the whole
digital package was waiting at the Sydney airport hotel 12 hours before
we departed. I love international couriers…
 The
first part of the trip was very interesting. Eight of us were crammed
into a small chartered plane and then flew directly over the vast PNG
mountain ranges. Unfortunately we had to fly through a heavy storm just
as we reached the mountains, I was trying to remember my basic scout survival skills
in case we crashed - damn, I had forgotten my Swiss army knife. Fortunately
all went well and as we approached Tufi we travelled across the most
amazing Fjords and tropical reefs, it truly was breathtaking scenery.
We came back to reality with a bump when we landed on the Tufi grass
airstrip! Welcome to downtown Tufi International! The flight from Port
Moresby to Tufi took about 60 minutes.
The Tufi resort is splendid,
the resort is well planned and set out and the tropical gardens are
well looked after. Insect repellent was essential, some of the mosquito's
made the Aussie blow fly look small! During the evening we would kick
back with the local beer in hand and watch the sunset over fjords, it
couldn't get any more relaxing than that. Due to the fact that Tufi
is so isolated, there are no problems with "Rascals" and we
found it safe to walk around the resort, even at nighttime. The resort
also has its own friendly security team that is very helpful and willing
to transport you when required in the Tufi 4WD drive. The Tufi resort
vehicle is the only car in the whole area!
 Our
room in Tufi was excellent, it had everything we required. It had polished
timber floors and a balcony with a breath taking view over Tufi Wharf
and the Fjords. The room had all of the civilized creature comforts,
screens, air conditioner, hot water, ensuite, bar fridge, coffee and
tea making facilities and even friendly resident gecko's! It included
everything that a pair of honeymooners required, especially plenty of
room for all of the camera equipment!
 The
food provided at Tufi was of an exceptionally high standard. Chef Benson
prepared a fantastic meal every night, the highlight being the final
night where we were allowed to choose what we liked. I couldn't
go past the soy fish that we had a couple of nights earlier; freshly
marinated Spanish mackerel with steamed vegetables. And if you fancy
a bit of lobster then your going to enjoy eating at Tufi. We had lobster
probably every second night as part of our meal and each night it got
better.
 A
trip to Tufi isn't complete without a visit to the local village of
Kofur. Guests are picked up in traditional outrigger canoes and paddled
across to the village where you are warmly welcomed. The chief of the
village is Mr Davidson Yariyari who at one stage was the Minister for
Fisheries for PNG. Mr Davidson is a remarkable person and ensured that
we were welcomed into his village, this little village expedition was
one of the highlights of our trip. The men of the Toru-Yariyari Clan
also treated us to a traditional dance. The village put on a great spread
for lunch, the fresh seafood and local vegetables was a very fulfilling
combination.
Page
Two - Diving at Tufi
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