Dive Review of Lissenung Island Resort in
Papua New Guinea/Kavieng

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Lissenung Island Resort, Jun, 2003, by Lori Brown, MD, USA ( Sr. Contributor 22 reports). Report 567.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Lori Brown, Chris Green, and Justin Brown Green Lissenung Island Resort, Kavieng, Papua New Guinea A small resort, a long way from anywhere. The diving is great. Within the first few minutes of our first dive (Peter’s Patch) we spotted a solitary hammer head shark. It was curious and came within 20 feet of us. Peter’s Patch is an L shaped ridge and when you reach the hinge, you are staring out into the blue. I watched in awe as my husband swam in an unending stream of jacks as a river of red tooth triggers fluttered around. At Albatross Crossing we spotted several large sharks. We scanned the sea fans for pygmy sea horse. At Baudisson Bay, there is a very steep wall. Off the wall, we spotted shark, turtles, and a large bump nose parrot jetting down the wall. There was also a startling variety of nudibranchs on the wall. At Lemus Island, we saw several large crocodile fish, one of them just laying in the sand near some rubble in about 15 feet of water. There are several worthwhile wrecks nearby. A Korean fishing boat was rather bare of coral but covered with a large group of hawkfish. The Stubborn Hellion site is a silty, mucky dive in about 45 feet of water with a B25 Mitchell bomber that had been shot down by Japanese. This wreck was covered with coral and all sorts of critters. We had heard of the legendary currents at Lissenung but actually rarely experienced them. There was only one dive (at Bermuda Reef) where the current was ripping. A few divers had hooks and hung off the reef to watch passing sharks. Others, like me, clung to dead coral, and inched along on the reef. Because of the strong currents (which rarely materialized) we also made a nearly daily afternoon dive at Ral Island (about 40 feet) so that our newly certified son, age 12, could dive with us. The dive starts out in the sand and ends up on a patchy coral area. There was a bright yellow frog fish, a black frog fish, and a red frog fish. I also spotted the largest pipe fish I’ve ever seen – I’m not sure what it was but it was grassy green and about 14 inches long! We also saw razor fish, puffer fish, upside down jellyfish, and plenty of nudibranchs at this site. The on-land experience was less pleasing. The quarters were large but sparsely furnished. Mosquito nets were provided for the beds on either side of the room. Therein lay the problem. The single ceiling fan was located in the middle of the room, the mosquito nets, which were required because of the malaria in the area, were stifling. The poorly placed fan provided no relief from the sweltering heat at night. And speaking of relief, the bathroom facilities, was a fair hike from the room. Invariably the bathroom was filled with mosquitoes, and whether or not the facilities (both toilet and cold water shower) were working seemed to be about 50:50. It’s a bit frustrating at 2 a.m. to trek through the dark to the bathroom and then not be able to flush or to soap up after a dive only to have the shower, such as it is, reduce to a dripping trickle. Meals were served restaurant style and the floral arrangements on the tables changed daily and were stunning. The food was good (lobster, shrimp creole, crab, fresh fish, etc) but very plain and there was nothing to choose from for our finicky 12 year old. Other than meals, there were no snacks left out and the one time we requested something extra (my son had been feeling quite queasy at breakfast time but was hungry at 11:30), I was told we would have to wait – for toast as it were, since they were busy in the kitchen getting lunch ready. Not exactly the response I was expecting. While the diving was great, the accommodations were less than perfect. We spent ten days there – if I had it to do again, I wouldn’t want to miss the great diving there but I’d be inclined to stay for a shorter time.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Cozumel, Bonaire, Fiji, Indonesia, Jamaica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	choppy
Water Temp	80-85°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	20-100 Ft/ 6-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Water in rinse tank at dive shop was tinged yellow and was unmarked -- other divers were using to rinse other equipment; No flat tables at appropriate height. There was an outlet strip in the room but need to supply your own adaptors.

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Dive Review of Lissenung Island Resort in Papua New Guinea/Kavieng

Lissenung Island Resort, Jun, 2003,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Lissenung Island Resort in
Papua New Guinea/Kavieng