Tawali Leisure & Dive Resort

Built by hand

Some of these works of art took two years to complete and are unique to the Milne Bay culture. Covered walkways connect the guest bungalows, which are complete with private balconies overlooking Hoia Bay. Since there had never been electricity in this remote location until Tawali was completed, all the woodwork, from framing to finished wood floors, was done completely without the help of power tools. Every board that needed to be cut, every carving and most of the furniture was built on site by hand. The project has been a great boost for the local workers. Villagers who had never before been able to have jobs were trained by more experienced carpenters, so that when Tawali was completed they had new skills to help them get better paying jobs.

Accommodation

Tawali’s bungalows are air-conditioned and spacious, with two queen beds and rosewood interiors that include desks, closets and lounge areas. Each room has a personal safe and coffee making facilities. Bathrooms are modern, completely tiled and have solar heated water.

Dining

Tawali Resort has a restaurant and mini bar. Meals are served from the buffet, with traditional and mainstream cuisine prepared by a local and international nutritionist chef.

Diving

At the southeastern tip of the main island of New Guinea lies the province of Milne Bay, and what many consider to be some of the best all-around scuba diving in Papua New Guinea. The diversity, abundance and quality of the dive sites in the area is really quite amazing, and encompasses everything from the famous muck diving sites at Lawadi and Observation Point to the renowned manta cleaning station “Giant at Home” near Samarai Island.

Sprinkle into this mix some of the many WWII wrecks in the area, such as the Black Jack B-17F Flying Fortress bomber just off the beach at Cape Vogel, and some of the superb reefs, and it’s easy to understand why Milne Bay is on the “must do” list for most divers.

Tawali is in a great location both physically and geographically, with pristine surroundings and its position on the north coast, which provides shelter from the prevailing SE winds most of the time. This means there is access to the dive sites all year round, with the exception of February, when the predominant winds create fairly big seas that make it very difficult to manage the boats.

The visibility at most of the dive sites becomes optimal during the wet season, from June through to August, and remains good to excellent all the way through to late October. Water temperatures vary from around 30 degrees Celsius in summer down to about 25 degrees Celsius in winter.

Visit Tawali and experience the best dive destinations in PNG. Go scuba diving, muck diving and wreck diving as you explore the greatest range of marine biodiversity in the protected waters of New Guinea, New Ireland and New Britain.

Leisure activities

• Skull Cave and waterfall
• Bird watching
• Rainforest hike
• Dei Dei Hotspring
• Coastal village walk
• Mumu (traditional stone cooking) demonstration
• Picnic and snorkelling at Boi Boi Waga Island
• Snorkelling at Coral Garden
• Fishing
• Cultural experience