Payment
In currency nominated in Tour Info to Foreign Exchange Account held by Niugini Dirt Tours. PNG exchange rate is devaluing rapidly – since 1 Aug 2024 there has been a 8 % decrease.
By Dec 2023, we should have online Visa payment up and running (no PayPal in PNG).
50 % Deposit required at time of booking (full payment required 4 months prior) – Refund / less 10% if cancelled up to 4 months before tour, less 20% if cancelled up to 30 days before tour, 30 days and under 50 % cancellation fee – or if rebooked, 10 % fee
Cash needed
ATM cards & Credit cards accepted at all locations in Lae
Visas
Visa upon arrival is temporarily suspended , so online application is required. This can take as long as 2-3 months. Visit www.immigration.gov.pg
Covid Requirements
No Covid Requirements for entry into PNG
Flights
The international gateway for PNG is Port Moresby, a 3.5hr flight from Brisbane a 1.5hr flight from Cairns, or 6.5hour flight from Manila / Hong Kong or Singapore
Air Niugini’s connecting flight departs Port Moresby 4 times daily to Lae. It’s a safe 200 metre journey from International to the Domestic terminal
Medical Insurance / Malaria
Please organise this. Insurance (including medivac cover) is essential. From experience you may need to declare that you are riding non-competitive bikes under 200cc. Your doctor should advise you whether you need Malaria tablets or not. At the very least continually spray with insect spray etc as we ride in swamps / mosquito country often
Lae Airport Pickup
It’s a 45-minute ride to Niugini Dirt Tours headquarters from the airport, as road conditions can be pretty bad (Potholes and congestion)
Accommodation
On the road we stay at a variety of guesthouses / hotels – all comfortable with good food. In Lae we have room for 8 riders in two large bedrooms (single beds), aircon and fans, and ensuite bathroom / showers. The bedrooms are split by a large game’s room / lounge area with pool table, cable tv, bar and its fully air-conditioned. Outside there is a pool / BBQ area with full cooking facilities.
Riding Gear
Laundry facilities are beside the bedrooms, and we have a fulltime ‘haus meri’ to clean / look after your laundry. Aust or Asian Quarantine rules will mean you need to ensure gear is cleaned, so our last day will only be a half day ride, allowing all gear to be washed / dried.
Maintenance / Damage
All Bikes will have new tyres fitted. All have Bark Busters fitted. Any clear damages such as busted bark busters, unrepairable handlebars, broken levers, radiators & plastics or seat cover will be charged at replacement cost for parts or appropriate cost for Labour.
Bikes
The new fleet will be 3 x KTM 3920 Adventure and 5 x KTM 690 Adventure
Bike Servicing
Our backup vehicle obviously carries a full set of tools and spares, so most eventualities should be covered. A spare bike is always carried on the back up vehicle
Special requests
If you have any of these please let us know beforehand. Whether it be food or medical etc, please advise
Drinks / Bar / Spending Money
If you’re a spirit drinker grab some duty free. The Beer here (SP Lager) is damm nice and served cold after a ride is heaven. We will have a large stock of beer in the house, pay for what you use at the end of the trip. Other than drinks and a few snacks or some energy food you will not need much in the way of cash.
Nightlife
Zero – very easy question to answer
International Licence
Not strictly needed, as we pull wheelies past the cop cars (seriously). However, should you have an accident you will need to prove that you were licensed
Best time of the year to ride
All year round is good – May / June / July / August is our Wet Season, and makes it interesting to access many areas, but still enough riding to ensure a complete week of fun. The rest of the year is the preferred times – much hotter, with less daytime rain. Dehydration can creep up on you at any time so ensure always stay hydrated
Pack something extra in your bag?
Don’t be surprised if I ask you to bring up a couple of tyre tubes or some tools or air filters. There are NIL bikes shops in this country and it’s difficult to source parts without it costing a fortune via airfreight. So, whenever anyone enters the country, I use it as an opportunity to stock up
Safety / Security
If you solely read the ABC or news headlines, you’d never set foot in the country – yet we ride every weekend of the year and never have any issues. Once out in the countryside the locals love the bikes and provided we are careful with dust / noise and not splashing water on people, everything will be fine. If you can pull wheelies that’s a bonus as every person you pass will ask you to ‘upim upim’
Safety seems to be a common theme though and rightly so – we believe there is minimal risk, but we always are watchful and take precautions. I’d suggest everyone look at the hundreds of photos in our Gallery and read the stories in Ride Reports. This highlights the friendly nature of the average Papua New Guinea resident
What to bring
As noted above rider’s area has a fully functional laundry (including a dryer) so clothes / gear can be washed daily if required. While in Lae will eat at the Lae Yacht Club on occasion so closed shoes are required for this (boat shoes / running shoes etc are fine), plus you will need a collared shirt at a couple of other locations too.
We will supply you a Niugini Dirt Tours Collared shirt, but the closed toe shoes are essential. If brave enough to be walking to the Smoked bodies, you will be hiking up the slipperiest and steepest hills you’ve seen and will struggle in riding boots. Insect repellent’s / sunscreen / sunglasses are essentials etc
Communications
Roaming is very expensive in PNG so you can either have phones on roaming or buy a PNG Sim Card for Aud$10. We generally have good phone signals in the middle of nowhere when we ride.
Finish and start times will be dictated by where we are, how knackered everyone is or the weather conditions (in addition some river crossings require low tide; sometimes we need to avoid church services etc).
Photos
Every photo on our website has been taken by me, so when we ride, we will be taking high quality photos of the riders on regular occasions.
Peter Boyd
Niugini Dirt Tours