Quick follow up to this thread:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Surfing/Shortboards/PNG-Nusa-Island-Retreat-Kavieng/

I reckon the post by Albos in that thread pretty much sums it up; here is my 2 cents. Plus a bit more.

First up - the trip was awesome, I had lots of fun. Scored waves, first couple of days was pretty small and then it kicked up to around 4 ft for 4 days, back to 2-3 ft for the last day. Surfed twice a day when small and three times a day when it was bigger. When it was small the best break was about a 15-20 minute boat ride; when it was bigger there are 5 breaks within 5 minutes of the resort, so it was easy to check them all. It is also possible to surf somewhere for an hour then surf somewhere else as conditions change.

I took three boards, 6'0, 6'4 and 6'8 - didn't get the 6'8 out. Even when it was a bit bigger the 6'4 was fine (I am around 6'0 tall, 75 kgs) Surfed the other two about even.

After boards, the most important things to pack would be booties then iodine/peroxide/magic potion for reef cuts. Also spare leggies, fins etc, some of the breaks get pretty shallow on the inside. Locals dont wear booties, because they are crazy. Reckon if I didn't have booties I would have cut my feet to shreds.

Breaks were pretty varied; Pikinini's was heavy but super fun, I found it easier to wait for the big sets that broke on the outside then cutback into the pocket and race it but some of the other guys were taking off deep on the inside - it was pretty heavy and for the faint hearted. Other breaks were pretty good, Nago rights was super fun and was not too heavy, but still the opportunity for barrels and very whackable.

The boat drivers will usually surf with you (especially if it is good) and will help you out with where to sit and which waves to get. A couple of them seriously rip; but they all charge pretty hard and can help get the hang of the place.

Since Nusa Island is pretty much the only local surf place, and there is a limit of 20 on the non-local surfers, they manage the crowds pretty well. They try to send boats out at different times or to different spots to break up the crew. Occasionally the locals will surf a couple of spots, but even so the crowds are small and the vibe in the water is super relaxed with everyone being pretty good about taking turns. Only exception to this were some other aussies who were staying in the area on a boat (Nusa Island didn't have the full quota of surfers) and some Aussie blokes staying in Kavieng, when they paddled out they seemed to think they could take priority / drop in whenever they wanted :( . Easily fixed by going to a different break :)

Mossies didn't seem that much of problem but I would still take malaria medication. Food at the resort was awesome - can't rate it highly enough. Dinners were unreal. When ordering brekky, don't forget your fruit plate, and try it as a fruit salad. Facilities were otherwise pretty basic, but very comfortable and more than adequate if you ask me.

If you are flying from Brisbane, you can check yourself and the boards in all the way to Kavieng. That will save a lot of hassle in Moresby. We didn't do it, and had to lug our boards around Moresby airport. When we arrived the airport at Moresby it was pretty wild - lots of highlanders about scoping everything / everyone, but lots of airport security keeping an eye on things. Kavieng was a lot more relaxed and seemed safe.

On a small day we did a road trip - worth taking a look if you can organise it with the guys at the resort, otherwise there is still plenty of stuff to do - fishing, stand up paddling, snorkelling (even just around the resort there were clown fish etc) and there are some old war stuff on the island next to the resort which is worth checking out if you want something to do.

Additional reference:
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Surfing/Shortboards/Bali-Medical-Kit-Malaria-Shots/

nice one! sounds like fun! I leave dec 20th! cant wait! hopefully there is swell!

great post aak - I enjoyed the read. I worked in Port Moresby in 2001 for 8 weeks and found it to be very challenging environment. Some of those outer islands are spectualar as are the hills. Loads of mountains above 3,000m which makes for some pretty amazing scenery and remoteness.

Did u give the beattle nut a try?

I'm glad you enjoyed it aak. It sounds like you had a similar experience to me. If i hadn't moved to France i would definitely be going back this summer.

Did you guys book it through a surf company or directly through the resort?
Getting itchy feet again, need to travel...

i booked through a surf company but i think if you booked yourself you could save a bit of cash but its all up to you if your willing to deal with the hassel of working it all out

Just got back from here on the 31st. had an awesome time!

had sh1t all swell for the most part, but got a couple of days of decent waves. luckily raul island is such a swell magnet, we were able to get good waves there every day.. it just wasnt 'testing' enough for me.. still fun though

surfed 3ft nusa lefts and it was so fast and shallow (ive never surfed reef breaks before this trip).. could see reef very close to surface in the end section.. bomb set came through as soon as i paddled out.. maybe a foot over head high for me.. I was in perfect possi.. nice drop in and beat the first section... tried to race the end bit, wasnt gonna happen, attempted to dive through the wall and went over the falls onto the reef.. starfished and didnt hit too badly (few cuts and a nice bruse on my lower back.. but ok) worst part was my leggie snapped and i had to walk/swim across the reef while the 3 other waves in the set pounded me.. still probably best session we had.

had a few good sessions at pikinini's.. the local kids were ripping. the only problem was it was too fast for me on my backhand.. so i spent alot of time getting to know the reef there too.

one good dusk session at nago lefts.. definitely my favorite break.. nice walling lefts.. getting heaps of 200+ meter rides.. you could tell it would be sick on its day.. just needed another ft or 2 to really open the face up and help link some sections better

sick place to visit.. super friendly locals and great fishing/diving around.

all in all was a great place for my first real surfing trip!

Just as a side note for anyone thinking of going here..

two of the guys from our trip (who didnt take malaria tablets) have come down with malaria this weekend. one is doing alright on the medication but the other guy is now in hospital getting treated!

we didnt see any mosqitos while we were there.. but obviously a few of us got bitten whilst we were unaware!

just a heads up that its better to take it than not take it! especially since the guys that run the retreat tell you not to worry about taking the meds!