Nusa Island Retreat

Nusa Island Retreat is situated on Nusa Island, just off the coast of Kavieng, The New Ireland provience, PNG. The Retreat is low-impact and eco-sensitive with accommodation in the form of traditional island style bungalows. Most of the bungalows are set on the water's edge an all have great views.

Nusa Island was voted one of the ten best beaches in the world – it is set on an idyllic sandy island point and surrounded by superb swimming beaches with crystal clear, coral encrusted lagoons that are teeming with marine life, not to mention the World War II ship and plane wrecks that are also nearby. It is the perfect Papua New Guinea location to base yourself for activities such as surfing, diving, fishing, kayaking, or exploring and cultural activities of any kind.

For surfers looking for somewhere uncrowded, different and remote, Nusa Island Retreat is surrounded by an unspoilt natural playground which boasts an excellent variety of numerous surf breaks and waves throughout the surf season.  Kavieng is located just a couple of degrees south of the equator, and during the northern hemisphere monsoon, the north coast and the string of islands leading to the west, enjoy uninterrupted North Pacific Ocean swells. The peak surf season extends from November through late April.

Kavieng and its environs form part of the Bismarck Archipelago, an extensive chain of islands with fringing coral reefs. All breaks are reef breaks, and vary in their degree of difficulty, depending on the size and direction of the swell, and the depth of the reef. A surfer's paradise with consistent swells between 3 - 5 foot, and getting up to 6-8 foot and sometimes bigger. All breaks can be surfed on most tides and the set-ups vary depending on conditions.

The Kavieng area hosts the Kavieng Surf Club (KSC), which is affiliated with the Surfing Association of Papua New Guinea (SAPNG). In an effort to promote sustainable development of this growing sport, the Kavieng Surf Club manage and oversee the Kavieng Area Surf Management Plan, essentially a surf quota system which limits the number of visiting surfers to 20 per day.  It is necessary to book into the quota prior to arriving in Kavieng, as it does book out well in advance. When making your booking with us, we will confirm availability within the surf quota, and book you in on your behalf.  With 9 breaks in the Management Plan, and only 20 visiting surfers plus a handful of local surfers, waves are guaranteed to be uncrowded!

Nusa Island Retreat operates 6 long boats to access the breaks, and surfers need to prepay surf transfers for the duration of their stay. This transfer fee allows unlimited boat access to all of the breaks within the Management Plan area. There are no set transfer times, as they have boat drivers ready to take you surfing when you want to go surfing. They try and spread groups around the different breaks, rather than piling you all onto the one peak, but essentially you choose where you want to surf. The boat and driver stay with you at the break for the entire period that you are in the water, ready to return you to the retreat when you are ready.

They have simple, high quality traditional island-style bungalows that can cater for up to six people. The Premium Bungalows are built over the water and have ensuite bathrooms, and the Standard Bungalows are built right on the beach or just back from the beach and have the use of shared bathroom facilities.  They also have a large 2-storey house with it's own bathroom that is perfect for large groups or families.

Restaurant & Bar - Centrally located on the beach point, our bar and restaurant (which has an excellent reputation) is fully licensed & stocks a range of beers, spirits, wine, champagne and soft drinks.  Both breakfast and lunch are a variety of dishes chosen from an a la carte menu, and dinner is a buffet-style smorgasbord, with plenty of seafood, fresh local fruits and vegetables, along with pork, beef and chicken dishes.

Toilets & Showers - Communal & centrally located within the Retreat, Nusa Island has a naturally sensitive environment so we (and the community) use dry composting toilets. These systems are some of the first to be used in Papua New Guinea

Artefacts & Carving Room - Nusa Island Retreat boasts one of the most extensive collections of Malagan carvings as well as a good variety of works from other areas in PNG. Malagan culture is the unique history and tradition of the Northern New Ireland region. Mysterious and intriguing, Malagan carvings are highly sought after by museums and art buyers from all over the world. Most pieces are for sale.

Snorkelling - There are a number of good reefs and areas of interest nearby to snorkel on. There is an interesting plane wreck just a few minutes from the island. We also suggest a day trip to Ral Island for a great snorkelling experience. Hire gear is available from the dive shop.

Sailing - Adventures In Paradise Yacht Charters are located right next to the retreat, and offer Sunrise and Sunset Sails, as well as Half Day and Full Day charters visiting the islands in the area.

Dugout Canoes - There are local style canoes available for complimentary guest use.

Sea Kayaks - Several single & double sea kayaks are available for hire at reasonable rates.

Cycling Tours - The retreat has 4 good quality mountain bikes, offering a variety of guided tours. Half-day and full-day Kavieng Town sightseeing tours are available as well as extended overnight tours down the Boluminski Hwy, staying in the local guesthouses. Advance bookings are required for the extended tours.

Walking - Both Nusalik and Nusalavu islands offer nice walks.Nusalavu (or Big Nusa) has rock-pools, a blowhole and several World War II relics that can be explored - allow and hour or two. Or stroll around Nusalik Island and enjoy getting to know some of the local families living the traditional village life. See some of the local women making traditional shell money, as well as a variety of other shell jewellery, which are available for purchase. Please be aware that the locals are generally conservative/traditional people, therefore women should not walk around the island in bathers only (ie. wear a sarong), but can feel free to wear them casually within the retreat.

Package Inclusions

Disclaimer - This surf trip is an independent surf operator and is not part of or in partnership with The Perfect Wave Travel Co. The Perfect Wave acts as an agent only. We sell various travel related products on behalf of numerous transport, accommodation and other service providers, such as airlines, land based accommodation and boat charter operators. The Perfect Waves' obligation is to make travel bookings on your behalf and to arrange relevant contracts between you and travel service providers. The Perfect Wave has no responsibility for these services nor do we make or give any warranty of representation regarding their standards. All bookings are made subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by these service providers.

We’d love to hear your feedback! Please to enter your testimonial of your holiday and your experience with The Perfect Wave.

Greg

From the first time I contacted Jamie about this trip he went out of his way to make it the best trip I could have as I was travelling by myself. He even reduced the cost of the trip while not reducing the length or quality of the trip. Therefore resulting in more time in the surf. Nusa Island Resort is unreal. The people are unreal and are always trying to make your time on the island and in the water as good as it can be. The food is all fresh local healthy produce. And going into the village to meet the people as well as going to Kavieng and the makerts was a great experience. The amenties are good and being able to use the SUP boards to go and explore the islands is amazing. Walking around big Nusa to see WW2 remains and snorkeling over the wrecks was unreal as well. Basically so much fun to be had. Really recomend this place to anyone after a friendly place with great waves.

Experience Begun: December 2011

Created on: Wednesday 21 December 2011

Michael

Hi Josh, Despite us missing the peak swell period, we still managed to catch a small wave every day and it was a great adventure! We had the perfect place to relax but still kept ourselves active fishing every day (landed huge 20kg fish), snorkeling boat wrecks/reef, bush trekking to nearby WWII relics, visiting local villages, research stations etc. The accommodation was quite good especially the overwater bungalows with a distant view of Pikinini and Nusa Lefts to wake up to each morning! We didn’t see any mosquitos at the resort. The food was exceptional and my diet easily adjusted to mud crabs, lobster, crayfish, Spanish mackerel and sashimi every night! The staff were very friendly special mention must go to Sean, Luke, Greg, Titti, Junior, Tony etc. We planning to go back either late next year (Dec) or early the following year (Feb)…can’t wait! Thanks for all your help organizing the trip and accommodating our last minute changes to extend our trip – we’re glad we did!

Experience Begun: November 2011

Created on: Friday 11 November 2011

Jon

Our stay at Nusa Island Retreat was a great holiday! Good food, fun waves every day and the accommodation was quite adequate. I can only but recommend the experience!

Experience Begun: April 2011

Created on: Friday 06 May 2011