| Emma Stenhouse, Jan 2012 |
Hi Nick
Just wanted to say that we had a really fantastic time at Papatura. As you know, we stayed on both 2 and 3 January and just loved being there... what great walks (who needs to be a surfer!!).. and Marg and Pete are wonderful hosts – a HUGE thank you to them both. Barman Jimmy is a bit of a star too!
I will definitely be back.
Cheers
Emma
Jan 2012
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| Tim Wilson, Nov 2011 |
Hi Nick,
Just back from Papatura, IT WAS GREAT! Well, not so the surf, we only had it perfect one of the 12 days, but your parents are great hosts, it was lovely and warm/hot, with a few days of heavy rain. I got to go snorkeling, saw a turtle, reef shark & sting ray, plus lots of coral and tropical fish. Had a good time on the SUP, catamaran, swimming, bush walking. Great food, a great location, only 3 of us there the second week.
Thanks again, please pass this on to Pete and Marg
Tim Wilson.
Nov 2011
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| Mal Gilbert, Nov 2010 |
Hi Nick,
Where do I start about my adventure trip to Papatura, firstly I can't wait to go back, secondly it was very sad to leave and have to come home.
Peter and Marg are wonderful people and great hosts,they just make everybody feel like family and so much at home. I know that they are your parents so you already know what I'm saying is true.
I enjoyed all aspects of my holiday, the village visit was very special to me, I have a new found love for the local people as they made me feel especially welcome in their home.
We gathered oysters, snorkeled on the local reefs, dived on the WW 2 plane in the shallows of the short cut, and the fishing was great, not a lot of fish but enough to keep us interested for 8 days.
The bonus for me was no papers,television, radio or phones, I regained the art of conversation, talking to other people and listening to what they had to say, I absolutely enjoyed that aspect of Papatura.
I got used to the cold showers and the mozzie net.
The meals were very nice and there was plenty if you wanted to go back for seconds, also the variety was excellent, not once did we have the same meal twice.
The local staff are fantastic, the ladies in the kitchen and the men were more than polite and friendly, they are lovely people.
A FANTASTIC holiday and adventure, I would recommend it to any of my friends.
A big thanks to Pete and Marg and to you Nick.
Next time you text Papatura please say hello to them all from me ( Colonel Sanders) as Pete has nick named me.
Kind Regards
Mal
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| Steven Cittarelli |
Hi Nick,
Had a great time, thanks so much for the last minute booking.
Caught a 12KG GT!!!
Food good, Beer was cold and some great company. Will be back next year sometime with lots of people and you can organise my travel from now on.
Cheers,
Steven Cittarelli
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| Phil Highland |
Hello Kristine, just got back, we had a great time. The weather was beautiful and we had a ball snorkeling and fishing. Food was great. Highlights were seeing my wife fight and catch a huge barracuda and the trip to the village.
Thank you
Phil Highland
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| Naomi and Andrew McCarthy |
Hi Nick, Peter and Margy and crew sorry for taking so long to get back to you. As you know when you run a small business and take some time off it takes you some time to catch up again, enough of the excuses.
Firstly from Naomi and I, thank you again for the opportunity to share your Solomon Island paradise, it was an experience we will never forget.
From the moment we met John at Honiara I knew we were in good hands, his calm manner and knowlege of the islands put us at ease immediately and helped us settle in to the hotel. While I was a bit worried about the impending cyclone and the works being undertaken under our hotel room at the King Solomon, the phone call the next morning early from John to pick us up for the airport set us back on the path and we were on our way to Papatura.
The plane flight out was another great experience with the pilot actually flying low over the surf breaks to show us what an amazing place it is.
When we landed at Survana international and were greeted by Peter, Simon and Levi we knew our adventure had begun and time as we knew it had stopped.
What can we say, Margy, Peter and the crew at the resort were totally in tune with the requirements of the guests, the food was brilliant and healthy, the soft drinks and beer were cold, the accommodation was clean modern and comfortable. The other guests were soul mates in surfing. Naomi fell in love with Kuma the dog and visa versa I think.
Now to the main event.
We experienced great reef surf between 4 and 6 foot a short boat ride from "home" with no more than 5-6 people out. Also fishing adventures unheard of now in our local waters and a great feeling of being alone, the only people who surf or maybe fish regularly with modern gear within 100 kms.
The crocodile, reef sharks and whale sharks only made the adventure more exciting with Simon and Trevor yelling "sark" on the odd occasion a fin was sighted. I believe they were being protective of Naomi.
For experienced surfers any sightings were more fun than danger, especially the killer whale sighting by Naomi who saw them a day before any one else. I put that down to youthfull eyesight as nobody believed her until the following day when we all sighted them.
I must admit it does take a little time, even for those used to these sea creatures, to acclimatize to surfing in what seems in the middle of the ocean.
Highlights
- The people we shared the resort with, including staff and guests
- Surfing 5 ft reef with 3 other people
- Margy's and the girls cooking and good humour
- Simons laugh/ smile
- Trevors smile/ sark call
- Mark and Kens laugh
- Killer whale sighting
- The village visit
- The rainforest walk at night.(Including crocodile noises)
- Naomi Catching big GT (Fish)
- Me catching and losing 3 ft Dolphin fish
- The great beer fridge fire.
- Pete's water catchment walk.
- The Fish Attracting Device adventure with Simon, Naomi, Ken,Mark and me.
- Diving the plane wreck
- Kuma the dog and Naomi.
Thanks again for your from us all at the Gold coast, we hope to see you soon
Cheers
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| Shane Rowley |
Papatura was a hot
Great waves
Great hospitality
Got to go back soon
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| Chris Henry |
Sorry for being tardy getting back to you, but I’ve been back to work and trying to adjust from Pacific time!
We did get some good waves, just about every day, but I really would have liked a kick in the swell at some stage. Obviously the guys the previous week had plenty, but we had a fairly sustained time without any real swell.
I do realise that is the Pacific and that you can't dial up the swell.
Your folks are doing a great job and I really admire their aims, manner and concern for both the environment and locals. We did feel very well looked after and were quite impressed with the meals considering the logistics of supply, storage etc. Those little surprise treats after lunch were something I would not normally eat but seemed to help me into my nanna nap, and preparation for the afternoon surf.
I had spent the month trying to decide whether to take my new 8'3" SUP in preference to my mal (and 6 six). I ended up with the mal - so was stoked to see your SUPs on arrival.
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