Papua New Guinea Travel Guide

The team of South Sea Horizons gave me a rewarding and a memorable experience as we walked the Kokoda trek. I would like to give my appreciation to Alan Manning and to all porters for taking care of us, guiding as we waled through to Kokoda trek. I can never forget the experienced that I had the tour , the people and the simplicity of their...

The team of South Sea Horizons gave me a rewarding and a memorable experience as we walked the Kokoda trek.I would like to give my appreciation to Alan Manning and to all porters for taking care of us, guiding as we waled through to Kokoda trek. I can never forget the experienced that I had the tour , the people and the simplicity of their...

There are robberies in Port Moresby and Lae. Rabaul is not so dangerous city but you feel that it might be. In the supermarkets, to collect the money, guardians armed are everywhere. I felt danger, so I left tha place immediately.

Very convenient to move around by the cheaper and as a real traveler. There are weekly boats to Buka island (I missed for 2 days that boat and was forced to fly), and there are also ferrys to the south of New Britain island because there are no raods, you must take the ferry (or fly) to get there.

On my first trip to Rabaul, in April 1980, I was accompanied by my Australian boss and one of the local guys from the Tolai tribe, indigenous to this part of Papua New Guinea. We had to check out how things were going at the new power station in Keravat, so this involved a drive of several miles to the west of Rabaul itself. As it happened, the...

In front of Chemcare and Huon Gulf Pharmacies, from Monday to Saturday, local crafts-people sell their wares. From bilums to baskets and necklaces to carvings there is a wide variety of items to choose from. This is the best place in Lae to buy bilums; local string bags (made using the same ancient method as the Aboriginies make Dili bags),...

Brian Bell is the alpha and the omega of homewares in Lae. This is where you can get the best and the most expensive. If you are going into the field; Brian Bell is a Coleman dealer and you will find a limited selection of camping products. If you are serious about "going bush", do not rely on PNG suppliers for your equipment. Seasoned travellers...

If you are travelling near Wewak, then the truck is the best way, but if you want to go to Madang, then there is only the sea way. There is a ferry once a week, or you can organize the trip by motorboats, which takes two days to arrive to Madang. I selected this second option and travelled by motorboat, then truck, then again motorboat and finally...

Because Wewak, along with Madang, was one of the biggest towns along the north coast of Papua New Guinea, it had one of the larger diesel power stations in the country. As a result, I ended up making about 5 trips here for one reason or another and got to know the Manager of the station, local Thomas Kabo, quite well. He did his best to try to keep...

On a much earlier trip, in September 1980, I was in Wewak following problems with the big new No. 4 machine. With it out of action, things were not going well for Elcom in Wewak! As a result, a smaller 540-kw Detroit Diesel machine with a Kato generator was shipped in as quickly as possible.I was part of the small team from Port Moresby who looked...

There is nothing to recommend Popondetta. Even the battlefields have been allowed to disappear. If you are going to Kokoda stay as little time as possible at Popondetta and pray that the Koiari landowners don't close the track demanding compensation and that Air Niugini doesn't dump you off the return aircraft - like they did me.

Walk to the site of the former Government Station at Higaturu which was destroyed in 1951 resulting in the death of over 3000 Papuans and Europeans. A local guide would be needed to make the walk and transport required to reach the start of the treck which is off the Kokoda Road some 20 klm from Popondetta.In 1951 Higaturu situated some 12 klm from...

Whether I was flying to Popondetta or anywhere else north or east of Port Moresby, you first had to clear the 13,400 ft. (4,070-m) Owen Stanley Mountain range. Luckily, this was no problem for Air Niugini and it's fleet of aircraft. On this trip, we were at 28,000 ft. as we cleared the cloud shrouded mountains, plenty of room to spare!

I travelled from Madang to Bongu, but it was a tiny village hard to find. Finally we found it. It was on the right.

PNG is a very rich country regarding tribes. Here in these pictures there are some of them. PNG tribes.

...at least since the Australian administration endede in 1975. The rainforest is amazing, teeming with wildlife, birdwatchers delight, and it is a challenge to make it to the top of the mountains! waterfalls and monsoons galore, making it all worth it when you get drenched and cool again. these can be organised through bibiko farm. I was their...

There is an indoor dining room which is quite nice. On Monday night, there was a buffet dinner with an array of foods. The food was good, but somewhat expensive - 10K for a small bowl of ice cream and a banana.I chose to cook for myself most of the time - but then, i was a uni student and on a ashoe string!

With the central 14,000+ foot (4400-m) mountain ranges dividing Papua New Guinea into northern and southern zones, at least 60% of the northern half of the country is drained by the Sepik River. Located only about 3 degrees south of the equator, and catching the moisture off the Pacific Ocean, the rainforest in this part of PNG is the largest...

In the Sepik River area, the mass of large and twisting rivers and lagoons makes travel by road very difficult, so the dugout canoe is the favoured mode of transportation by the locals. The canoes are made from large logs, which are usually towed to the owners village where the middle part of each is then gouged out using an adz. The final touches...

If you get a chance to spend some time in Angoram, you would be well-advised to take advantage of the situation and head off for a boating excursion on the Sepik. Most of the activity takes place up-river from here, but it is possible to book boat or motorized-canoe trips at the hotel or tourist agencies in town. You actually have the option of...

This photo shows my Papuan and Australian travelling companions topside on the Dredge, admiring the valley scenery as the Watut River meanders by. Note the heavy steel cables and reels used for controlling the various booms on the rig. All eight of these gold dredges were assembled from pieces flown in by Junkers G-31 tri-motor airplanes. There...

This is a back-end view of the No. 5 Dredge, which was completed in 1937 and finally ceased operations in 1965. The large conveyor belt boom sticking out this back end was used to carry the material scooped up at the front end by a series of buckets. On the left side, the cable that is visible running up to one of the upright pillars was used to...

Oh it was a great job, getting to fly all over this amazing country and meet with both the locals and expatriates who had been here for years. I knew I had it good flying off to the coral atolls, volcanic harbours, rain forests, snow-capped mountains and wide, lazy rivers to deal with whatever the problem was this week! Here, I am just enjoying...

It takes about 6 hours, at least, if the waves are OK. We (I was with several passengers) left Vanimo at about 4 PM and arrived late in the night to Aitape. We could find shelter in the Police Station, where we slept until early in the morning, when we caught a bus to Wewak.

It was a cargocult village with fetishes and many tamtams, or drums, some of them very beautiful. The chief of the village accepted me as guest and was invited to walk around with a guide explaining me the meaning of every drum.

Vanimo was only a transit stop for me. Hotles were too expensive, therefore I decided to start my overland journey to Madang that same day. Some people slept on the port in order to avoid the high prices of the hotels.Apart from the religious buildings and the local market, I did not find Vanimlo an interesting place, since I do not practise any...

Mount Hagen is the capital of Western Highlands province, the most populated in Papua New Guinea (440,000 people as of 2000). The early western explorers of PNG were totally surprised after either flying in or slogging their way up off the hot and humid coastal areas when they found far more inhabitants hidden away in the fertile, open and cool...

Starting in the 1960s, the Eastern and Western Highlands Provinces alternately held a Show on the third weekend of August in either Mt. Hagen or Goroka, where the local tribes competed against each other in traditional cultural events. The original purpose of the Show was to serve as an aggression outlet in the place of on-going warfare between the...

The main access to this part of the country is via the Highlands Highway, which leaves the coastal city of Lae and winds its way up to Kainantu at 1555-m (5100-ft), then even higher to Mt. Hagen and beyond. The road is sealed as far as Goroka, but then changed to hard-pack from there onward. It was always a pleasant drive travelling though these...

The electric supply for this whole part of the country was delivered via a 66,000 volt transmission line bringing hydro-power in from a dam located to the east of Goroka (see my 'Kainantu' page for the details). Transformer substations at Goroka, Kundiawa and Mount Hagen 'stepped down' the voltage from 66,000 volts to 11,000 volts so it could be...

Kundiawa is located in the central mountain ranges which run the length of New Guinea from east to west. Mt. Wilhelm, the highest in Papua New Guinea at 4509-m (14,800-ft), is located in the Bismarck Range not far to the northeast of the town. These mountain ranges are broken in various places by broad upland valleys and plains, resulting in a...

In order to prevent theft. Sometimes they even search your body.They sit the whole day on high chairs.

Stamps were original, but to send a postcard to Spain was too expensive. There is no Internet cafe in Lorengau.

I flew there from Madang. It is the only way, no ferryes.In front of the airport I found the advertisement of the picture.

I went to this Police Station asking for an exit stamp in my passport, since I wanted to leave Papua New Guinea to Solomon Islands. But nobody coul help me beacause that route nobody takes (well, I heard of some bold travelers doing it). So finally I had to enter ilegally to Solomon Islands, by boat, from Buin.

Pick ups can help you to get around. I payed a fair price to the driver of this pick up and sat on the back, until Buin.