Sights in Island Provinces
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Sohano Island
You can also take a boat ride to explore the idyllic islands near the southern mouth of the passage and beyond. Good swimming spots are on these islands. The most easily accessible is Sohano Island, a few minutes by boat from Buka. It was the provincial capital from WWII until 1960. It's a beautiful place with lawns and gardens, a Japanese monument, and war relics, steep craggy cliffs and panoramic views over town, the passage and Bougainville Island. There are some colonial-period buildings.
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Buka passage
A particular highlight in Buka is the Buka passage, which refers to the channel that separates Buka Island from Bougainville Island. The water runs at about 6 knots when the tide is fast, making deep undulations on the water's surface. Riding in a banana boat in Buka Passage is a buzz. Banana boats congregate near the animated market and the passage is abuzz with these small crafts plying between the town and Kokopau village (opposite Buka on Bougainville Island).
A word of warning: avoid snorkelling in Buka Passage; you could wind up lost at sea because of the current, and the boat traffic on the surface is pretty intense.
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Mioko Island
Mioko Island is the best one to visit, with a smattering of sights, including good beaches, two open-pit caves on the island's eastern flank and a coastwatcher's lookout cut into the cliff top nearby on the easternmost point. For many years hundreds of people hid in these caves to avoid being press-ganged by the Japanese.
Nearby, a tiny tunnel runs between the two cliff faces of the island's eastern tip. You can crawl between (it's rough going) for two views of the open sea and sky, and the cruel cliff below you. If you want to snorkel, try the southern coast, but it's only good in calm conditions.
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A
Kokopo Market
The buzzing Kokopo market is well worth a stroll. It's best on Saturdays. Buai (betel nut) and its condiments, daka (mustard stick) and cumbung (mineral lime, which looks rather like cocaine in its little plastic wraps) account for half of the stalls, with produce, such as fruit, vegetables, smoked fish and crabs accounting for the remainder. At the rear, tobacco growers sell dried leaves; homemade cigars wrapped with sticky tape at the mouth-end sell for around K1 each.
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Kimbe
Kimbe is the provincial headquarters and a major centre for palm-oil production. Although it has a seafront, it's a fairly unassuming town with no real interest for travellers. But there's Kimbe Bay. Ah, Kimbe Bay. With its unique seamounts capped with coral towers reaching the surface, it has earned its celebrity status among divers and snorkellers around the world. The marine biodiversity here is stunning, with more than 350 types of hard coral and 860 species of fish vying for your attention.
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Talasea
Talasea is an active volcanic region set in a dramatic landscape. Lake Dakataua, at the tip, was formed in a colossal eruption in 1884. It's definitely worth seeing two WWII plane wrecks that lie partially disintegrated in the jungle near Talasea. There's a Mitchell B-25 Bomber and a Lockheed Vega Ventura - an impressive sight. As public transport is virtually non-existent, your best bet to visit Talasea and the Willaumez Peninsula is to arrange a tour through the Walindi Plantation Resort.
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Bagail Cemetery
The closest thing Kavieng has to a regular 'sight' is the Bagail Cemetery, where Baron Boluminski was buried. The tough guy's grave is right before you as you enter the cemetery.
The tyrannical German Baron Boluminski became district officer of Kavieng in 1910 and built the highway that bears his name by forcing each village along the coast to construct and maintain a section. He made villagers push his carriage over any deteriorated sections.
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B
Kokopo Waterfront
The best place to soak up the atmosphere is the Kokopo Waterfront, where banana boats (speed boats) pull up on the east end of the beach, and their drivers wait for a fare or they're fishing. These boats come and go from all over the province, the Duke of Yorks and New Ireland. The operators usually sleep through the midday heat under the big trees or gather in small groups, playing cards and string-band music on their salty ghetto blasters.
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Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft wreck
Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft wreck is the area's most historically interesting wreck. Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, who planned the attack on Pearl Harbour, left Rabaul in a 'Betty Bomber' on 18 April 1943 with a protective group of Zeros, not realising that US fighters were waiting for him near Buin. The wreckage of the bomber still lies in the jungle a few kilometres off the Panguna-Buin road. It's signposted, near Aku, 24km before Buin.
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Wuvulu Island
Manus Province comprises a handful of very remote offshore islands, including Wuvulu Island, which was made famous by Jean-Michel Cousteau when he conducted several Project Ocean Search expeditions in the 1970s. Other islands worthy of note are Hermit and Ninigo, about 240km to the north-northeast of Wewak. Due to their far-flung location, these spots rarely see foreign visitors, bar a few divers on live-aboards (starting from Wewak).
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Loloho
Four kilometres northwest of Arawa is Loloho on Arawa Bay, the port to which the copper concentrate was piped down from Panguna, the site of the power station and home to many of the mine workers. There's a palpable feel of nostalgia in Arawa. The old buildings and the workers' quarters, still visible, testify to a prosperous past. Some people still conjure up this glorious past, 'when Arawa was the richest town in PNG'.
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C
East New Britain Historical & Cultural Centre
The rewarding East New Britain Historical & Cultural Centre has a tremendous collection of historical objects, photographs and many Japanese WWII relics. The Tok Pisin documents issued to Allied airmen are accompanied by translations instructing the reader to obey the white men who fell from the sky. Most poignant is the courageous role played by the locals in a war whose origins were completely alien to them.
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US airbase
If you head to Los Negros Island, east of Lorengau, check out the remains of the US airbase at Lombrum. There's a fine anti-aircraft gun as you enter, and rows of old hangers. General MacArthur's HQ is still in use by the PNG Navy. The former Australian refugee detention centre, where asylum seekers who were arriving in Australia were processed during Australia's 'Pacific Solution' days, is located here too.
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D
New Guinea Club & Rabaul Museum
Just next door to Admiral Yamamoto's Bunker is New Guinea Club & Rabaul Museum. Established in 1933, this club was a businessmen's club with strict guidelines for membership. It was destroyed in WWII and rebuilt in the 1950s to its former glory only to be destroyed again by fire in 1994. It has been partly restored and is now home to a small museum. Ask at the Rabaul Hotel for the key.
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E
Queen Emma's House
Head to the site of Queen Emma's house, located right where the road terminates at the Ralum Country Club. Emma Forsayth, from Samoa, started a trading business at Mioko in the Duke of York Islands in 1878 before extending her empire to include plantations, trade stores and ships. Don't hold your breath; there's not much to see of Gunantambu, her grand home, which was ruined in WWII.
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Panguna
High in the centre of the island, the dormant mine of Panguna (still off-limits at the time of writing) is one of the world's largest artificial holes. Bougainville Copper Limited was the operator of the open-cut mine. Copper was discovered at Panguna in 1964. There are talks of reopening that mine once the situation in Bougainville is fully stabilised. Stay tuned.
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Buin
About 260km south of Buka, Buin really feels the end of the line. It suffered less damage than Kieta and Arawa during the conflict. During WWII, Buin hosted a large Japanese army base and the area has many rusting relics. The Japanese had plans to resettle a huge number of civilian Japanese at an area called Little Tokyo.
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Mt Balbi
A good base, Wakunai is where you can arrange a three-day trek to Mt Balbi (2685m), or follow the Nooma Nooma track that crosses the island to Torokina, on the west coast (count on a three-day minimum). From Mt Balbi, you can see the active Mt Bagana (1730m). In Wakunai, your best source of information is Suzie Akoitai.
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Namatanai
This is the second-largest town on New Ireland Province; it has a hotel, supermarket and a few stores (but no bank). Namatanai was an important station in the days of German occupation. Now it's just a transit point on a pretty bay. You'll get electricity only from 18:00 to 22:00, despite the local hydro project.
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Libba
Located 4km south of Bol, Libba village is a great place to look at Malagan art and stock up on handicrafts. The village is home to master carver Ben Sisia. Ben charges to see the Malagan house - be very respectful. Even the village church is carved in the local style.
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F
Admiral Yamamoto's Bunker
There are countless tunnels and caverns in the hillsides around Rabaul. Admiral Yamamoto's Bunker (locked) is interesting although austere, and the placards near it are informative. There's a map on the ceiling for plotting world domination.
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Hoskins
The picturesquely located 'major' airport of WNB is 40km east of Kimbe. There are a number of forested volcanoes surrounding town, including the active Mt Pago. Located a short distance inland, at Koimumu, there's an active geyser field.
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Kavieng Harbour
Kavieng Harbour is large and beautiful. You can go down to the waterfront and catch a banana boat out to one of the many islands. New Sulaman makes for a good picnic and snorkel. You can negotiate a 'drop me off, pick me up later' trip.
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Cathy Hiob's Eels
At the 90km on the Boluminski Highway mark it's worth pulling over to see Cathy Hiob's Eels at Laraibina (ask for Munawai village). Cathy handfeeds some huge eels in the river, which slither right past your hands. Bring a tin of fish.
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Matanasoi
Leaving Kavieng, the first major settlement is Matanasoi (or Liga) village, about 5km along the highway from Kavieng airport. There's a limestone cave filled with crystal-clear water. The Japanese used this grotto for drinking water.
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