Things to do in Port Moresby
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Daikoku
In a feed-off between Ichizen and Daikoku, we narrowly chose this to be the best Japanese restaurant in Moresby - outstanding! The sushi, sashimi and other Japanese favourites are very good. At dinner, chefs will prepare your meal on a hotplate at your table with great skill and showmanship. Also serves lunchtime bento boxes.
reviewed
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Phoenix Bar
Attached to the Bluff Inn Motel, the Phoenix Bar is the best place to stop for lunch.
reviewed
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Parliament Haus
The impressive Parliament Haus was officially opened in 1984 with Prince Charles on hand. The main building is in the style of a Maprik, or Sepik-style, haus tambaran, while the attached, circular cafeteria building follows Highland design principles. The façade is quite stunning, with a mosaic featuring unmistakably PNG motifs. Photographers with wide-angle lenses will be rewarded with great shots in the late afternoon light.
The cavernous lobby is entered through doors whose handles are stylised kundu drums (an hourglass-shaped drum with lizard skin). Inside, huge Sepik masks share space with several display cases full of fantastic butterflies, including the native Que…
reviewed
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Royal Papua Yacht Club
This large airy place is the last bastion of post-colonial white elitism - you won't see any grassroots here. Pity because it's a nice place with a pleasant deck for sitting, drinking cold beer and watching the harbour. The food is good and reasonably priced, and the club is decorated with lots of interesting WWII photos and maritime memorabilia.
There's sometimes live music, but otherwise it's a steady diet of easy-listening 'yacht rock' through the speakers, such as Eagles, Toto, Christopher Cross. You're supposed to have a member sign you in, but a little charm (and white skin) should see you in.
reviewed
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Gold Club
This club has live music a couple of nights a week, but otherwise it's given over to DJs and dancing. The open-air dance floor surrounded by layers of bars gives the impression that this could, actually, be in New York City. The music is good and there's no riff-raff. A top spot.
reviewed
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Ang's Restaurant
Ang's is locked up like Fort Knox; this part of Gordons is unsavoury after dark. But it's worth the trip for excellent Chinese food at reasonable prices. The tôm yam soup is just right.
reviewed
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Varirata National Park
Right after the small store at Laloki River Gorge is the turn-off to Varirata National Park which, at 1000 hectares and over 800m high, is the highlight of the Sogeri Rd. It's 8km from the turn-off and you'll find six clearly marked walking trails ranging from 45 minutes to three hours long, and some excellent lookouts back to Port Moresby and the coast. The bird-watching here can be rewarding, with an array of kingfishers and Raggiana birds of paradise as highlights.
It's possible to camp here, but unless you're in a large group, it's potentially unsafe. The best place is on the grass outside the derelict huts. There are pit toilets. Speak to the ranger-in-charge (if you…
reviewed
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National Botanic Gardens
At the northern end of Waigani Dr, just beyond the University of Papua New Guinea, the National Botanic Gardens are an island of calm and beauty in the midst of an otherwise lacklustre city. Don't miss them! There is more than 2km of boardwalk threading under and through the jungle canopy; well-maintained lawns and gardens displaying both local and exotic plant species, and probably the best collection of native and hybrid orchids in PNG.
There are also some excellent wildlife displays, such as tree kangaroos, hornbills, cassowaries, a giant python, and a large aviary that houses parrots and birds of paradise (the only chance most visitors get to see them).
reviewed
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National Museum
All the exhibits at the National Museum, just beyond Parliament Haus, sit under a fine film of dust. But you can happily spend an hour or so looking at the displays that cover the geography, fauna, culture, ethnography and history of PNG. There are superb examples of masks, shields and totems, a magnificent Milne Bay outrigger canoe decorated in cowrie shells, and a display showing how bilums are made.
Photography is not allowed, but you can take pictures of the few birds, lizards and snakes living in the courtyard.
reviewed
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Hanuabada
Past the docks to the north lies Hanuabada, the original Motu village. Although it is still built over the sea on stilts, the original wood and thatched houses were destroyed by fire during WWII. They were rebuilt in all-Australian building materials, corrugated iron and fibrocement, but it's an interesting place and the people have retained many traditional Motu customs.
You cannot simply wander around the villages if you are not a guest or if you don't have a local guide, but your hotel should be able to suggest someone.
reviewed
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Kokoda Track
14 days (Port Moresby)
Follow in the footsteps of history on this classic traverse of Papua New Guinea.
Not LP reviewed
from USD$4,220 -
Ela Beach
On the southern side of Town is the long, sandy stretch of Ela Beach. The beachfront promenade is a popular walk during the day, though the sands are not full of sunbathers these days. Even locals perceive this area as potentially unsafe. If you do swim here, you'll attract a lot of attention, but the biggest threat may be the shallow water, thick seaweed and black, spiny and painful sea urchins - you might prefer to take to the waters at your hotel swimming pool.
reviewed
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Hombrum Bluff Lookout
A few kilometres down the dreadful Kokoda Track road (barely navigable in a 2WD in the dry season only) is a turn-off left (west) back towards Port Moresby. This is the Hombrum Bluff road that runs along the top of the Laloki River canyon wall. It leads to Hombrum Bluff Lookout that rises 1300m and was used as a retreat for the military brass during WWII. Below is Seventeen Mile which was an important base camp for more than 400 soldiers.
reviewed
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Old Parliament Building
The Old Parliament Building was never an architectural wonder, but its opening as the House of Assembly in 1964 was a significant milestone on PNG's road to independence. Sadly, the shell it has become symbolises the country's steady decline in recent years; it is occupied by squatters and buai-sellers. Despite its majestic hilltop position overlooking Town and the port, there's nothing that indicates its former significance.
reviewed
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UPNG Bookshop
Sadly, there is only one decent bookshop in Port Moresby: the UPNG Bookshop and even that shop stocks mostly coursework materials and academic texts. Top-end hotels have a few overpriced books and there are a couple of duty-free shops at the airport (past Immigration) that have some decent books on PNG. Make sure you bring your own reading material because you can't even buy a trashy airport novel in Port Moresby.
reviewed
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Bomana War Cemetery
It's only 46km to Sogeri but there is enough to see to make it a full-day trip. The first stop is the large and carefully tended Bomana War Cemetery, where 4000 PNG and Australian WWII soldiers are buried; American soldiers who died in PNG were generally shipped home for burial. It's a serene yet sobering place. PMV 16 from Gordons Market runs past the gate.
reviewed
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Laloki River gorge
A few kilometres past the Bomama War Cemetery cemetery, the road winds up the impressive Laloki River gorge and you're soon more than 600m above sea level. There are several viewing points looking into the gorge and up to the Rouna Falls and power station. Just beyond is a small store and a track leading to the rundown Kokoda Trail Motel.
reviewed
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Dive Centre
The diving around Port Moresby is excellent. Bootless Bay has world-class diving over reefs and WWII wreckage. Loloata Island is a popular holiday spot for divers. The only dive operator in Moresby itself is the Dive Centre. It offers full PADI courses, equipment, air, and a wide range of diving and snorkelling tours. Very professional.
reviewed
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Handicrafts Market
Boroko's dusty central square is the best place to buy bilums, Highland hats, carvings, kina-shell breast plates, shell jewellery and the like. Moresby's sellers are used to the ways of tourists and will happily engage in some friendly negotiation, but protracted haggling is considered rude.
reviewed
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Ower's Corner
After WWII the rough Kokoda Track road was pushed further through to Ower's Corner, and you can drive here too … if your poor car hasn't suffered enough! Be careful out here. There are no road signs so ask villagers, and if it rains you'll be stuck good and proper.
reviewed
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Niugini Holidays
Niugini Holidays conduct several pricey but professional day trips, including three-hour tours of Port Moresby Town, full-day Town and Varirata National Park tours and full-day Taste of Kokoda Track tours. The price per-person falls as the group size increases.
reviewed
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Ela United Church
There is little of historical interest remaining in Port Moresby's CBD, where office towers and neglect have steadily claimed much of the area. The oldest building still standing is the Ela United Church, opened by the London Missionary Society in 1890.
reviewed
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Ela Beach Craft Market
This is the best market in PNG, with all the paintings, carvings, baskets, shells and weavings you can poke a koteka(penis gourd) at. Barbecued food and traditional dancers (about 10:00) contribute to the carnival atmosphere.
reviewed
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McDonald's Corner
On the Kokoda Track road you can drive past McDonald's Corner where there's a small memorial that marks the start of the Kokoda Track. It was here that Australian WWII soldiers disembarked their trucks and began the long muddy march.
reviewed
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Jepello
Just off Waigani Drive, behind the Interoil Service Station in another dodgy area, is Jepello, Moresby's best Italian restaurant. The fresh pastas and wood-fired pizzas are good, but leave room for the homemade gelato.
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