The Botanical Gardens offer a pleasant stroll through a patch of rainforest and grassland in the center of Lae. Butterflies flutter and reptiles scuttle as you amble beneath the huge, vine-cloaked trees hosting flocks of colorful birds. The gardens also feature an exotic orchid collection. Officially, it’s closed on weekdays but the guards at either the main northern gate (near the RAAF DC-3) or the southern gate (near Lae War Cemetery) usually let you in. Avoid coming here alone.

