THUMB DIRECTORY TAB value added tax (VAT,value added tax butsometimescalled In bothPNG andtheSolomons there isa10% boxedand top-endcategories (see text, p284 ). divided ourreviews intobudget, midrange accommodationtowarrantit,we’veis enough most townsoptionsare limited. Where there Islands, thankfully,isnot as bad. Australia, itmakes grimreading. TheSolomon pricesofthe developed-world neighbouring and therest of SoutheastAsia, with or even cheap-as-chips placesof nearbyIndonesia of accommodation. Whencompared withthe Papua NewGuineaoffers poorvalueinterms CONTENTS Directory 282 © LonelyPlanetPublications ACCOMMODATION Overall thequalityisreasonable butinOverall olt 301 301 301 300 Volunteering 303 297 Visas 302 Travellers withDisabilities Tourist Information 295 Toilets 295 Time 301 Telephone &Fax Shopping 298 Post 298 Photography 294 294 Money 296 Legal Matters 293 Internet Access 290 Insurance 295 291 Holidays 295 290 Gay &Lesbian Travellers Food 294 Festivals &Events Embassies &Consulates Dangers &Annoyances Climate Charts Children 290 Business Hours 285 Activities oe rvles 304 299 Work 305 Women Travellers Solo Travellers 293 Maps 296 291 Discount Cards Customs Regulations Accommodation 282 transport. Breakfast isusuallyincludedinthe whereport; especiallyuseful there’s nopublic will often give free transfers theair- between your frequent-flyer card–itcan’thurt.Hotels style hotelsbeworthwhileflashing itmight offer somesavings. Inthebigger corporate- You canaskaboutweekend rates, which can or high low season. hotel gueststhatthere isnoclearlydefined tourists make upsuch asmallpercentage of (see p294 ) andnationalholidays(see p295 ), thing ispacked. Apartfromfestival weekends and especiallyatfestival times,whenevery- for moderately pricedhotels andguesthouses on your accommodation costs. is VAT-exempt –agoodwayto save money dation inadvancefromoutsidethecountryit if youbookandpayforyourPNGaccommo- won’t addittoyourbill.More importantly, aren’t required tocollecttheVAT sothey thatturnoverthose lessthanK100,000ayear biguous forcheaper lodges– andguesthouses of InPNG,theVAT tax. situationismore am- GST), andallpricesinthisbookare inclusive K400 a night for atwinordouble inPNG.K400 anight vary greatly, ranging fromabout K150to midrange category, pricesand quality midrange andtop-end categories. Inthe The vastmajority of hotels fallintothe trekking, don’tbotherbringing a tent. off-the-beaten-track on doingsomeseriously in ahutanyway.Sounlessyou’re planning are thatwhenyoudothey’lloffer you room landowner couldtake awhile,andchances permission tocamp–findingthe toseek need traditional ownersomewhere andyouwould a tent canbequite offensive. Alllandhasa fusing such infavour hospitality of pitching into whatever dwellingis available, andre- Melanesian culture. Travellers are welcomed isnotatraditional partofCamping Camping shown inthe accommodation listings. ‘all-inclusive’ or‘includingthree meals’is andwhenallmeals are included, room tariff, Hotels &Resorts Don’t expecttosave moneybybargaining. Booking aheadisalsoagoodidea,especially lonelyplanet.com fe transport. free and coffee-making facilities,breakfast and some willinclude oneormore of fridge, tea- phoneandair-con, andbathroom, cableTV, usually small.You canexpectaroomwith Discounts forsingles(where theyexist)are

Newspapers PRACTICALITIES Weights &Measures Electricity TV Radio

PNGhastwodailyEnglish-language newspapers: the BothPNG and theSolomonsusemetricsystem. OntheSepikRiver fuelformotor-canoes whenitexistsand isflowing,240V,AC andusesAustralasian-style Electricity, 50Hz plugs. istheonlylocalstationinPNG.MostofitsprogrammingcomesfromAustralia’s Nine EmTV Forafulllistofstationsandfrequencies inPNGandtheSolomonIslands,seehttp://radio Short-wave frequencies ForBBCseewww Australia or7240kHz. forRadio include6080kHz IntheSolomons,nationalbroadcaster andSW SIBCcanbeheardonMW(1035kHz) PNGhastwogovernment-funded ontheAM bandandKalang nationalradiostations:Karai IntheSolomons,English-language on thewebandthey’re availableinmostprovincial capitals. The cal aboutthe where issuessuchascorruptionandwaste are concerned,however manypeopleare criti- .pg), Murdoch’sNewsCorp,and .pg), majorityownedbyRupert .solomontimes.com) waslaunchedinApril2007,andisaweb-onlynewsservice. is fuelupbythegallontoo.bought bythegallonandtradeboatsinsomeparts from ruralAustralia. satellite)places with‘cable’(actually canpickup CNN andBBCWorldplusarangeofstations 7am to8amand9pm10pminEnglishHoniaraonly(fornow).Inbothcountries most in2006–OneNewsbroadcasts service The SolomonslauncheditsfirstnationalTV Network. stationworld.com. .bbc.co.uk/worldservice/schedules. reception Shortwave isoften poorinPNG. The MW. Australian(5020kHz). isat630kHz BroadcastingCorporation(ABC) music. Moresby on106.7FM. There are numerouslocalradiostationsmostlydevoted tolocalpop YumiFM broadcasting24hoursinTok Pisin. canbeheardinPort BBCWorldService (You-me) on FM. NationalcommercialstationsincludeNauFM (Now)broadcastinginEnglishand weekend weekend written entirely inTokPisin; reading it willhelpfamiliariseyouwiththelocallanguage. The the new provinces. newspapers–the The Solomonsalsohastwotwice-weekly flights andthusmaybeadayortwo(ormore) outofdate bythetimeit’savailablein lished five daysaweekinHoniara. It’sdelivered aroundthecountryonSolomonAirlines

owned byMalaysianlogging Bothare giant Hijau. Rimbunan criticalandquite aggressive IslandSun Sunday Chronicle, DIRECTORY ••Accommodation DIRECTORY National which waslaunchedinNovember 2006.The ’s coverage ofPNG’scontroversial logging industry.Bothcanberead PNG’sonlylocally-ownednewspaper,waslaunchedin2006. Solomon Star is usually pretty good, as you’d expect. range of priceybars and restaurants. Service internet orabusiness centre, andtheusual usually have access toaswimmingpool,the asK1000foraplush suite.up ashigh You’ll Top-end placesare fewer andprices canget (www.solomonstarnews.com) ispub- Post Courier National Solomon TimesOnline Wantok (www.postcourier.com (www.thenational.com National Express dailynewspaperis (www and

283 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY 3200; www.tufidive.com)InOro Province; see p108 . are usuallypretty interesting people andgreat to heargracebefore meals. Butthemanagers discouraged (or banned)andyoucanexpect with afew rules–drinkingandsmoking are share bathrooms.Andyou’ll have toputup ies andthecheaper oneshave noair-con and homely andopentotravellers. Qualityvar- types, butthelodgingsare generally clean, areMission guesthouses mainlyforchurch canbegoodvalueformoney. These houses. community-run hostels andprivate guest- ally theregion’s manymission guesthouses, The cheapest accommodationoptionsare usu- rates. about specials,andcorporate andweekend person, including meals. dollars andare often more thanA$200per areRates usuallyquoted inAustralianorUS regularly byDavid patronised Attenborough. ing AmbuaLodge ( p174 ) inTari, which is Tours Trans Niugini There are resorts alsoseveral operated by Walindi PlantationResort Uepi IslandResort Tufi Resort Dive Tawali Resort Hotel Resort Madang tion. Someof the better resorts: trekking andwatching wildlife, oracombina- boast someotherattraction:diving,fishing, dedicated andsuntheyusually solelytosand resorts scattered thanbeing around.Rather 284 www.tawali.com) In Milne Bay www.tawali.com) InMilne Province; see p114 . Missions, Hostels&Guesthouses There are afew wonderfullyindulgent Wherever youhead,don’tforget toask Top end Midrange Budget Top end Midrange Budget Papua NewGuinea the followingcategories: Prices foratwinordoubleroomfallinto A BEDFORTHENIGHT Solomon Islands IETR • Acmoain ••Accommodation DIRECTORY UptoS$200. UptoK150. More thanS$400. More thanK400. S$200toS$400. K150toK400. ( Alotau ( Port Moresby In theSolomonIslands;see p267 . %

(www.pngtours.com) p143. 641 1167; In WestNew see Britain; p227 .

% 323 3462; Tawali % Tufi includ- 641 0922;

% 275 ple willcome. monthlyandyearly Weekly, guards andthefacilitiesof ahotel, andpeo- provideenough: large walls,plentyof security expensive alternatives. Theformulaissimple often, top-endhotels, butthere are someless Much of tomidrange itisattached and,more shortage of long-term rental accommodation. PNG andtheSolomonIslandsthere isno numbersLarge of expatscomeand gofrom Rental Accommodation good. consistently aremissions, theLutheranguesthouses in thecommunaldiningroom.Among withmealsprovidedK70 andK130pernight about a wholeroom)willusuallybebetween around. Pricesvary,butabed(orsometimes can betheonlyofficial accommodation towns andcities,inruralareas missions ments only take women. butsomeYWCAestablish- lowed tostay, women’s associations.Men are usuallyal- Solomons andhave somegreat stories to tell. interesting and remote partsof PNGandthe and studentswho’ve often tosomepretty been up of missionworkers, NGOs, aidworkers tele canbeinteresting too,asit’soften made Bible-handlers ratherthanbashers. Theclien- sources of information–bestdescribedas in PNG and the Solomons is taking thein PNGandtheSolomonsistaking One of thegreat experiencesof travelling Village Accommodation large, gated enclaves of expat workers. in PortMoresby orHoniara–bothcitieshave the diplomaticrepresentatives of yourcountry Solomon Island(see p303 ). Oryoucouldtry organisationsvolunteering inPNGandthe Directory. Alternatively, someof contact the .html hotel prices. Check rates are very attractive whencompared with These typesofThese lodgingsare foundinmany There are alsoanumberof placesrunby you canbook online. are thoroughandindependent. Bestofall, lowdown onthebest placestostay.Reviews lonelyplanet.com. You’ll findthetrue,insider at service check outtheonlinebooking ommendations byLonelyPlanetauthors, For more accommodationreviews andrec- BOOK YOURSTAY ONLINE onthePapua NewGuineaBusiness www.pngbd.com/forum/f74s lonelyplanet.com Ireland. atall, notbeavillage Itmight house orNew theSepik or aroundTufi,MilneBay, village ontheHuonGulfcoast, guesthouses in theTrobriandIslands;oroneof thesimple in theSolomons;atinythatched stilthouse beabasic might modation comesinallmannerof It guises. inavillage.opportunity tostay Village accom- lonelyplanet.com all about being outdoors in theelementsand Travel to PNGandthe Solomons Islandsis ACTIVITIES no charge, iftheyhave a spare room. for country almostalwaysallowyouto stay, aroundthe a lotof Policestations talking! to singforyoursupperoratthevery leastdo lucky andfindaspare have bed.Youmight all have boardingquarters, soyoucould get thansleeping traditional house by yourself. it’s more withafamilyin enjoyable tostay beasked in oneofmight but tostay these, patrol officers) andsomeremain today.You accommodating visiting were in.These originallyerectedto stay for kiap the community.Insomevillages there’s a quickly engaged withthemuliebre of affairs astically ‘adopted’ bythevillage womenand women –female travellers willbeenthusi- arts’. Men’s are houses guests andasplaceswhere ‘the menpractise young maleinitiates, asresthouses formale domiciles forelderlyorwidowedmenand spacesoften andthese house functionas custom. Mostruralvillages have amen’s local buildingstoobserve inseparate sleep communities, soproceed with caution. alcohol can beavery sensitive issueinsome acartonof isgoodcurrency,instances beer but bebetter. tea orsugarmight salt, beef, Insome of around, somaybeasack rice,orsomebully the go. Butalive –alivepensation out of beappropriate townwhatmight com- and amount tooffer afamilyproviding youaroof you up.Youmustpay,andK40toK50isafair in mostvillages you’llfindalocalwho’llput thecountry,and but it’sthecheapest waytosee building yousee. Just ask. inachurch orjustaboutstation, any house but aspare roominaschool, spaceinapolice Village accommodationcanbepretty rough High schools areHigh often quite isolated and In somevillages beasked couplesmight to kai kai – a village house set asidefortravellers set –avillage house (food). Butasklocalsbefore youhead DIRECTORY ••Activities DIRECTORY kakaruk haus win kakaruk kakaruk tambu can be a hassle to lug canbeahassletolug (open-airstructure) kiaps (chicken) be might (forbidden)to (government haus haus lodges, such as AmbuaLodge ( p174 ) at with oneortwotours per year. information. lodges, andotherPNG-specific birding sites. www.papuabirdclub.com newguineahtm.htm www.camacdonald.com/birding/papapua www.birdingpal.com Birds ofNewGuinea find thebooksatwww.abe books.com): Some booksandwebsites onbirds(youcan Sicklebill Safaris Field Guides Eagle EyeTours and p319 ) have bird-watching trips. in Western Province. River, aroundMadang Sepik andatBensbach watchers. You’llfindsimilartours onthe Tari, have programmesspecificallyforbird- lovely fella and reputable guide. ( p174 ) inTari isapassionate bird-watcher, Province. Steven WarilifromLodge is theexpertatKumulLodge ( p169 ) inEnga sites aroundPortMoresby very well.Paul Arut of Paradise Adventure Tours ( p319 ) knowsthe Province, whileformerhunter DanielWakra is (p206) Kepuknai guys forafractionof the costof atour. Samuel You canplanandexecute yourtripwiththese of localguidesare out. well-worthseeking about300species.Asmallnumber you’ll see want. birders becoming easieraslocalguideslearnwhat ing someof it,especiallytherich birdlife, is ofsands speciesof floraandfaunasee- PNG andtheSolomonsare hometothou- Bird-Watching nithologists fromallaround the globe. and thebird-watching attractshard-core or- lenging andrewarding, thecaving isextreme planet. Onshore, PNG’strekking isbothchal- divingandsnorkellingmost spectacular onthe remote breaks isthe andenjoywhatsome say can angleformonster-fish, bethefirst tosurf few Offshore you galleriesandmuseums!) it, there’s precious littleshopping andvery part of face thenaturalenvironment.(Let’s company thatdoesspecialistbirdingtours of PNG. Regional birding expert PhilGregory’s birdingexpert Regional company. In the Highlands and the Sepik several several andtheSepik In theHighlands Birders report thatinathree-week trip Also look at these specialistcompanies: Also lookatthese Most of themaintouroperators (see p311 (www.fieldguides.com) Texas-based (www.eagle-eye.com) US-basedgroup (www.eagle-eye.com) (www.cassowary-house.com.au) ByBruceMBeehleretal. Excellent links to trip reports, reports, Excellentlinkstotrip Find alocal birderforthelatest the maninremote Western BirdinginWest Papua.

285 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY ter aboat;orcrew ayacht. Formore onthese the regular shipping;take atour;char- coastal wish youdid),there are fouralternatives: use PNG’s islandsandharbours you’ll you see If youdon’town a cruisingyacht (andwhen SEA JOURNEYS ships including luxurycruise (see p315 ). guide/driver ontheriver, ortake atour boat, But mostpeoplecharter amotor-canoe and dugoutcanoes). motorised, uled, intervillage, village tovillage usingPMVboats (unsched- Or youcouldpayyourwaytravelling from atyou,callingyou laugh fast. People ontheriverbanks wouldprobably relentless middaysunandgetting nowhere off fending paddlingalongtheSepik spend weeks fromavillager and could buyyourowncanoe sibilities. Ifyou’re hardcore you (insane) to canoes tramp steamers. an assortmentof craft,rangingfrom dugout rivers, Onthese as highways. there isoften many rivers thatflowintotheGulfof Papua) theFlyand theRamu, (including theSepik, tural treasure rivers Localpeopleuse house. isanartisticandcul- Basin while theSepik compared totheAmazonandCongoRivers, isoften rivers.most spectacular TheSepik PNG hassomeof theworld’slargest and RIVER JOURNEYS p315. see guide, require anoption).Fora (ifcomfortiseven ofwildly dependingonthelevel comfortyou don’t leave homewithoutit!Pricesvary test yourpatiencelike catching alocalboat– sister who’scatching aride…Nothingwill under atree somewhere) andhiscousin’s boat’s pilotmustbefound(who’llasleep and Kunducrackers –andthen,of course,the loaded up–cartonsof margarine, beer, rice totake aneternity togetseem theircargo andmotor-canoesunderway! Localdinghies ney’s end,butmostoften toget thejourney boat tripistime,notjusttoreach thejour- one ingredient foralmostevery youneed of transportfromoneplacetothenext.The far more of anexperiencethansimplyamode Solomons. Andmanyof theformsqualifyas or anotheralmost inPNGandthe inevitable combination thatmakes boatinginoneform Few roads.Lotsof rivers. More islands.It’sa Boating 286 For travellers there are anumberof pos- natnats IETR • Atvte ••Activities DIRECTORY (mosquitoes), bakingunderthe (mosquitoes), longlong (crazy). fers anamazing11-dayguidedsea-kayaking .pngtours.com) Southern Sea Ventures Southern Sea around Madang onthenorthcoastof PNG. the National Geographic SocietyinJanuarythe NationalGeographic PNG caves inrecent years, including onefor the UK,USAandFrancehave exploring been caving asanactivity,caving expeditionsfrom Province)Britain and Manus Province. 4.5 millioncubicmetres), New Pomio(East tobetheworld’sbiggest cavernis thought at Cavealso caves aroundBougainville(Benua longest caves intheworldat54.8km.There are Kopiago)isreputed(near Lake tobeoneof the tion. TheMamo Kananda intheMullerRange something approaching afull-scaleexpedi- world, butactuallygetting intothemrequires inthe maywellbethedeepest Highlands Caves inthelimestoneregions of theSouthern Caving plenty of food and water. andbesure it’sBYOeverything, these, totake Apartfrom toAlotau. voyage fromRabaul paddled fromCairns. hasfourkayaksthatwereAlotau originally Tours Bay Magic PNG isagreat kayaking. placeforsea (see (see p115 ); atruly unforgettable experience. tory sidebyunderneath theSamaraipiers tropicalfish and thedetritusoffantastic his- can swimwitness theextravagant coral, isat itsepicentre.and MilneBay Anyone who of the cost. who canhave much of thefunforafraction of fishmake themperfect for snorkellers, too, divers –excellentvisibility andanabundance coral reefs. Andthereefs are notonlyfor result of WWIIorthemazeof spectacular literally dozensof sunken ships –either asa ortheGreatCaribbean Reef. Barrier the the region more thantheRedSea, highly water activities onearth.Many divers rate interesting, excitingandchallenging under- PNG andtheSolomonsoffer someof themost Diving &Snorkelling the NewBritain’s Nakanai Mountains. 2006 which explored theremote river caves of luck youcantravel anywhere by boat. options see p315 . Withtime,ingenuity and PNG is the muck-diving capital ofPNG isthemuck-divingcapital theworld scattering ofWith adense beautifulislands, While there are notour operators offering Those wholikeThose divingonwrecks willfind offers tours guidedsea-kayaking

11; www.toursmilnebay-png.com/) ( p111;

(www.southernseaventures) Trans Niugini Tours Trans Niugini lonelyplanet.com (www

Milne of- in

Rabaul andWuvuluIsland.Inmostof these Rabaul Kavieng,Alotau, Kimbe,Lorengau, Madang, ment and tours. places, dive operators offer courses, equip- lonelyplanet.com unless youhave permissionfromtraditional by someone,includingstreams andreefs, and Everything pieceof andevery PNGisowned come here fromallover the world. monster fishhooked bydie-hardanglers that blue, blackandstripedmarlinare justsomeof either. Yellowfin tuna,mackerel, and sailfish the Solomonsthere’s noshortage of bigfish thecoastsofblack bass.Andoff PNGand mangrove jackandthelegendary Papuan fish, includingspeciessuch asbarramundi, of virtuallyuntouched rivers brimmingwith major touristdrawcards.There are dozens many river estuaries,isoneof the country’s Fishing, andparticularlysportfishinginPNG’s Fishing p55. chapter, theDivingand gooddivingoperators see listing of live-aboard dive boats,dive resorts isusuallyworthit.Foraboard, however, cheap. Theyears of divingexperienceon hundred USdollars adaynoneof themis ing asingletrip.Pricesvary,butatseveral allow youtoenjoyarange of locationsdur- boats available forcharter inPNGandthese dive twomostof these the year. it’spossibleto though April toSeptember, are Head lightest. toKimbeandKavieng from best fromOctober toMarch, whenthewinds the location.As is guide,MilneBay arough Other locationsworthheadingforinclude You can’tjustget inaboatandgo. There are goodlive-aboard dive several The besttimetodive variesdependingon there was afollow-upstoryon SBS. The response wasamazing. Air Niugini flew40boardstoVanimo free ofcharge, and,of course, people coulddonate boards–newandused totheirSydneyofficesfortheVanimo surfers. acampaign where SBS started network. current affairsprogramme ontheAustralian SBSTV enough togoaround. haddonated club,butthereOver theyearsvisitingsurfers afew were boardstothesurf never just thatLidovillagerscan’taffordcommercially madeboards,there shopsinPNG. are nosurf It’sshaped,sandedandlefttodry outforaweekbefore it’svarnished.It’s notthe surfboard. with machetes. of The rightrootofaspecifictree inittoformthenose-end hasagentlecurve themoutofgiantand epoxy exposedtree resin method,butbyhacking theorthodox roots like ofVanimo notfromfoamFor yearsthelocalsurfers theirownsurfboards, have beenmaking BUSH BOARDS In February ClubfortheDateline onLidovillage’sSunsetSurf 2007 Mark Davisdidareport DIRECTORY ••Activities DIRECTORY Vonavona Lagoon,WesternProvince,Solomon Islands Indonesian Papua, Western Province neartheborderof /lodge5.html) OntheBensbachRiver Point CruzYacht ClubinHoniara,Solomon Islands .com) In Open Bay, West New Britain .com) InOpenBay,WestNewBritain Moresby, gets 1mto2mwaves. Bigswells ( when HulaBeach p90 ), 100kmeastof Port land gets swellfromJunetoSeptember too. Thesoutherncoastof thePNGmain- of PNGoranother,andintheSolomons Gnarly dude,waycool,wicked and fully sick! in theKombicarpark.Howcoolisthat? andnostoner-guys bongin’on no surf-nazis to surfthem.There’s absolutely nosurf-rage, remote andyoucanbeamongthefirst people water iswarm clear,thebreaksand crystal are PNG andtheSolomonIslands.Thetropical There’s somethingvery coolabout surfingin Surfing companies not listed here. titions includingsomemajor fishing-charter has lotsof andcompe- informationonevents Guinea with the Most major townshave fishingclubsaffiliated Zipolo HabuResort Lindenhafen Fishing Lodge Laelae Charters Bensbach WildlifeLodge Lodge Baia Sportfishing worth looking at: your fishingviaatourcompany or lodge. trouble. It’sobviously aloteasiertoarrange owners, youcouldeasilyget yourselfinto In WestNew Britain It’s possibletosurfyear-round inonepart Some lodges andspecialistfishingcharters

(www.gfa.com.pg) Game Fishing Association ofPapua Fishing New Association Game ( p253 ; www.lalae.com.sb)Moored at ( p265 In ; www.zipolohabu.com) . Theexcellentwebsite ( p227 ; www.baiasportfishing 28; www.pngtours.com (p208; (www.lindenhafen.com)

287 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY Other websites worthlookingatincludethat has adecentwebsite withlinkstosurfingtours. Moresby; www.surfingpapuanewguinea.org.pg) 0884 inPort breaks aren’t for the inexperienced. boat youcanfindplentyof waves. reef- These from theshore, butifyouhave accesstoa village. nearby can’t beartoleave ina youcanalwaysstay places,andifyoufindawavethese youjust of available varyingstandards atornearall Thereand-death event. isaccommodation puted swellandbealife- tohosta3.6m-high Ahus Island( p239 ), northof Manus, isre- people) thebestbreaks. off Thereef-break be happytoshow theirnew boxedLido village (see text, p287 ), who’ll laid-back guysof SurfClubat theSunset you willsoonbecomeacquainted withthe border withIndonesianPapua. AtVanimo Vanimo ( p185 ) onthenorthcoastnear the PNGmainlandand,pickof thelot, Wewak ( p179 ) onthenortherncoastof ( p229 ) andthewestern endof NewIreland, keep the sun off. onegoodall-roundboard,andavestneed to reaching themisbecomingeasier. You’llonly and plentyof are reef-breaks outthere, and point- north coastandintheislands.Beach, fromlate October toAprilalongthe season who’s surfed there. the Solomons,butwedon’tknowanyone hit Guadalcanal’sremote Weathercoastin 288 In PNGthebestplacestoheadare Kavieng The bestwaves are duringthemonsoon The The reef-breaks tend tobealongpaddle The reef-breaks experience: onatrek,Before considerthefollowingpointstoensure embarking asafe andenjoyable GUIDELINESFOR TREKKING SAFETY

Ask before yousetoutabouttheenvironmental characteristics thatcanaffect yourtrek and Beaware that weatherconditionsandterrain vary significantlyfromoneregion, oreven from Trek onlyinregions, andon tracks,withinyourrealm ofexperience. Beaware oflocallaws,regulations andetiquette aboutwildlife andtheenvironment. Obtainreliable informationaboutphysicalandenvironmental conditionsalongyour Besure forasustainedperiod. you are walking healthyandfeel comfortable Pay anyfees andpossessanypermits required bylocalauthorities. IETR • Atvte ••Activities DIRECTORY how local, experiencedtrekkers dealwiththeseconsiderations. influence thewaytrekkers dress andtheequipment they carry. one track,toanother. These Seasonal changescansignificantlyalter differences anytrack. intended route. Surf Association of Papua NewGuinea Association Surf wantoks (clans- ( %

326

food. Thebestwaytofindareliable guideisto day. You’llalsohave toprovide orpayfortheir boards onrivers. topayaguideK50per Expect they are orbuyingpetrolforout- necessary, major costswillbepayingforguides,where teristic of PNG. avoid ascentsanddescentscharac- thesteep but, especiallyonthecoast,it’spossibleto villages.between Someof thewalksare tough tion, anditisrarely more thanaday’swalk forcenturiesbythelocalpopula- used been withtracks,manyofcrisscrossed which have PNG isa trekking Thecountryis paradise. mation onsurfingin the Solomons. ( Tawarogha Harbour andStar at Makira. tobewaves and said Isabel atPoroonSanta Nggelas there are breaks, several andthere are Resort ( p261 ) onMangalonga Islandinthe Habu ResortonLolaIsland( p265 ). AtMaravagi breaks Island, aswellseveral nearZipolo Gizo ( p63 ) atPailongge, Titiana andMakuti monsoon swellbringsexcellentwaves near and ( of theecologicallysound mation onwhere youmight procure one. companies canprovide guidesoratleastinfor- someone whoknowssomeone. Allof thetour will usuallybeable toputyouintouch with ask aroundthelocalexpatpopulation–they Trekking % www.nusaislandretreat.com.pg) Contact the Contact October-to-AprilIn theSolomons,same In the bush your expenses plummet. Your plummet.Your In thebushyourexpenses 22442; www.visitsolomons.com.sb) World Surfaris Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau Solomon IslandsVisitors

(www.worldsurfaris.com) off Kavieng (see Nusa IslandRetreat lonelyplanet.com for more infor- . p232 )

excellent PDFdocument(written inMarch popular trek inPNG.MtWilhelm( p162 ) lonelyplanet.com _Mapping_Bureau; Melanesian Way, Waigani) Melanesian _Mapping_Bureau; (NMB; the tocontact advised If youwanttopographic mapsyou’re strongly MAPS surfing. on notes ontrekking, andsomeinformation Solomon Islands’.Ithascomprehensive 2007) called‘Treks andAdventures inthe Bureau be well prepared. Province. totake aguideand Youwillneed orNewGeorgiaLavella IslandsinWestern region of theeastern coast,andaroundVella andtheKwaio Lagoon tificial islandsof Lau the Weathercoast,onMalaita aroundthear- someamazingwalksonGuadalcanalto ise cal bent…andawide masochistic streak. orhistori- withamilitary will appealtothose Track ( p137 ) andtheBulldogTrack( p137 Apart fromtheKokodaTrack,BlackCat ) ( KopiagotoOksapmin isLake notable p174 ). treks of varyingdurations.Amongthemore ( p163 are). TheHighlands fullof interesting people thenwalkfromthere downtoMadang is climbedreasonably frequently, andsome companies see p311 and p319 considering ifyouhave limited time. Fortour . Organised treks are notcheap butare worth The website of the The KokodaTrack( p96 ) isthemost A numberof tourcompanies offer trekking. In theSolomonsintrepid typescanorgan-

The followingtipswillhelplimitthepain. step canbecomeanewexperienceindiscomfort. throughthejungletracksofPNGcanbeahighlightanyvisit.ButtouninitiatedTrekking each JUNGLE TREKKINGTIPS

On overnight trips bring two sets of clothing: one for hiking and one for wearing at night. Keep Onovernight andoneforwearingatnight.Keep tripsbringtwosetsofclothing:oneforhiking Practise climbingbefore Practise most. youleave home,asit’stheclimbsandascentsthathurt Beaware oflocallaws,regulations andetiquette aboutwildlife andtheenvironment–ortake Have yourglassestreated withananti-fog solutionbefore youleave. Carry anddrinkplentyofwater. Oralrehydration saltsare amust,especiallyifyousweatlot. Carry talcumpowerand/orLanolinetonipchaffinginthebud;or better, wearnounderwear andaT-shirt Indensevegetation wearlongpantswithyoursturdyboots. shorts Otherwise, a guidetodothatforyou. at all. will do. your nightclothesinaplasticbag,aseverything inyourbagwillbewetfromrainorsweat. %

(www.visitsolomons.com.sb) 327 6223;www.lands.gov.pg/Services/National DIRECTORY ••Activities DIRECTORY National Mapping Bureau National Mapping Solomon Islands Visitors Solomon IslandsVisitors hasalinktoan well before

and theydon’tknowshortcuts.Guides guide. Maps can’tspeaklocallanguages, with oneortwotours per year. clubs and resorts. have yourown board,askaroundtheyacht don’theadtherethough alone. Ifyoudon’t about 100kmsoutheast of PortMoresby, ( accessible placesto headisHulaBeach p90 ), June andAugust.Oneof thebestandmost tered harbours andstrongwindsbetween ideal for windsurfing. There are manyshel- The lagoonsof PNGandtheSolomonsare Melanesia Eco-Tourism Eagle EyeTours wildlife-watching trips. watching, see p53 . good guide. Forthebestplacestogowildlife areexotic stickinsects very slimwithouta times of theyear. Andyourchances of seeing terfly, for example, isonlyaroundatcertain The Alexandra’sBirdwingbut- famous Queen andbutterfly species.also countlessinsect tospotinthewild.Therevery difficult are known of PNG’smammalspecies butcanbe tree-kangaroo, which isprobably thebest- Among PNG’sexoticanimalspeciesisthe Wildlife-Watching do. (hopefully) you want;see also p296 . you leave hometomake sure ithasthemaps Windsurfing Most of themaintouroperators have Even with amap,it’sbesttoemploy Also look at these specialistcompanies: Also lookatthese (www.eagle-eye.com) US-basedgroup (www.eagle-eye.com) (www.em.com.pg)

289 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY taxis –workingsafety beltsaretaxis a novelty. anywhere, andforget in aboutsafety seats to finddedicated nappy-changing facilities have chairs. high You’ll be lucky,however, should have cots, andmostrestaurants help you.Top-endandmidrange hotels and peopleare fallingover themselves to bad. Take achild intoPNGortheSolomons ticalities of travelling withchildren aren’t too –but theprac- no themeparksorcarousels There are few really child-friendly – sights Practicalities with (and especiallythose blonde hair!). ers –andwomencooover pale-skinnedkids of child’s playtranscendsalllanguage barri- quickly adopted byvillage children –theart ried onthehipof asix-year-old girl.Kidsare two-year-old he/shewillturnupbeingcar- you’re tofret starting aboutyourmissing is acommunalvillage activityandjustwhen chance. Child- rearing inMelanesian culture who willspoilthemmercilessly given halfa whelmed bytheresponse of localpeople, to PNGortheSolomonsare often over- People whobringtheir CHILDREN Shops Restaurants Businesses Private Post Offices Offices Government Banks Solomon Islands Shops Restaurants Businesses Private Post Offices Offices Government Banks Papua NewGuinea the followinglistsunless otherwise. stated Sunday. Inthisbook,hours willaccordwith noon onSaturdayandremaining allday closed you canrely onmost closingat businesses Opening andclosingtimescanbeerratic,but BUSINESS HOURS 290 8am-noon Sat) 8am-noon Sat) 4.06pm Mon-Fri) 7pm-10pm or whenever thelastdiner 7pm-10pm orwhenever leaves) thelastdiner 7pm-10pm orwhenever leaves) IETR • Bsns or ••BusinessHours DIRECTORY ( ( ( ( h h h h 9am-5pm or 6pm Mon-Fri &9am-noonSat) 9am-5pm or6pmMon-Fri &9am-noonSat) 9am-5pm or6pmMon-Fri 8.30am or9am-3pmMon-Fri) 8.45am-3pm Mon-Thu, 8.45am-4pmFri) ( ( ( ( h h h h 9am-5pm Mon-Fri &9am-noonSat) 9am-5pm Mon-Fri &8-11.30amSat) 8am-4pm Mon-Fri lunch 11.30am-2.30pm,dinner6pmor lunch 11.30am-2.30pm,dinner6pmor ( ( h h ( ( h h 9am-4.30pm or 5pm Mon-Fri, 9am-4.30pm or5pmMon-Fri, 8am-4.30pm or5pmMon-Fri, 8am-4.30pm Mon-Fri) 7.45am-12.30pm &1.45- pikininis (children) annual rainfallisabout 1000mmand,like greatly. Indry,often dustyPortMoresby, the oppressing. be hot butthe andcan humidity isalwayshigh it’s lesslikely. Temperatures rarely get too means itismore likely torain,thedrythat In practice,for most placesthewetjust as blackandwhite aselsewhere inAsia. inPNGareThe wetanddryseasons not CLIMATE CHARTS Planet’s recommend a babysitter. to travellers, larger though hotels can usually towns. There are nodaycare centres catering pies andbaby formulaisavailable inlarger lic isnoproblem. Alimited range of nap- breasts are everywhere, breast-feeding inpub- PORT MORESBY LAE HONIARA C°F °C C°F °C °F °C 10 40 10 40 10 20 40 30 30 30 20 20 Rainfall isgenerally heavy butvariesRainfall For more onfamilytravel, read Lonely As you’dexpectinacountrywhere bare JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND 8m (25ft) Temp Temp Temp Travel with Children. 55m (180ft) 16 24 in in in 8 0 35m (115ft) 104 104 104 32 32 32 68 86 68 86 86 68 JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND lonelyplanet.com Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall 16 24 16 24 8 8 0 0 Max/Min Max/Min Max/Min Average Average Average 0 200 400 600 mm mm mm 0 200 400 600 0 200 400 600 the northernareas of theGulfandWestern areas, Province such asWestNewBritain or to over Inextreme 4500mminLae. rainfall orGorokaforexample, 2000mm, inRabaul Elsewhere, rainfallcanvaryfromalittleover and sharpfollowedbylong,drymonths. areas of northernAustralia,thewetisshort lonelyplanet.com same goes forfeathers goes orany otherbitsofsame tobe treated,will need orconfiscated. The much alarm,butanything withbarkonit feathers. As arule,polished woodwon’tcause animal parts,suchtaining asskin,teeth or to Australiancustomswithanything con- whenyougo through Problems canarise perhaps. maskorTrobriands carving Sepik venirs fromPNGorthe Solomons–a travellers willwanttobring homesomesou- in Australiaare particularlypertinent.Most toms andquarantinerestrictions thatapply and theSolomonsfromAustralia,cus- at Jackson’s Airport. if thegoodsare you boardthePNG-bound planeandactas around thisistoditch thepackagingbefore than youanticipated. Oneshiftywaytoget at Brisbaneairportmuch more expensive duty-freenew videocamerathatyoubought customs dutyplusGST willmake yourshiny, threshold, andthingsget however, ugly–the thisK1000 out payingcustomsduty.Exceed in newgoodstothevalueof K1000with- free. Inaddition,visitors toPNGcanbring 1Lor1000g,duty- perfume notexceeding gars or250gof tobacco), 2Lof alcohol and allowed toimport200cigarettes (or50ci- Visitors tobothPNGandtheSolomonsare information, see p15 . Januaryblow between andApril.Formore ble temperatures year-round). Cyclonescan DecemberandAprilfairlysta- between Honiara (withtheheaviest rainfalloccurring affected bytheirownmicroclimates, such as other partsofHowever, theSolomonsare fromlate Maymonsoon season, toDecember. duringthe‘wet’ The heatandhumidityrise ing theday)andinfrequent, rainfall. light milder temperatures (about21°Cto28°Cdur- fromDecembertolate Mayseason having have amore steady climate, withthe‘dry’ more than Provinces, theannualrainfallcanaverage CSOS REGULATIONS CUSTOMS The islandprovinces andtheSolomons Since mostpeopleflyintoandoutof PNG 8m a year! DIRECTORY ••CustomsRegulations DIRECTORY not new when you disembark newwhenyoudisembark bilum , part of the world. feel-good, warm-and-fuzzy storiesfrom this reportThe Australianmedia doesn’t onany region’s informationtointernational media. lazy Australianmedia, which provides this That’s justtheperceptionperpetuated bya stepping outsideistoputyourlife indanger. the WildWestwhere gun-lawrulesand both PNGandtheSolomons,it’s notlike ‘lawandorder’issuesdoubtedly in caused ple intheworld.Whileurbandrift hasun- most gentle, andgeneroushospitable peo- that Melanesians are bynature among the understand goandyou’dnever you’d never thehypethenSolomons. Ifyoubelieved about dangers of travelling inPNGandthe togetIt’s very the balanceright difficult DANGERS &ANNOYANCES programme.a border-security reality-TV andfeature in the AustralianCustomsService artefacts carefully sothatyoudon’tfallfoulof is agoodalternative. sure your tochoose Be –betterstandards tosave yourmoney!Post fumigate yourgoodstotheirownexacting ments andwillwanttoeitherconfiscate or won’ttakeofficials anynoticeof docu- these tion andcertification,butAustraliancustoms ( p133 canarrange (forafee) fumiga- ) inLae Port Moresby ortheMelanesian ArtsGallery goodbye. Placessuch asPNGArts( p81 ) in youcankissyourartefactsconnecting flight butifyouhaveofficials, onward asame-day days. ThiscanbedonebyAustraliancustoms it irradiated, aprocessthatcantake several be aquarantineriskyou’llhave topayhave or Honiara ( p250 ). inPortMoresbythe NationalMuseum ( p75 ) purchases are madeof, get themchecked at exported. Ifyouare of uncertain whatyour mains orbirdof plumes,cannotbe paradise ables andanyitem incorporatinghumanre- shelltraditional stonetools,certain valu- PNG or the Solomons. ground before outof youboardyourflight with flysprayandgive itagoodthumponthe the weaving, sosprayyourbasket thoroughly isfine,butsmallbugsloveitself tohidein Australian quarantineauthorities.Bukaware across thedrum-head, andthat’sano-nowith compact. Ah,butthat’slizardskinstretched souvenirs –they’re robustandrelatively light, dead animal.Kundudrumswouldmake fine Anything created before 1960,including If anythingyouare to carryingisdeemed

291 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY in larger towns,thechance of encountering more relaxed outsidePortMoresby, Lae connections toreal It’sworthasking events. urban legends that canhave very tenuous are tales often murder),butthese der (even with storiesof rapeandpillage andplun- PMVs, butthat’s just silly.They’llregale you and willtell younottoridethebuses Expats anonymity thatmakes astranger atarget. theget toknowyouandrapidly lose broils outsiders. Invillages peoplequickly can make thingsunpredictable itrarely em- andwhilethis intheHighlands, mon deep and MtHagen. isstillcom- Tribalfighting the citiescan be intimidating. number of idlyaround unemployedstanding enced travellers thelackof structure andthe won’t beoverly concerned.Butforinexperi- countries inthepastprobablyto developing whohaveand whatisnot.Those travelled eller willdecideforthemselves whatissafe person toanother,andeach trav- iseveryday positive. what’sdangerous Ofcourse, toone cluding fromlonewomen)isoverwhelmingly ences, butthevastmajority of feedback (in- heard fromtravellers who’ve hadbadexperi- don’tbeparanoid.We’veMost importantly, are rarely tourists. Violent crimeisnotunusual,butthevictims in theSolomons,itcanbepretty frightening. extent,wrong inPNGand,toamuch lesser whenthingsdogoor robbed.Thatsaid, and theSolomonswe’ve all theyears we’ve travelling been inPNG the notorious 292 If you use your common sense, especially yourcommonsense, If youuse Bear in mind that everything ismuch inmindthateverything Bear So what does thismeanforthetraveller?So whatdoes USA Department ofState/BureauUSA Department ofConsularAffairs UK Foreign &CommonwealthOffice New Zealand Ministry ofForeign Affairs &Trade 458731) Netherlands MinistryofForeign Affairs Japanese MinistryofForeign Affairs German Federal Foreign Office Canadian ofForeign Department Affairs &International Trade Australian ofForeign Department Affairs &Trade websites: For thelatest travel warningsandadviceyoucanlogontothefollowing(overly cautious) DANGER, WILLROBINSON… _html) .asp) IETR • Dnes&Anyne ••Dangers&Annoyances DIRECTORY raskols (bandits)issmall.In never been mugged mugged been (www.auswaertiges-amt.de/www/de/laender infos/reise_warnung (www.auswaertiges-amt.de/www/de/laender (www.fco.gov.uk/travel) (www.mofa.go.jp/anzen) (www.minbuza.nl/default.asp?CMS _ITEM=MBZ rocket science,buthere are some tips: isnot Fortunately, commonsense mon sense. encounter any trouble. Themantraiscom- people aroundyouare unlikely highly to travellers are likely togointhedaytimewith you robbed? been expats:sohowmanytimeshave same those hv it. have for example,they willalmostcertainly K5orK7inchange,But ifyouonlyneed notbeascamat all.around, thenitmight waving anything more thanK10orK20 favourite cons:‘Sorry,nochange’. Ifyou’re encounter oneof world’s thedeveloping cities thathave there’s taxis a chance you’ll inthefewthe Solomons.However, PNG There aren’t manyactualscamsinPNGor Scams zillions of mosquitoes. Apart fromcrime,themainannoyanceis (www.mft.govt.nz/travel) Alwayskeep atleastK50‘raskolmoney’ unre-Don’t flauntyourwealth–wear If youget heldup,asinthissituation especiallycareful onthefortnightly Be Speaktopeoplerather thanbeingaloof. (www.dfat.gov.au/travel) money beltor your shoe. thief. Hidetherest of yourmoney ina in yourpocket anywould-be toappease a era hidden.Carry markable clothesandkeep yourcam- fairly unsophisticated affairs. anywhere, calm.Mostrobberiesare stay wild. pretty whenthingscangetFriday paynights daypack. It’s pretty simple–inthemainareas where (www.travel.state.gov) (www.voyage.gc.ca/dest/index bilum lonelyplanet.com ratherthan a Bldg, 3rd fl, 313, 4-28 Mita 1-Chome, Minato-Ku, Minato-Ku, 1-Chome, Bldg, 3rdfl,313,4-28Mita Tokyo) ( canberra.org; 39-41ForsterCres, Yarralumla); 8, 320 Adelaide St, Brisbane, 8, 320AdelaideSt,Brisbane, Qld 4001) Corinthian Plaza,PaseoCorinthian deRozasCnr, Makati) ID. Thisdiscountappliestothefullfare only, Student (ISIC)anduniversityIdentity Card under 26whohave avalidInternational Air Niuginioffers a25%discounttostudents lonelyplanet.com Australia All embassies are inPortMoresby. NEW GUINEA EMBASSIES &CONSULATES INPAPUA USA UK Honiara) Solomon Islands Philippines New Zealand Malaysia Japan Indonesia Fiji Av deTervuren 430,1150 Brussels) Belgium Australia CONSULATES PAPUA NEWGUINEAN EMBASSIES & include thefollowing: Diplomaticrepresentationclosed. abroad manyofback saw PNG’sforeign missions A roundof belt-tightening afew years Papua NewGuinea EMBASSIES &CONSULATES Gardens is an example. student discounts–PortMoresby’s Botanical p306 . see it maywellbecheaper oneof – touse those and withAirNiugini’snewexcursion fares 1779 Massachusetts Ave,1779 Massachusetts NW,Washington DC 20036) Honorary Consul www.embassy.gov.au/pg.html; GodwitSt,Waigani); Government Bldgs, Suva) Jakarta); Jakarta); .id; 6thfl,Panin Sudirman1, BankCentre, JalanJendral .wasantara.net.id; Jalan Serui No .wasantara.net.id; JalanSerui 8, Jayapura) Lingkunga ThantAmpang,Kuala Lingkunga Lumpur) 279 WillisSt, Wellington) Mataram Mataram St, Lae) DSON CARDS DISCOUNT % ( The very inPNGoffers occasionalsight ( % ( % 07-3221 7915; [email protected]; Level 11,Suite 07-3221 7915;[email protected]; % ( % 0207-930 0922;14WaterlooPl,London SW1R 4AR) 330 4244; [email protected]; POBox2447, 330 4244;[email protected]; Jayapura ( 202-745 3680;www.pngembassy.org;Suite805, (

High Commission Canberra %

% Jakarta 03-3454 7801; fax 03-3454 7275; Mita Kokusai Kokusai 03-3454 7801;fax7275;Mita ( % (Map (Map p75 ; ( 02-779 0609; [email protected]; 02-779 0609;[email protected]; 03-4257 5405;fax6203;11 % ( ( % 02-811 3465; [email protected]; 02-811 3465;[email protected]; ( ( % DIRECTORY ••DiscountCards DIRECTORY % % 04-385 2474;[email protected]; 967-531250; kundudjj@jayapura 021-725 1218;[email protected] 20561; fax20562;POBox1109, 02-6273 3322;www.png % Mp p77 ; (Map 472 2466; Trukai Industries, Industries, 472 2466;Trukai % 325 9333; Brisbane Nw York) New Cuthbertson Cuthbertson St, Town) St,Waigani) Kiroki Vanimo); Kirakawa-cho, Z-Chome, Shyoda-ku, Kirakawa-cho, Tokyo) Mendana Mendana Ave) City Centre Bldg, Mendana City Centre Bldg,Mendana Ave) Honiara) 27429; [email protected]; BJSAgencies Limited, House, KunaiSt, Hohola) solomon.com.sb; City Centre Bldg, Mendana solomon.com.sb; CityCentre Bldg,Mendana Ave) state.gov; Douglas St, Town) USA ConsularAgent UK Papua NewGuinea New Zealand Japan France &Germany EU Australia Honiara. All foreign embassiesandconsulates are in SOLOMON ISLANDS EMBASSIES &CONSULATES INTHE USA Japan EU Australia following: the includes Solomon Islandsdiplomaticrepresentation CONSULATES SOLOMON ISLANDSEMBASSIES& Solomon Islands USA UK Solomon Islands New Zealand Japan Indonesia France Saru Bldg, Ashley St) Mendana Mendana Ave) Edourd 17,1040Brussels, Belgium) NSW,2600); Deakin, http://solomon.emb.gov.au; JAABldg,19NapierClose, S, Waigani) St, .britishhighcommission.gov.uk/papuanewguinea; Kiroki dg.com.pg; Magani Cres,dg.com.pg; Magani Waigani) Champion Pde, Town) Sydney 8531 1955;1SouthbankBlvd,Melbourne, 3006); Victoria Victoria Rd,Darlinghurst,NSW,2010) Victoria ( (Map (Map p75 ; ( ( % % ( (Map p77 ; % % ( ( ( p75; (Map (Map (Map p75 ; % % % 02-732 7085; [email protected]; Ave02-732 7085;[email protected]; 22765; [email protected];CityCentre Bldg, 21705; [email protected]; Telekom House, Embassy 212-599 6192; 800 Second Ave,212-599 6192;800Second Suite8008, ( High Commission,Canberra

% Consulate 02-9361 5866;fax5066;Level 5,376 22953; fax21006;NPFBldg) 03-5275 0515;fax222-59595960;16-15 % (Map (Map p75 ; % ( 21561; fax 23691; Mud AlleySt) 21561; fax23691;Mud % Mp p77; (Map % 325 1677,emergency6831627;www % (Map (Map p75 ; 321 1455;ConsularPortMoresby@ 21502/21503; fax223777;nzhicom@ Melbourne ( ( 321 1800; 1st fl, Cuthbertson House, 321 1800;1stfl,Cuthbertson % ( % ( 321 5550;12thfl,Pacific Pl, % % % 857 1371;fax 1373; 22588; fax23887;Tradcooffice, 20561; fax20562;Anthony % 23426, mobile94731;fax % ( 325 9444;nzhcpom@ % 325 3544;fax0535; 323 4333;Unit3,GB 03-8531 1000;fax03- ( % 02-6282 7030;

293 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY June dancing and singing. June. CelebratedallovertheSolomonswithmarching, over thecountryare displayed in Rabaul. race. yacht inBrisbane-to-Gizo coincide withthefirstboatsarriving resumed in 2006. theethnictensionsbut cancelled forsomeyearsafter see striking Malangan art displayed enmassein art Malangan see striking Kavieng. Malagan Festival Malagan Festival National Mask Festival Gulf Mask events. modern Show Moresby Port Show Cultural Wahgi and dancing. Tufi Show Cultural Whit Monday FestivalSpear-Fighting Festival oftheSea Vakatepe Yacht Race Brisbane-to-Gizo Festival Gogodala Canoe National Fishing Titles April and crocodile conservation. topromote communitytourism region perform the Sepik Ambunti CrocodileFestival March worth watching out for. alsoHolidays( See opposite ) forotherdates .visitsolomons.com.sb Check toes!). from monthto(justkeep usonour on theyearlysocialcalendarsometimesmove someoffind them.Andeven thebigger events to you’ll have todependonword-of-mouth withnofixedlocal affairs yearlyschedule, so singsings but usuallyonlybyafew days.Many smaller ends, sothedates change fromyeartoyear, Most showsand festivals are heldonweek- FESTIVALS &EVENTS 294 July trad itional masksinToare VillagenearKerema. May withcanoeraces ince, hoststhisannualevent and feasting. inWesternProv- the vastfloodplainsofAramiaRiver Highlands showsinthecalendaryear.Highlands day event on Santa Catalina Island in Makira onSantaCatalinaIslandinMakira day event Province. Reelin’ in the big ones off Port inthebigonesoffPort Reelin’ Moresby. IETR • Fsias&Eet ••Festivals &Events DIRECTORY (celebratoryfestivals), are however, (SI) Eighth Monday after Easter–May/ (SI)EighthMondayafter www.pngtourism.com (PNG) Mid-July. A rare opportunity to to (PNG) Mid-July. Arare opportunity (PNG) Mid-June. Spectacular display of displayof (PNG) Mid-June. Spectacular (PNG)EarlyJune. (PNG) Mid-June. Traditionaland (PNG)EarlyJune. Thefirstofthe formore precise dates. (PNG)First weekofApril. (PNG) Mid-July. Masks from all (PNG)Mid-July. Masks (SI) New moon in May. Atwo- (SI)NewmooninMay. (PNG) Late April. Balimo,on (PNG)LateApril. (PNG)Culturalgroupsfrom (SI) Early May. Thiswas (SI)EarlyMay. (SI) Mid-May. Timed (SI)Mid-May. to Singsings and , feasting www from theprovinceandbeyondracing to Alotau. end inNovember. festival withsailingcanoes Aspectacular November singsing Highlands ber. celebrationsonthecoastnorth Harvest of Madang. Haus comealivewiththousandsoforchids. Moresby’s Parliament end inAugust.ThegroundsofPort September clansfortheyear. ofHighlands gathering A event. spectacular August Takesfire dancersperform. placeinKokopoor in Rabaul. the seafromcanoesatdawntodance. Atnight,Baining Dukduks Kundiawa SimbuShow Festival Culture Kalam MoaleFestival Hiri Show Goroka Show Agricultural Bargam Festival &Mambu National Garamut Mt HagenShow OrchidSpectacular International FestivalWarwagira to Melanesian menandtheir homophobia thelawisrarely,though enforced.Talk ifever, illegal inbothPNG andtheSolomons,al- And that’spretty is gutsy–homosexuality ing ambiguousabout orientation. theirsexual strident orprovocative aboutit,there’s noth- Melanesian menandwhiletheymaynotbe effeminate daysyoudosee themselves. These years have more been prepared toexpress It’s quiet noticeable thatgaymeninrecent GAY &LESBIANTRAVELLERS PNG and the Solomons,see p64 . For informationoneatingandeateries in FOOD Festival BayKundu &Canoe Milne Morobe Show singsing October piercing andbride-price payments. nose maleinitiationrites, featuring a traditionalevent ber. outpost, is Thefestival atSimbai,atinyHighlands Moresby celebratesthehugePapuanPort trading canoes. music and dance. oftraditional event September. Wewakhoststhiscolourful and ofclansintraditionaldress plans around.Ahugegathering bilas oftheyear,goesoff in Lae. and agricultural andagricultural show. and (finery). singsing tumbuans (PNG)Mid-September. Thisis (PNG)LateOctober. This,thefinalbig (PNG) Late August. The first really big (PNG)LateAugust.Thefirstreally big and well worth adjustingyourtravel andwellworth (PNG)Mid-September. Thisfestival in (PNG)First twoweeksofJuly. (masked forest spirits) comeoutof forest spirits) (masked (PNG)ThirdweekofSeptem- (PNG) EarlyOctober. Traditional (PNG)First weekofSeptem- lonelyplanet.com (PNG) First week- (PNG) First week- (PNG)Early the big and Easter Monday. Any local ‘gay scene’ that exists is closeted Any local‘gayscene’thatexistsiscloseted public, butthere mustbesomearound. local womenprepared to‘flytheflag’in any We’veand homosexuality). notseen there are strongtraditionsof trans-genderism is quite palpable (unlike inPolynesiawhere lonelyplanet.com (reverse charges) to acentre inyourhome Somepolicies askyouto callback mentation. to claimlater make sure youkeep alldocu- pay onthespotand claimlater. Ifyouhave directlyor hospitals ratherthanyouhaving to trekking. and tentially ‘dangerous activities’such asdiving Read thesmallprinttocheck itcovers po- agents often knowwhich ismostsuitable. is awide variety of policiesavailable andtravel Thereloss andmedicalproblemsisessential. away, atravel insurancepolicytocover theft, help isoften anexpensive helicopter ride Especially inPNGandtheSolomons,where INSURANCE Day Boxing Day Christmas PNG IndependenceDay Solomon IslandsIndependenceDay Queen’s Birthday Day National Remembrance Easter New Year’s Day Solomons unless stated. otherwise national holidaysapplytobothPNGandthe ticularly ChristmasandEaster. Thefollowing is hardertofindduringholidaytimes,par- occasion. Like anywhere, accommodation and there isusuallya government day(usuallyaFridayorMonday) here, each province hasitsownprovincial In additiontothenationalholidayslisted HOLIDAYS quite natural in Melanesian societies. that’scommonand friendliness andaffection understand –thisissimplyanexpression of women andmenwithmen.Butdon’tmis- as theywalkdownthestreet –womenwith reprehensible for years. ismorally ing theideathathomosexuality given thatthechurches have reinforc- been Melanesian society. This ishardlysurprising underground. and You might preferYou might apolicy thatpaysdoctors manylocalpeopleholdhands You’ll see isfarfromatopicalissuein Homosexuality March/April, variable dates. Includes Good Friday dates. IncludesGoodFriday variable March/April, 26December 25December 1January Second Friday ofJune Friday Second DIRECTORY ••Holidays DIRECTORY 16 September (PNGonly) 16September singsing 23 April (PNGonly) 23April tomarkthe 7July(SIonly) that there’s noreason why you’ll bestopped. block shouldn’t be aconcernandasidefrom ble withpolice. Theoccasional after-dark road Visitors toPNGhave littlereason tofear trou- LEGAL MATTERS connected tothe whole world. isolated communitiesontheplanet–canstay of theSolomonIslands–someof themost tached toamodemthemostremote parts laptop computer andashort-wave radioat- internet connectivity.Withasolar-powered Network shortwave radiosignals.The internet technology interprets thatdigitally attheforefronthas been of aninnovative about S$18toS$30perhour. TheSolomons a terminal inthelocalTelekom office) charge to computer youcanuse get online. a growingnumberof midrange placeshave a K15 toK40perhour. Alltop-endhotels and each major towncharge anythingbetween size, butslowlymore are opening up. of internet cafésyou’dexpectforacityof its Moresby nothave does theviralproliferation tle furtheradvancedininternet ideology.Port alit- nals thanPortMoresby andseems does, of the major towns. Broadband isfinallybeingrolledouttosome numbingly slowconnectionsanddrop-outs. will likely beafrustratingonewith mind- experience of theinformationsuper highway concessionstothe21stcenturyyour these Moresby, HoniaraandGizo. with Buteven of thebetter hotels andtrendy cafésinPort offers even office wi-fi bythehour,asdoafew nection) inahotel. Honiara’smainTelekom con- access withanRJ-45cable(viaaLAN carrying yourownlaptopyoucanget internet resorts. Inmore andmore placesifyou’re major citiesandafew expensive hotels and infrastructure there isnointernet outsidethe tive shortwave internet. Like pretty much all Solomons isattheforefront of aninnova- internet-aware the countriesaround,though PNG andtheSolomonsare twoof theleast INTERNET ACCESS an emergency (medivac) flight home. your problem is made. country where of animmediate assessment Check thatthepolicycovers ambulancesor In theSolomons,internet cafés(often just In PNG,theoneortwointernet cafésin Honiara hasfarmore internet cafétermi- (www.peoplefirst.net.sb) provides text-only People First

295 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY when you arrive. Thetopographic maps in PortMoresbycollect them fromtheoffice Way, Waigani) Melanesian .lands.gov.pg/Services/National_Mapping_Bureau; the more maps,you’re detailed tocontact advised the pickof the two. New Guinea in PNGaswell.More recent isITMB’s is themostcommon,andreadily available New Guinea at yourlocalbookstore. Hema Maps’ available online,ifnotnecessarily topurchase There are two maps of PNGthatshould be the publicthat managedand haseven toconvincemuch of ment takes very itsanti-drugstance seriously, more prevalent inthelastdecade. Thegovern- by buyingmarijuana,which hasbecomemuch for their fuel. police togoanywhere topay need youmight plied whena tohearofsurprised swiftjusticebeingap- Police frustrationiscommon,anddon’tbe the numberof crimessolved ispiteously low. and out-motivated bygangsof lice have out-numbered, been out-gunned crime perpetrated againstyou.Foryears po- don’t expectthemtodomuch aboutany lice are friendly!) courteous (even enough deferential. be and theretobenootheroption.Always seems least notuntilyou’ve times refused several asked forabribeandshouldn’t offer one,at If bychance youare, you’re unlikely tobe 296 by smokingtoo much weed! they have whippedintoaviolentfrenzy been MAPS Unfortunately, whilemostpo- however, If you’re planningontrekking, orjustwant Travellers couldattractunwanted attention For therecord: COMING OFAGE

National Mapping Bureau Bureau National Mapping Tolegallybuyalcoholyoumustbe18. Heterosexual sexislegalatage16in Youcandrive legallyatage18(torent The legalvotingageinPNGandthe IETR • Mp ••Maps DIRECTORY PNG and15intheSolomons. a caryoumustbe25). Solomons is18. , orderthemapsyou wantandthen (1:2,600,000) 2ndEdition(1992) raskol (1:2,000,000). Thisisprobably raskols is caught. If you need the Ifyouneed iscaught. do their thing because dotheirthingbecause (NMB;

% raskols, 327 6223;www Papua Papua Papua Papua and (1:1,200,000), and ordinance survey maps (1:1,200,000), andordinancesurvey currency forkina orSolomondollars atthe not to put all your eggs inonebasket.not toputallyoureggs Credit travellers cheques anditpays willallbeuseful, creditapproach tomoney.Cash, cardsand country, travelling inPNGrequires adiverse Perhaps appropriately forsuch adiverse MONEY the whole country. /png_maps/index_png_maps.htm) pp252-3; (Map &Housing offices;the Lands of theSolomonsare available atMinistryof Boroko; BellPlaza, 1stfl,Brian [email protected], at the reproducedbeen manytimesandisavailable of the KokodaTrail Track, theNMB’s years. Ifyouare planningtowalktheKokoda the Solomonstend tomove aroundover the old mapsbeaware thatvillages inPNGand Port Moresby isyourbestbet.Whenreading in mapsbutthehelpfuloffice these also sell departments the provincial andSurvey Lands stock, outof paperoroutof date. Someof country covered they’re though often outof 1:100,000 and1:250,000.Theyhave thewhole range 1:50,000, inscalefrom1:2000through or theSolomons. You’llbe get theInterbank rate withbanks inPNG exchange rates, butbeaware thatyouwon’t verter, forcalculatingup-to-date isuseful .com/convert/classic) cover) forexchange rates. banana leaves withpatterns incised on them. carrying womenintheTrobriand Islands You’ll see and leafmoney,are stilloccasionallyused. more. cost in thelocalcurrency justmeansthatthings isimported,Since almosteverything theslide rateup tothesame aslocalcurrency falls. inflation totake pricesof goodsandservices value againstmajor currencies. Butexpect Islands dollarhave asteady declinein seen fully reliant on cash. to need thetrackbeforego toofaroff you’re cards are increasingly accepted, butyoudon’t See theQuickReferenceSee (inside front Traditional currencies, such asshellmoney Both thePNGkinaandSolomon Finally, the Hema Maps publishes h Kokoda TrackAuthority 8.30am-4.30pm Mon-Fri). doba ( % Ex Kiap website Ex Kiap 21511) leaf money),which isdried , theonlinecurrency con- Longitudinal CrossLongitudinal Section hasmost of them. (1995) isvery It’s useful. hasmapscovering Mp p77; (Map

Solomon Islands (www.exkiap.net/other

selling Oanda lonelyplanet.com Honiara branch

% yourlocal (www.oanda 325 1887;

branches allowyoutowithdrawcashagainst Credit cardsare accepted inmosttop-endand PAPUA NEWGUINEA ATMs &CreditCards attractive. less ‘typical cashrate’ which issomeincrements lonelyplanet.com small purchases andPMV ridesanditwon’t small purchases have change cashfor for K50.You’llneed Peopleis important. are cash-poorandwon’t banknotes –thecolours are even the same. are plasticandlookvery similartoAustralian of village animals,thepig.Mostbanknotes features anillustration of thatmostvaluable onthenotes, too.emphasised The K20note connection totraditionalformsof wealthis the namesof traditionalshell moneyandthis ( is dividedinto100toea PNG’s currency isthekina( PAPUA NEWGUINEA Cash with Rennellnextoff the blocks. Tulagi, Munda,KiraKira,Taro andBuala, writing ANZATMs were in beinginstalled well asAuki,GizoandNoro. Atthetimeof Westpac banksinHoniara’smainstrip,as tourists. There are ATMs attheANZand tels andmost restaurants andstores thatsee Major credit cardsare accepted inlarger ho- SOLOMON ISLANDS tional networks. ATMs, butthey’re stillnotlinked tointerna- your credit cardover the counter. should beable toget acashadvanceagainst machines are broken, headinsideandyou ing solelyongetting moneythisway.Ifthe itisdangerousnetworks, though toberely- are linked totheCirrus,Maestro andPlus issue cash.BothANZandWestpacmachines machines arerience these farmore likely to more ATMs thanWestpac,andinourexpe- orMasterCard.your Visa ANZhasmany /atmlocations.asp) at only those often incuran additional charge. not sowidelyaccepted. Credit-card payments favourites, withAmex,JCB and Diners Club larger andMasterCard cities.Visa are the rants andstores inPortMoresby andother many midrange hotels, andinafew restau- Bank SouthPacificBank (BSP)hasplentyof ATMs are fairlycommonincities,but In remote areas, having smallbills enough and ANZ DIRECTORY ••Photography DIRECTORY

(www.anz.com/png/importantinfo Westpac

toy (www.westpac.com.au) kee -ah). Bothare -nah), which

noon & 1-4pm Mon-Fri, noon &1-4pmMon-Fri, 8.30am-11.30am Sat). you’ll have ahardtime findinganinternet café ing some sortof as storage portable device, If you’re it’s worthbring- shooting digital tobringyourownslidefilm. but you’llneed for arollof 36 inPNG)iswidelyavailable worth of memory.Negative film(aboutK17 easily burndozens of rollsof film,orgigabytes Youcould could endupacareer highlight. are andshooting aculturalshow justthestart, The stunningnaturalcolours and locations are pretty toa close photographer’s nirvana. Papua NewGuineaand theSolomonIslands PHOTOGRAPHY and Thomas Cook. Amex cheques. Visa, FortheSolomons,use ion) applyingheftycharges forchanging your the banks(intypicalAustralian-bank fash- it willtake ages. Itwillcostabit too, withall major chances towninPNG,although are You canchange travellers cheques inevery Travellers Cheques be expected to pay. the Solomons.Thelisted priceiswhatyou’ll Tipping isnotcustomaryanywhere inPNGor Tipping not. is cluded inthequoted rate, asquite often it worth askingyourhotel whetherthisisin- actions inbothPNGandtheSolomons.It’s sometimes calledGST) ontopof mosttrans- There (VAT, isa 10% valueaddedtax and Taxes Honiara postoffice facility intheSolomonsisacounter inthe ing/per_western_union.htm agents, see Pacific branches thatare Western Union by Western Union.Foralistof South Bank The easiestwaytotransfer moneytoPNGis International Transfers towns. bigger plenty of smallnotes forwhenyouleave the dollar (S$).As inPNG,besure tohave The localcurrency istheSolomonIslands’ SOLOMON ISLANDS that WWII relic. hurt togive achild akinaforshowing you Western Union’s onemoney-exchange www.bsp.com.pg/personal_bank

( % 24474; Mendana Ave;24474; Mendana . h

297 8am- DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY can usually rely onyourmailorparcels get- PNG hasanefficient andyou service postal Papua NewGuinea POST Travel Photography a maleelder. Formore LonelyPlanet’s tips see withoutaskingpermission from spirit house) camera inorat,a nerve to argue. K20 ormore inpayment.Itwouldtake some angry, heavily demanding armedHighlander a price,youmaywellfindyourself facingan without getting permission andestablishing action. Ifyou’ve goneaheadandtaken aphoto no reason whytheyshouldn’tget someof the make moneyoutof theirexoticphotosandsee are aware thatWestern photographers can photographed –K10isapopularprice. People requesttional style,might paymentiftheyare taken of them. when youshowpeopletheimages you’ve just you’llgetshooting ondigital agreat reaction ask thevendor forapicture. topose Ifyou’re better tobuysomethingatamarket andthen people canget alittletesty about this.It’s andMtHagencities –PortMoresby, Lae –as especially aroundthemarkets of thebigger before shoving acamerainsomeone’sface, be careful nonetheless,andaskpermission foryou,particularlyat to pose goingoutofbe photographed,even theirway faces. featureless underexposurebackground cancause –black thecontrastwithalight-colouredotherwise ferent rules:aflashisalmostanimperative, dark-skinned peoplealsorequires somedif- where itcanbepretty dim.Photographing greater) ifyou’llbeanywhere inthejungle, faster film–ISO400or still camera(oruse said. Enough underwater camera,preferably withalight. ofa series uppercutsiftheyarrive withoutan up excess moisture. rain. Silicagel sachets are handyforsoaking pissingall yourgear downwith whenitstarts large, tohold sturdyplasticbagbigenough acleaningkitand and, mostimportantly, and burntoaCD.Alsobringbatteries, cables (or thelike) where youcandownloadimages 298 Use ISOratingsonyourdigital higher Never Some people,usuallymendressed intradi- You’ll findpeopleare generally happyto Divers should considergivingthemselves IETR • Ps ••Post DIRECTORY take aphotographof, pointa oreven haus tambaran . singsings (oranyother . But to reach Australia. able butslow–aletter takes abouttwoweeks systemEurope. isreli- TheSolomonspostal S$2.60totheUSAandS$3 Zealand, under 50gcostS$1.90toAustraliaandNew In theSolomonsaerogramscostS$3.Letters Solomon Islands applies in the Solomons. thing, ratherthanastreet address. Thesame book alladdresses are listed asPOBox some- PO Box. Hence whenyoulookinthephone businesshasa andevery PNG, soeveryone surface mailtotheUSA or Europe. of theworld.Allowatleastthree months for and USA,K540/841tomostof therest K290/313 toAustralia,K540/585theUK and hardabout thecostof postingithome– 20kg skullrack,butyou’llbethinkinglong sive that andimpetuouswhenyoubought feeling impul- countries. Youmight’ve been Australia, ranginguptoK200/351forother age costssurfacemail/airmailK135/158to the Pacific, K5.35everywhere a5kgpack- else; cards upto50gcostK3.35Australiaand ternational aerogramcostsK2.60.Letters or the larger oneswillbemore reliable. Anin- is poste restante though inmostpostoffices, ifittakesting home,even quite awhile. There ( p81 ( ), Lae p133 ) and Wewak( p183 ), but as off passed ebony. high-quality sometimes inferior timbers are blackened and inthetimber– andfeel theweight the details how welltherecesses are finished.Lookat defttouches andsee but lookforthecarver’s widely thatgeneral rulesare hardtoestablish around thecountryisgoingtobe a hassle. ging more thanoneortwounwieldyartefacts easy toget homeinyourluggage, butlug- and artefacts. rather thanarmfulsof smallinferior carvings hundred costseveral even kina–it might is tobuyonegoodpieceyoureally like – take home. Thebestadvicetoshoppers wonderful artefacts andcraftobjectsto text, opposite ), butthere isnoshortage of perhaps, forahandsome out inthelatest designeroutfits(except, to buyahi- tech newcameraorkityourself You’re not comingtoPNGortheSolomons SHOPPING There are goodstores inPortMoresby Note thatthere delivery isnopostal in The style of carving andartefacts variesso The styleof carving Bilums and Highland hatsareand Highland koteka; lonelyplanet.com see boxed lonelyplanet.com they’d be prepared toaccept. Where we can they’d like toreceive and thelowpriceiswhat Perhaps priceiswhat itmeansthatthe high gives theelementoftainly theseller surprise. strategy whennegotiating a priceandcer- one andlowerone. Thisisaninteresting you’re interested inhastwoprices–onehigh that anitemists willexplainattheoutset this ‘modern’ideaof bargaining someart- offensive. highly toreducework inaneffort theprice–thisis doisdemeanthequalityofshould never the comeata‘thirdprice’ifasked.even Whatyou to beingasked price’,andmight fora‘second piece forK250.Maybe. Someartistsare used they askK300,youoffer K200andyouget the and workuptoahalf’maxim,it’smore like work. Butforget abouttheold‘offer onethird too offended ifyoumake alowerbidfortheir gaining tosomedegree sowillprobably notbe Moresby’s markets) willhave experiencedbar- todealingwithWesternersused (egatPort should beOK.Forexample,artistswhoare finitive advice,butifyoutread sensitively you a rathergrey area andimpossibletogive de- of society,souvenir shopping beingone. It’s tocreep starting intosomeaspects is, however, to cutyourcostsmuch Bargaining byhaggling. Melanesian culture sodon’texpect tobeable There is no traditionof bargaining in Bargaining artefacts Australian through customs. mation about getting PNGandSolomons a good story. and notonlygives youafuzzyfeeling, butalso buying direct fromtheartistisusuallycheaper Having hadtorecently cometoterms with See CustomsRegulations, See p291 forinfor- before decidingwhichtobuy. and comeinallmannerofsizes, soifyou’re buyingoneforpersonaluse youcantryafew on men.They’restill wornbymanyHighland shops light,readily availableinmost traditionalartefact gage. Atraditionalmaskwithreal boar’steeth andtusks?Itwouldfrighten smallchildren. canoe prowwithatraditional ings? Butyouknowhowitisthesedayswithlethalweaponsandcarry-onluggage. ASolomons’ be atrendy additiontoyourinterior décorbackhome. Butthey’re heavyandhardtofind. wayto displaytheskullsofyourancestorsandvanquishedenemies,woulddefinitelyand practical that comefrom?’The skull rack, fashionableinhomesaroundtheGulfcountryasaconvenient You canseeitnow…’GeeBill,that’samightyfineskullrackyou’ve gotthere. Whichvillagedid BIZARRE SOUVENIRS No, wereckon youshouldn’tleave PNGwithouta Perhaps you’d prefer acassowarythigh-bone dagger,etchedwithtraditionalSepiktribalmark- DIRECTORY ••SoloTravellers DIRECTORY nguzunguzu carving? Bigandunwieldyhardtofitinyourlug- carving? more information, see p304 . precautions youshould be fine. screwed onandtake theusual commonsense to get around.Assuming you’ve gotyour head rambling fromvillage tovillage isa great way especially rewarding formaletravellers and traveller. solo forthe placescanbesafe enough these even numbers’, butwithsometraveller smarts and MtHagen thegoldenruleis‘safety in you thatincitiessuch asPortMoresby, Lae have anoutsider.never seen willtell Expats months anddiscover communitiesthatmay well prepared todropout,goferal forafew could benogreater adventure forsomeone there analarm.Thatsaid, long timetoraise ble insomeof placesit could take a these nearest medicalhelp.Ifyouget intotrou- travellers awayfromthe andcanbeweeks are extremely remote literally no –theysee their own.Parts of PNGandtheSolomons ible journeys that theyundertake all on letters from travellers whodescribeincred- is potentially ariskybusiness, butweget Travelling aloneinPNGandtheSolomons accommodation. village could tryyourluckinhotels, butnotin where they’re very andyou honestindeed), notinHoniaratheSolomons,(though toalimitedare extent tohaggling used SL TRAVELLERS SOLO for his kids.) few beable tobuyshoes kina?Theguymight the and paytheseller we like towrest backthatelementof surprise Women don’thave itquite sogood.For Outside thecitiesthissortof travel canbe koteka Elsewhere in society, taxi driversElsewhere insociety,taxi inPNG . Koteka are traditionalpenisgourds higher price!(What’sa

299 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY start-up kitwasK335 whileDigicel introduced start-up a PNGTelikom mobile phones.Thecostofleast) couldafford grassroots people (inthemajor centres at take-up wasenormous. Forthefirst time offering cheap andcallrates. The handsets moved quickly, launching inearly2007and erations. phone carriers. GreenCom op- isyet tostart GreenCom were asmobile issuedlicenses shemozzle.PNG istotal In2005Digiceland The situationregarding mobile telephony in PHONES MOBILE page costinga further K2. the worldcostsK8/9/10witheach additional aone-page faxtoAustralia/Pacific/restsend of one page, K6fortwopages (andsoon).To a faxfrompostoffice withinPNGisK5for in telephone directories. Thecostof sending modation bookings.Fax numbers are listed wayofthey canbeauseful makingaccom- faxessend forafew frompostoffices kinaand where emailisstillinitsinfancy.Youcan Kwik piksaleta FAX below). (see formobile phonecarriersissued twolicenses really kookyin2005whenthegovernment owned entityafter all.Thenthingsgot PNG Telikom wouldremain agovernment- Africa. ThePNGgovernment decidedthat fied millionsof kinatogohomeSouth out legalbattle,paidEconetWireless unspeci- reneged ontheagreement and,after adrawn- after much vacillation, thePNGgovernment tions company.InDecemberof thatyear, Wireless, aSouthAfricantelecommunica- 2004 anagreement wasreached withEconet the government-owned PNGTelikom. InJuly try again later.’ fills quickly–theautomated‘please voicesays as thelimited numberof international lines PNG. Diallingoutof PNGcanbeproblematic of getting aline. There are noarea codesin carious. Inlarger centres there’s noguarantee that linkmanytownsandvillages are alsopre- rare. The complex networksof relay stations country aworkingtelephone lineispretty reliable andin the more remote partsof the Telecommunications inPNGcanbevery un- Papua NewGuinea TELEPHONE &FAX 300 In 2001there were moves afoottoprivatise IETR • Tlpoe&Fx ••TelephoneDIRECTORY &Fax Digicel (fax) isstillpretty biginPNG,

B-Mobile (www.digicelpng.com) (www.pacificmobile.com.pg)

, however, 20 elections. 2007 the Somare government returned intheJuly as oneof themostimmediate challenges for B-Mobile. one two we were inPNGmanypeoplewere carrying make overseas calls.As when aconsequence, couldonlyringotherDigicelmobilesor set phone dialaDigicelphone. ADigicelhand- number withinPNG.NorcouldaB-Mobile Mobile (‘Feel oralandline theBuzz’)handset More, More’) couldnotringaB- Get handset mobile network.Thatis,aDigicel(‘Expect networks uncommunicative withtheDigicel Telikom rendered itsfixed-line andmobile time mobile-phone users. the people,includinghuge numbers of first- Digicel there wouldbeamassive outcryfrom ing wasthatifthegovernment moved against butahugelicense market share, and thefeel- of hadnooperating writingDigicelofficially tried tokickitoutof thecountry.Attime itgranted toDigicelandoperating license rippedoff they’d obviously been until now. ing intheletters pages of thenewspapers that its pricesonlytofindsubscribers complain- kit.B-Mobile slashing started a K89start-up everyone has aTelikad.everyone TheTelikad hasa into aphone. tobe inserted Almost that needs phones, butpeople rarely buyaphonecard Most PNGcities have phonecard public PHONECARDS & TELIKAD the PNGphone book. thefrontofFor afulllistof phonecodes,see To callaHFradiophone Ships atsea chargecallsfrompayphones Reverse chargecallsfromotherphones Reverse assistance PNG directory assistance International directory Dialling outsidePNG % domestic calls.PNG’sinternational codeis are nolocaltelephone codesforlong-distance There are so few phonesinPNGthatthere PHONE CODES erage beingexpandedas we speak. major centres inthePNGprovinces withcov- Resolving this ridiculous situation was seen Resolving thisridiculoussituationwasseen Digicel,PNGIn anattempt tounseat There’s mobile-phonecoverage inallthe In July2007thegovernment revoked the 675. Some other codes: mobile phones – one Digicel handset and mobilephones–oneDigicelhandset % 300 4646 % % % 05 019 013 % % 0178 lonelyplanet.com % 0176 016 phone, includinganytypeof publicphone, Just dial to use. the K5cardishard to find. nominations of K5,K10,K20andK50,but 12-digit codeonthebackandcomesinde- lonelyplanet.com and 6pm the previous dayin LosAngeles. There London, 9pm theprevious dayinNew York will benooninSydney, 9aminJakarta, 2am in of UTC (GMT). When it’snooninPNGit The PNGis10hourstime throughout ahead TIME above . see Islands. Forinformationonsatellite phones, erected all the time. Auki, withnewpolesandrelays being inHoniara,Gizoand mobile phoneservice is connected to.through S$7.50 perminute regardless of where thecall try code. All international callsare charged at out of theSolomonssimplydial they mustbecollected by the customer. cheaper. Telekom willalsoreceive faxes, but via Telekom offices. Yourhotel doit might phonecard. Faxes internationally canbesent national callisfromapublicphoneusing variety; thecheapest wayof makinganinter- asthePNG‘punch-in-the-number’the same comeindenominationsofCards S$10andare Solomon Telekom isthemostreliable supplier. larger centres andphonecardswidelyavailable; Public phonesare reasonably commonin Solomon Islands Aces isafairbitcheaper, but less reliable. The compatiblephoneismadebyEricsson. national.com) phone; and .com) functioning networks: In PNGandtheSolomonsthere are two SATELLITE PHONES PNG. around thelastofseded thecoin-operated payphones you’re though even paying for it. most hotels willstillcharge youK1forthecall, in hotels, callsas butonlyforlong-distance then yournumber. Telikads are great forusing then 1forEnglish, your12-digitcodeand Telikads are widelyavailable andeasy There are noarea codesintheSolomon The SolomonsIDDcodeis Solomon Telekom offers its‘Breeze’ GSM The phonecardsystem hasallbutsuper- , which is worldwide and uses aMotorola , which isworldwideanduses which onlycovers partsof Asia. Aces DIRECTORY ••Time DIRECTORY

(Asia CellularSatellite;www.acesinter % 123 from Iridium % any %

677. Toring (www.iridium 01 +coun- fixed-line tourism.gov.pg) international officescanbeaccessedfrom the website. paigns, butthewebsitehasusefulinfoandlinks. Afew cam- Focusesonmarketing www.pngtourism.org.pg) .visitsolomons.com.sb) likely tohave lifts (elevators). istent andonlythe mostupmarket hotels are travellers. Access rampsare virtuallynonex- structure tocater for of theneeds disabled PNG andtheSolomons have littleinfra- TRAVELLERS WITHDISABILITIES Bureau Solomon IslandsVisitors PromotionAuthority PNG Tourism It’swelldesignedand Authority. informative. Promotion This istheall-newwebsiteofPNGTourism PNG Tourism Bureau Morobe Tourism BayTourism Milne Bureau &Cultural Visitors Madang around. Amongthemore useful: and take you there! direction; sometimesthey’lldropeverything genuinely happytopointyouintheright abar–anywhere.or guesthouse, Mostare locals; beitinthestreet, aPMV,hotel almost alwaysgathered bychatting withthe brochures. Instead, thebestinformation is style thathandoutmapsand tourist offices much inthe wayof organised, Western- In bothPNGandtheSolomonsthere isnot TOURIST INFORMATION the localsmight get shitty. take acrapinthevillageaccidentally garden place where peopleusuallydefecate; ifyou one. Even ifthere’s nothrone,there will bea lage andcan’tspytheloo,besure toasksome- that’s relatively extravagant. Ifyou’re inavil- ontopof that.And on top,andatoiletseat consisting of apitwithhollow palmtrunk remote villages findalong-drop youmight you’re sittingonisfarfromgold-plated. In Most toilets are often ‘thrones’,though what TOILETS putting alowpremium on punctuality. Melanesia (andalltheSouthPacific) of time’ atsomepoint,thehabitthroughout Solomon Islandsis11hours ahead of UTC. WorldTime Zones,pp350-1.Time See inthe saving (summertime)inPNG. is nodaylight morobe.org.pg) There are, of afew course, tourismoffices encounter ‘MelanesianYou willinevitably ( % 320 0211; www.png-tourism.com) 320 0211;www.png-tourism.com) ( % 641 1503;www.milnebay ( % 472 7823; www.tourism ( % ( ( % % 24; www 22442; 320 0211; 852 3302)

301 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY lowing websites: te leave. they and aK300customs clearancefee when (which inadvance) a visa must beobtained adequate fundsto support yourself. toshow onwardticketing need might and full 60days,asextending isanightmare. You Watching fees fortourist visas. this space. structions tochange itsprocedure of collect- Australia,wasasyetundernoin- Canberra, we inquired, Commission in thePNGHigh topromote when tourism.However, effort tention towaive inan thefee fortouristvisas Promotion Authoritywasadvertising itsin- www.pngcanberra.org/visas/visitor.htm). the costof isA$35(see atouristvisa diplomatic mission (see p293 ). InAustralia istoapplyatPNGa 60-daytouristvisa the mostreliable andstress-free waytoget process cantake hours. So,farandaway inces –thequeuescanbe outofflight PortMoresby into theprov- ifyouhavehowever connecting asame-day South Pacific. Thisprocesscanbefraught passport orluggage) tochange attheBank intothearrivalshall(withoutyourbe sent andyou’llinside immigrationcanbeclosed, random othertimestheexchange bureau live-in lover. Note thatonweekends orat immigration deskandBob’s youraunty’s your cashandonepassportphototothe money toget yourK100,filloutaform,take onceinsidetheterminalenough: change arrival attheairport.Theprocessissimple to get istoapplyon a60-daytouristvisa Far andawaytheeasiestcheapest way TOURIST VISAS Papua NewGuinea staying any visa. into PNGorthe Solomon Islands. at leastsixmonths beyondthedate of entry tionally recognised travel documentvalidfor Visitors musthave avalid passport orinterna- VISAS .sath.org) &Hospitality Society forAccessibleTravel Radar Source Access-Able Travel 302 For general informationcheck outthefol- People cominginby yacht pay K200for Wherever youapply,besure toaskforthe At thetimeof writingthePNG Tourism In PNGthere are heavy penaltiesforover- IETR • Vss ••Visas DIRECTORY (www.radar.org.uk) (www.access-able.com) very longandthe (www Strip, Waigani; Strip, gration section go totheDepartmentof Foreign Affairs’ one month,foraK200fee. Todoityourself, canbeextendedTourist visas onceonly,for VISA EXTENSIONS ists cost A$220). 5854, Boroko) Institute Research a specialapplicationformfromthe applicationswith ists mustsubmittheirvisa proval. Researchers, filmmakers andjournal- wait forspecialimmigrationdepartmentap- fee’) buttheissuingauthoritiesare required to (plusA$50‘transmission special A$25visa of Labour & Employment. Work Permit issued bythePNGDeparment of youremploymentcontractand acopyof a results, forapoliceclearance,copy details youmustprovidement visa, medical certain costs A$220.Ifyouare anemploy- seeking ofallows stays upto60dayseach timeand isvalidfor12monthsMultiple-Entry visa and months, early.ABusinessShort-Term sostart ofas details yourbusiness.Approval cantake andPNG,aswell frombusinesses) invitations ner of letters fromhome(including letters of requiresApplying forabusinessvisa allman- WORKING VISAS cially to Commonwealth, US andmostEU upon arrivaltomost nationalities,andespe- a three-month visitors permitisgranted areIn theory,entry visas notrequired as Solomon Islands der see p310 . down oncrossingtheVanimo–Jayapura bor- Moresby orVanimo (see p293 ). Forthelow- inPort forIndonesiacanbe bought Visas VISAS FORINDONESIA the save youalotof grief. Agents canbefoundin ports. Don’t bother. back toPortMoresby toretrieve theirpass- and having, of after weeks waiting,totrek bymailfromotherpartsofvisas thecountry lers do it faster. occasionallytravel- though one totwoweeks, takes avisa Extending terms with the staff. tle hordesof agents whoare onfirst-name If money is not too tight, usinganagentIf moneyisnottootight, will Stories aboundof travellers trying toextend Church andaidvolunteers canenter ona Yellow Pages . They cost A$25 (visas forjournal- . TheycostA$25(visas h ( % 9am-noon Mon-Fri)

under ‘Visa under‘Visa Services’. 323 2010;groundfl,MoaleHaus,Wards ( % 326 0300;fax3250531;POBox , where you’llbat- lonelyplanet.com National immi- a SolomonIslandsembassy( p293 ) before advicefrom countriesshouldseek from these subcontinent, NauruandKiribati.Nationals continuing communistcountries,theIndian are ambiguousfornationalsfromformeror passport-holders. theguidelines However, lonelyplanet.com volunteer projects inPNG,andacouple There are organisations operating several VOLUNTEERING 24 hours and costs S$50. Industries &Employmentbuilding.Ittakes 3.30pm Mon-Fri) ( further three months atthe chance of that),head fora British embassy. Solomon Islandsembassyaround(pretty good travelling. andthere’s avisa Ifyoudoneed no % Visitors permitscanbeextended fora can sayto potential womentravellers andvolunteers is:don’thesitate to gotoPNG. don’t gooutofyour hotel withanythingyoudon’twant to lose. Whatever thehardships, allI friendswithwomen;in cities, alocalguidetoaccompanyyou; make on yourownandtry totake of thelocalculture are; andcover dress modestly;don’tswim inbikinis, yourknees; don’twalk because thecommunitylooksafter youandvaluesyou. As aruleofthumb,thedeeperyou gointothebush,safer itis. Ruralareas are muchsafer are notuncommoninthiscountry,and itcanbequite daunting. It’spreferable toavoidcities. Is PNGasafe placeforwomenvolunteers? Bougainville, businessdevelopment, amongothers. There’s somethingforeverybody. ucation, AIDSawareness, poverty reduction, agriculture, fisheries,peace andreconciliation in What are themainvoluntaryprogrammes inPNG? very rewarding. with you–especiallytrueforwomen.Don’tbeshyofthesepeople,getting toknowthemis true tosaythatpeopleinPNGare whatever incredibly theyhave kind-hearted; theyshare it ofthisbadpublicityareSome aspects true. Crimeandlawlessnessare aproblem.But it’sequally to beavolunteer in? In themindsofmanypeople,PNGhasafairlynegative image. Isitadangerouscountry –even ifyoudon’twantitto! nootherplace onearth like does getundertheskin But therewards are huge. The culture issodiverse fromanywhere andsodistinct elsethatit implies aphysicalchallenge. Take theSepikarea forexample:amenitiesare scarce andlife’s tough. Australian BusinessVolunteers Moresby. She isnowabusinessdevelopmentin Port andeco-development director andruns for 15yearsasateacher, bothinBougainville(whichshehadtoevacuate fromin1990)and aged64,haslotsofexperienceinvolunteering, especiallyinPNGwhere Smart, sheworkedRae VOICES: RAE SMART, VOLUNTEER volunteering inotherdestinations? You volunteered in various countries. Whatmakesvolunteering inPNGdifferent from Mask Festival, whichshe’seagertopromote abroad. 25081; Mendana Ave,25081; Mendana Honiara; Then it’samatter ofetiquette andbehaviour. confidently;findoutwhatthetaboos Mytips:act intheDepartmentof Commerce, DIRECTORY ••Volunteering DIRECTORY h immigration office 9.30-11.30am &1.30- (www.abv.org.au)

I mustsayvolunteering inPNGisoften achallenge,which It dependsonwhere theygo. andattacks Rapes . We met her in Rabaul duringtheWarwagira. WemetherinRabaul Canadian University Service Overseas Service University Canadian International Volunteers Australian BusinessVolunteers Australian projects inbothPNGandthe Solomons. to PNGorthe Solomon Islands. interestedfor those inmakingacontribution .lonelyplanet.com/volunteer) organisations. volunteer with thechurches orwithinternational area councils.Mostare eitherassociated toadvisoryroleswithlocalcal assistance ofwho willfaintatthesight a spider. munities, sothissortof workisnotforthose arethe Solomons.These often inremote com- .cuso.org) .australianvolunteers.com) Lonely Planet’s Most of theorganisations listed here have Activities range fromteaching andmedi- There are lotsofpossibilities:healthed- volunteering website website volunteering hasexcellentresources (www.abv.org.au) (AVA; www CS; www (CUSO;

(www

303 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY DIRECTORY 1924; www.vso.org.uk) if travelling aloneandit’snotuncommonto spotsat secluded any time. don’tgo night, alone withamanyoudon’tknowwell.At you should avoid anysituationwhere you’re raped withdisturbingregularity inPNGso lers butwomenare assaulted, beingsexually (p291). Annoyances precautions outlinedinDangerssense & wear andhowtheyact.There are common- to bemore aware of where theygo,what Ofcourse, lonewomen need ticularly difficult. probably won’tfindPNGortheSolomonspar- Indonesia…)you (Africa, theMiddleEast, inthepast countriesbyyourself to developing can findPNGtrying,butifyou’ve travelled glowing reports of theirtrips.Lone women quite afew solowomenhave written touswith a friend,isusuallysafer thandoingsoalone, Solomons andwhiledoingsowithaman,or Plenty of womentravel toPNGandthe Abroad Volunteer Global Volunteers interestedfor those in volunteering: websites thathaveSome otheruseful details Abroad Service Volunteer Overseas Voluntary Service Agency Co-operation Japan International Service Development German www.vsa.org.nz) 304 % www.ded.de) WMN TRAVELLERS WOMEN We haven’t heardof anywomen travel- Men sometimesassumeyou’re fairgame women travellers. this isasignofrespect fortheir localcultures andcustoms. This ishighlyrecommended forlone women) orotherlocal attire. Localwomenappreciate thegesture andmenacknowledge that and islandsregions are safer forwomen andgetmore tourists. matrilineal societiesandthey’re very receptive tosolowomentravellers. Generally,thecoastal Hwy. ontheHighlands uncommon forwomentravellers tousearmedescorts isalsorisky,wherein theHighlands hold-upsand ambushescanleadtosexualviolence. It’snot ofthe countryiscommonandmenmaybemore aggressivepart towards women.Roadtravel archal culture itdifficultforsolowomentravellers. canmake oftheHighlands Violence inthis The countryand itscultures differ dramaticallydependingonwhere youare. The stronglypatri- SOLO WOMENTRAVELLERS 325 1699; www.jica.go.jp/png) IETR • WmnTaelr ••WomenTravellers DIRECTORY Women are warmlyreceived toweara theeffort if theymake On theotherhand,peopleinsomeof thecoastalregions, BayProvince, live suchasMilne in (www.volunteerabroad.com) (www.globalvolunteers.org) anywhere Meri blauses (NZ VSA; (NZVSA; (British VSO; VSO; (British alone,andavoid (DED; % canbepurchased inlocalmarkets. % Lina Abirafeh 325 4136; % 325 5380; (JICA; (JICA; 852 unknown, andaWestern couplemaking your cuefrom local women. from the time of the conservative from thetimeof theconservative their breasts assoonyouarrive, ahang-up them.WomenwillcoverWesterners tosee themselves andhowtheyexpect people see a distinctdifference thewaylocal between woman indanger. Invillages you’llnotice regarded withcontempt. Thiscanputthe cially intraditionalruralsocieties,maybe hands –isregarded asanoddityand,espe- holding inpublic–even physical contact a best touse swimwear, andunlessyou’re ataresort it’s localwomeninWestern-style You won’tsee provocative. sexually –showingthighs isconsideredthe knee away withshorts if they’re not toofarabove and T-shirts are commonandyoucanget but nottoohard.Three-quarter-length pants embarrassment and confusion. conversation withalocalwomancancause a Western manwhoattempts toinitiate a out beingmisinterpreted asaflirt.Similarly, have anormalconversation withamanwith- go aswell,but check first. about theirlives. Usually it’sOKformento localwomenandlearn good placestomeet aresometimes have andthese guesthouses) attitudes towards locals. lonial white adultmales)andtheirhaughty as whistling,hissing etc. Ignore it. harassment,suchexperience somelow-level Public displaysof are affection almost forwomento It cansometimesbedifficult Skimpy tops, however, shouldSkimpy tops,however, be avoided. tothinkabout whatyouwear, You need Many townshave women’sgroups(which laplap meri blaus (sarong) asawrap.Take (sarong) (atopwornbylocal lonelyplanet.com mastas (co- mention it. In some parts, the Sepik forexam- mention it.Insomeparts,theSepik if it’sthattimeof themonthit’sbetter notto to bedangerous tomenduringmenstruation– cles, andinsomepartswomenare considered beliefs aboutwomenandtheirmenstrualcy- lonelyplanet.com mustn’t swimunderawomanin a canoe. overlegs oreven andaman hispossessions, man –tostep over man’soutstretched aseated in manyplacesforawomantopassover a ergies thatcanbeharmfultomen.Itis ple, womenare tohave thought powerfulen- PNG andtheSolomonshave manystrong DIRECTORY ••Work DIRECTORY tambu

rcs (e p302). (see process whichwork permit/visa, canbeaconvoluted p303). (see workers in PNGandtheSolomonsattractvolunteer of thespectrum,aidagencies andprojects earning quite goodmoney.Attheotherend aviation andtourismare fullof expats,often financialservices, economy. Mining,logging, and they work injustabout facetof every the There are about20,000expats livinginPNG WORK Potential employees will need togetPotential willneed a employees © LonelyPlanetPublications

305 DIRECTORY DIRECTORY TRANSPORT Solomons are still expensive. come down,airfares into PNGandthe down airfares. priceshave though But,even competition that, thankfully,hasbrought countries. Recently there’s somenew been led bythenationalairlinesof therespective Solomons were almostexclusively control- In thepastroutes intobothPNGandthe shop aroundtoomuch lookingforaticket. or theSolomonsisthatyoudon’t have to The goodthingabout flyingintoeitherPNG Airports &Airlines Solomon Islandswillarrive by air. The vast majority of visitors toPNGandthe AIR isincorporatedtax intoyour ticket price. Solomon IslandswhileinPNGthedeparture p302 . There isadeparture of tax S$40inthe see on youtopayforyourvisa. Fordetails, Makeselves. sure youhave atleastsomecash ticket moneytosupportthem- andenough passport withsix months’ validity,anonward and theSolomonswithnothingmore thana Most peoplecanenter bothPapua NewGuinea ENTERING THEREGION CONTENTS Transport 306 © LonelyPlanetPublications GETTING THERE&AWAY a oocce 317 318 319 Walking 312 Tours 319 Pmv 318 inUrbanAreas Local Transport 318 Hitching Car &Motorcycle Boat 315 306 Bicycle 315 Air 312 Getting Around Tours 311 Sea 311 Land 310 Air 306 Entering theRegion etn hr wy 306 Getting There &Away .com.au) ices are better than thedomesticflights. tobefairitsinternationalthough serv- the titleof leastreliable airline onearth, Cin only. Cairns willprobably beto/fromthey do,flights reopening forinternational –if flights of talk MtHagenhas been andAlotau ternational airportinPNG.Foryears there Moresby is,forthetimebeing,onlyin- with Airlines PNG. cities fromwhich youcouldflytoPNG andBrisbane were Cairns theonlysearch, Singapore andHoniara. Atthetimeof re- Sydney inAustralia,andTokyo,Manila, BrisbaneandAir NiuginifliestoCairns, passengers.Air NiuginicarriesQantas planesnolongerbut Qantas flytoPNG: AustraliaandPNG, between on flights seats sells on internationalQantas flights. Frequentthat awardsQantas Flyerpoints a code-share agreement withAirNiugini toPNG. services the onlycarriers thatoperate scheduled PNG 380 inAustralia;www.airniugini.com.pg). The nationalairlineis PAPUA NEWGUINEA From its base atHendersonFrom itsbase Airport(HIR), Solomon Airlines SOLOMON ISLANDS tic andinternational tickets. Jackson’s Airportwhere youcanbuydomes- There’s an Jackson’s Airport(POM) located inPort up-to-date research. and are notasubstitute foryourowncareful, this chapter shouldberegarded aspointers travel. Shopcarefully. security requirements forinternational you maybuy)worksandbeaware ofthe sure youunderstand howafare (andticket with theairlineoratravel agent tomake larly vulnerabletochange. Checkdirectly The informationinthischapter isparticu- THINGS CHANGE...

( % , thenationalcarrier,isvyingfor 1300 764696inAustralia; www.apng.com) Air Niugini

( % Qantas 20031; www.solomonairlines The detailsgiven in

Air Niugini office

(www.qantas.com) ( % It and (

327 3396) % 1300 361 Airlines are has at flies weekly onaThursdayflies weekly fromBrisbaneto rier, flies weekly fromNadiwithgoodcon- rier, fliesweekly lonelyplanet.com airline’s domestic services. Niugini you qualifyfor discounts onthe toPNGwith AirIf youbuyyour flight Tickets this route may be resurrected. to Honiaraafew years ago. It’spossiblethat PNG) direct Tokua(Rabaul, route between and PortMoresby. AirNiuginiwasflyinga .com.pg) beyond. and nections toBrisbane,allover thePacific in Australia;www.airpacific.com) back. and Friday Honiara–Nauru–Tarawa (Kiribati) Honiara, overnights inHoniara,thenflies in Honiara,1300369044Australia; www.airnauru.com.au) and PortVilaorSanto in Vanuatu. toNadiinFiji weekly has oneortwoflights thisroute. Italso an Ozjetplanetoservice its planewasgroundedandithadchartered waslookingshaky –Brisbane service At thetimeof research thisHoniara– flies fourorfive toBrisbane. daysaweek 11km eastof Honiara,SolomonAirlines Air Niugini Air Pacific Formerly AirNauru, efit, butbelieves weallhave aresponsibility onglobalwarming. tolimitourpersonalimpact fastest-growing contributortotheproblem.LonelyPlanetregards travel, overall, asaglobalben- Climate changeisaseriousthreat totheecosystems thathumansrely upon,andairtravel isthe CLIMATE CHANGE &TRAVEL and authortravel. thecarbonoffset schemerunbyclimatecare.org.supports LonelyPlanetoffsets allofitsstaff andUganda. Kazakhstan initiativesother climate-friendly inthedeveloping inIndia,Honduras, world–includingprojects greenhouse gasestheyare responsible forwithcontributionstoenergy-saving and projects Climatecare.org andotherwebsites use‘carboncalculators’thatallowjetsetters tooffset the Carbon Offset Schemes tion over awholeyear. contribute asmuchtoclimate changeasanaverage consump- household’sgasandelectricity The statisticsare areturn frightening: flightbetweenEurope twopeopletaking andtheUSwill they allowustotravel, butbecausetheyrelease greenhouse gaseshighintotheatmosphere. change) butplanesare farandawaytheworstoffenders, notjustbecauseofthesheerdistances Pretty muchevery formofmotortravel generates CO Flying &Climate Change For more informationcheckoutourwebsite: lonelyplanet.com. inthetravel industry,Lonely Planet,togetherwithRoughGuidesandotherconcernedpartners flies twice weekly between Honiara between fliestwiceweekly

( ( % % GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Air GETTING +677 20336inHoniara;www.airniugini +679 6720888inFiji, 1800230150 Our Airline , Fiji’snationalcar- ( %

+677 22586

% Singapore also flights fromSingaporealso flights on Monday, Wednesday andThursday. There are Manila andPortMoresby onTuesday, Travel www.no1-travel.com) source in Japan is somewhere in Australia. to first get tooneof thecitieslisted here or on Saturday and Sunday. Tuesday, Thursday andFriday, Tokyo to flyviaSingapore or Cairns. youhave canhelp,otherwise and Denpasar border fromPNG;travel agencies inJakarta airlines doflytoJayapura, justacrossthe and acoupleof Indonesia’snewbudget neighbouring Indonesia. GarudaIndonesia There are PNGand between noflights flying else to Fiji. look at for Australia. FromNorthAmerica,also Europe, Asia oranywhere –head inbetween Australia orFiji.Soifyou’re comingfrom Asia 2 An agency worthconsidering is From anywhere inAsia else you’llneed between flights Air Niuginihasweekly toHoniaragoviaAlmost allflights (themaincauseofhuman-inducedclimate 03 53912922;www.statravel.co.jp)

(

Bangkok % Air Pacific 6737 7188;www.statravel.com.sg;

% .

02 2360262;www.statravel.co.th; (www.airpacific.com) Schenker Travel Schenker No 1Travel

( . Anotherre- %

( % oranyone 03 32056073; 2545 1033;

Tokyo 307 STA

TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT 308 0 100 km MAIN ROUTES & FARES 0 60 miles ETN HR WY • i ots THERE&AWAY ••AirRoutes GETTING

Manus I Lorengau Air Niugini 311 P A C I F I C 988 Kavieng Airlines PNG 253 Solomon Airlines New O C E A N Vanimo B i s m a r c k Ireland

839 S e a Fares are one-way exclusive of 243 surcharges and GST Wewak PNG prices are in Kina (K) Solomon Islands prices are in 519 Solomon Island dollars (S$) 382 Rabaul/Tokua 581 525 262 293 477 239 Tabubil Mt Hagen 572 810 Madang Hoskins

INDONESIA Buka 617 New Tari 212 Britain 495 819 Kundiawa 335 Kiunga 295 Goroka Bougainville Moro Mendi

297 569 Lae 551 Choiseul 377 279 Woitape 939 396 700 Kikori 431 112 Ballalae 392 345 Obo 868 314 162 Balimo Kokoda S o l o m o n S e a 345 215 806 319 177 471 284 628 Kerema Suki 529 386 Kiriwina I Gizo 642 Ramata 365 392 Popondetta Losuia 486 531 215 Munda Seghe Malaita I 201 Tufi Daru PAPUA 335 NEW GUINEA 381 HONIARA 264 Auki 572 PORT 215 668 588 MORESBY 351 Gurney Guadalcanal AUSTRALIA SOLOMON Alotau 343 Misima I ISLANDS

416 lonelyplanet.com C o r a l S e a 446 Bellona I K875/S$2370 Bellona Tinggoa 624 192 Rennell I 133; www.flightcentre.com.au) Airlines return airfare toHoniarafrom Qantas between AustraliaandPNG.There between Qantas with Air Niuginioperates code-share services Australia &NewZealand reliable. and www.schenker.com.hk) lonelyplanet.com with Moresby). Port versusper week twofromSingapore to far more dates (more thanadozenflights shorter, butcomingviaAustraliagives you Solomons. TheSingapore optionisobviously toPNGorthe onaflight you couldtack tickets take inSingapore andAustralia; turn includingtaxes. Mostround-the-world Air (www.emirates.com) lines such as Singapore, someof thecheapest withair- There are millionsof dealstoAustraliaor to PortMoresby onanAirNiuginiflight. ticket toSingapore orAustraliaandthenon from EuropetoPNGisputtogether a The easiestandprobably Continental Europe .travel.co.nz thecountryand branches throughout STA Travel Australia canbevery cheap ifyouplanahead. try 733 035;www.statravel.com.au) worth lookingatinclude Australia forSolomonAirlines.Agencies 3407 7149www.worldaviation.com.au) times perweek. Brisbane costsA$1080;itfliesatleastfour fares a inkina)orthrough travel agency. fices online(theAirNiuginiwebsite calculates orAirNiuginiof- can bookateitherQantas be paidforwithin24hours of booking.You (A$1463/534, daily).Promotionalfares must Brisbane (A$2225/805,daily);andCairns charges: Sydney(A$2670/810,twiceweekly); discounted return includingtaxes and seats following pricesare forthefull-fare/cheapest anditpaystobookahead.The for details) count structures (see are arange of fares andsomecomplexdis- an Air Niugini flight inAustralia.to Flights an AirNiuginiflight To theSolomons,a30-daySolomon Alternatively, you could flyreturn toFiji From New Zealand toPNG,connectwith From NewZealand (www.evaair.com) www.travel.com.au Korean Air Korean

( % is agood online source. 0508 782872;www.statravel.co.nz) Gulf Air

(www.koreanair.com) , GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Air GETTING , in Hong Kong, is efficient , inHongKong,isefficient Qantas World Aviation System , costingfrom€1100re- (www.gulfairco.com)

or and (www.qantas.com) www.airniugini.com.pg . Foronlinebookings, www.zu ji.com www.zu Flight Centre the cheapest way STA Travel are agents in andhook up ,

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or % ( % has www 1300 Eva 133 07

.nouvelles-frontieres.fr in French) i German) in .com inSpanish) In Spain. get offers. great airlineshaveand otherMiddle Eastern some ways somesortof dealtoSingapore –Emirates then ontoPortMoresby. Again, there isal- cheap. relatively are these if youmake yourwaytoCairns then have tothePNG,but onflights totack atabout UK£850.Youwouldand starting round-the-world ticket inAustralia taking including taxes; oryoucouldconsidera to Australiacancostaslittle UK£680 deals onoffer. Returntickets fromLondon pecially attractive given theplethoraof cheap to PNGfromtheUKandIreland, andises- Flying viaAustraliaistheobviouswaytoget The UK&Ireland Solomon Airlinesfare is S$3401. fare costs S$4060.FromNadithereturn from PortVilainVanuatu. A30-dayreturn the Pacific is via Australia. The onlyotherwayof getting to PNGfrom Moresby return forK1623 (validfor14days). Alternatively, AirNiuginifliesNaditoPort where AirNiuginifliestoPortMoresby. (S$3184 one-wayincludingtaxes), from Air Pacific operates fromNaditoHoniara The Pacific Viaggi CTS Barcelo Viajes Airfair OTHER COUNTRIES Lastminute Just Travel GERMANY OTU Voyages Frontières Nouvelles Anyway FRANCE Niugini or Solomon Airlines. with flight with aNadi–PortMoresby orNadi–Honiara Italian agency,specialisinginstudentandyouth travel. the Netherlands. ises instudentandyouth travel. The otheroption isflyingtoSingapore, Solomon Airlines flies weekly toHoniara Solomon Airlinesfliesweekly Some reliable agencies: ( % ( % ( ( 020-620 5121;www.airfair.nl inDutch)In ( % % % 0892-893 892;www.anyway.frinFrench) (www.otu.frinFrench) This agencyspecial- ( Air Pacific % 06-462 0431; www.cts.it inItalian) 06-462 0431;www.cts.it 089-747 3330;www.justtravel.de) 01805-284 366;www.lastminute.de 902-116 226;www.barceloviajes ( %

0825-000 747;www (www.airpacific.com)

, Air

309 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT Australia and take a flight from Australia andtake aflight Brisbane. 310 before making plans. Tree at short noticesocheck LonelyPlanet’s pretty smoothly,butithasa history of closing Indonesia time of research this Province (WestPapua), Indonesia. Atthe in SandaunProvince and Jayapura inPapua Vanimoor theSolomonIslandsisbetween The onlylandbordercrossingineither PNG Border Crossings LAND student travel agency. 2887; www.travelcuts.com) there’sIn Canada also www.travelocity.com (www.travelocity.cainCanada) www.orbitz.com www.expedia.com (www.expedia.ca inCanada) www.cheapflights.com for online bookings: couple of stops.Someagencies recommended cutouta flying fromtheeastcoast,might coast, US$730fromNewYork),andifyou’re be particularlygood(US$570fromthewest they canbeinconvenient. can DealstoNarita toPNGaweek but withonlyoneortwoflights via NadiinFijiorPortVila in Vanuatu. with SolomonAirlines’infrequent travel flights, Solomons viaBrisbaneor,ifyoucoordinate From NorthAmericayoucouldflytothe return toAustraliaisabout US$1150. flight Australia’s eastcoastare commonandagood anumberof citiesand tween USandCanadian Singapore, thenontoPortMoresby. Dealsbe- Moresby; (Tokyo),Manila orflytoNarita or America: flytoAustralia,thenonPort There are acoupleof optionsfromNorth The USA&Canada Bag Travel Trailfinders STA Travel theWorld Bridge TNT the newspapers,weekend broadsheet in agencies appearinthetravel pages of the travellers undertheage of 26. .co.uk) In theUK,advertisements formanytravel To get totheSolomons,make yourwayto The via-Asia prove optionsmight cheaper, Evening Standard

(http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com) . Alsocheck out the following: ETN HR WY • ad THERE&AWAY ••Land GETTING h ( ( % ( % 8am-4pm) % 0870-160 0599;www.statravel.co.uk) For 0870-890 1456;www.travelbag.co.uk) 020-7938 3939;www.trailfinders.co.uk) ( % wasopenandoperating 0870-444 7474; www.b-t-w , thecountry’snational andinthefree magazine border Travel Cuts Travel

(PNG bulletinboard h

( % Time Out, 9am-5pm, 800-667- Thorn

only the 30-day visas canbeextended inside only the30-dayvisas 24 hours and toissue a30-day or60-dayvisa port and 50,000Rp. The staff here likeport and50,000Rp.Thestaff tokeep Hotel), filloutaformandpresent yourpass- you get toJayapura (opposite theDafonsoro must godirectly totheimmigrationoffice once youintotheircountry.Instead,to stamp you Indonesian immigrationisn’tablehowever there for K154. Ltd( Enterprises Visser p187 ) willdrive you Failingmain roundabout weekday. every that, to twohours) leave around8amfromthe to foreigners. PMVstotheborder(K10,1½ extended thiscourtesyalthough isseldom turn ablindeyetoshopping daytrippers cheaply madegoods.Immigrationofficials Indonesian sideof thebordertostockupon destinations thananywhere in Papua. orManadoBali astheyare lesscontroversial months. you’re It’sbesttosay headingfor there) and a passportvalidforatleastsix completed applicationform(which youget Indonesia. K70,twophotos,a You’llneed h at the Port Moresby ( p293 toget) you’llneed one haven’t already in gotanIndonesianvisa thetwocountries.Ifyou to crossbetween itcantake allday although straightforward return to Jayapura! theborderofficials willinsistthatyou cause attheborderholdyourgroundbe- stamped tell youthatyourpassport canbe the staff (or canbeopened) mostof thetimeandif the date of isopen Theoffice your stamp. fee andyou mustleave within24hours of to paya50,000Rp You’llneed border itself. immigration office inJayapura, notatthe must get outof stamped Indonesiaatthe take atleastacoupleof days.Rememberyou p293 but will ). Thisisfairlystraightforward, in Jayapura (oranyotherPNGmission;see whole car)intoJayapura or hitch. a shared (16,700Rpor350,000Rpforthe taxi Jayapura forasmallfee and two photos. This isissued bythe provincial policeoffice in Surat Keterangan Jalan (SKJ),ortravel permit. travelling elsewhere inPapua a youwillneed you willhave dramasexiting.Ifyouplanon you waitingbutifdon’tget thestamp Entering PNG youmustfirst get avisa Formalities onthePNGsideare easy, PNGforIndonesiaisrelativelyLeaving Locals travel byPMVtothemarket onthe Back at the border you will need tocatch attheborderyouwillneed Back 9am-noon &2-4pmMon-Fri) Indonesian Consulate ( inVanimo. Ittakes %

857 1371;fax1373; lonelyplanet.com cruises.com.au) srih there. straight haps two(tohelpwithluggage) totake you sider hiringan afewbuses times.Ifyou’re inahurrycon- for theborder. tochange need Youmight lonelyplanet.com Caledonia, VanuatuCaledonia, before Ana, visiting Santa andtravels New through in NewZealand, Cairns. to onto Kavieng fromwhere passengers flyback theDukeTufi, NewBritain, of Yorksand Province,the LouisiadeislandsinMilneBay Theluxury boatpliesthrough land inAlotau. inAustraliaonaDash8aircraftand Cairns limited to36passengers whodepartfrom fers aboardthe cruises ( ships ayear,but not anymore. oneortwo Provincein MilneBay tosee used impossible.that callsinisnigh SamaraiIsland one of thehuge trans-Pacific cruisingvessels inPNGandtheSolomons,butfinding dises’ There isno shortage of ‘Pacific island para- CRUISE SHIPS See Vanimo. Youmustget before avisa youarrive. Island, PortMoresby, Samaraiand Rabaul, Lorengau, Madang,Kimbe, Lae, Misima Daru,Kavieng,clear immigrationatAlotau, Asiathrough orthePacific. InPNGyoucan ping pointsforcruisingyachts, eitherheading PNG andtheSolomonsare popularstop- PRIVATE BOATS have a visa. immigrationifyoualreadycan passthrough go directly toPNG,usuallyDaru,where you You canexitAustraliafromTIbutyoumust Island (knownasTItolocals)andPNG. Thursdayis illegaltoislandhopbetween Unless youare aTorres StraitIslander,it Papua NewGuinea theboxedsee text, p314 . BougainvilleandtheSolomonIslands, tween countries. Forinformationontravelling be- to other few are actuallyscheduled services around PNG andtheSolomons, butvery There are plentyof boatsplyingthewaters SEA % The occasionalbus(1½hours) leaves The smallerscale On aslightly +618 91921829;www.northstarcrusies.com.au) www.noonsite.com Orion has a cruise thatleaves hasacruise Auckland

( % GETTING THERE&AWAY ••Sea GETTING 1300 361012inAustralia; www.orion ojek (motorbike), orper- fora full rundown. True North North StarCruises North which is of-

experience.com) tique trythe birds ofparadise. US-based. organised butexpensive bird-watchingtours,focusingon but not cheap. recommended, Highly trips. bird-watching andtrekking toursandcultural,wildlife, focuses onvillage-based .pg) Locallyownedandoperated,Eco-Tourism Melanesia around the Goroka andMt around theGoroka Hagen shows. are usuallytimed off-the beaten-trackplaces. Itineraries Auniqueoption,visiting some all-inclusive airsafaris. 200, bothinAustralia; www.dicklang.com.au) Operates Field Guides Melanesia Eco-Tourism Air Dick Lang’sDesert p319 . ForKokoda Track tours, see organise Forsmalleroperators, ityourself. see p93 . if you’re prepared afew tosend emailsand thingforabouthalftheprice much thesame give youapretty smoothtrip,butyoucando tours anywhere, thisoptionshould taking are As usually disconcertinglyhigh. with They offer awidevarietyof tours butprices Trans NiuginiTours andNiuginiHolidays. operators are Melanesian Tourist Services, The three mainPNG-based inboundtour TOURS Gizo Yacht Club tsunami). Formore the informationcontact ofwas cancelledin2007because theApril to GizoYacht heldannuallyinMay (it Race ticipating inthenewlyre-established Brisbane theexcellent see oftotal sixmonths. Foraswatheof detail three months andthiscanbeextended toa Yandina. intheSolomonsfor Boats canstay Cruz),Noroand(Ndende Island,Santa Bay ties includeHoniara,Gizo,Graciosa you cancomplete immigrationformali- much inthe wayof bigboats.Placeswhere private yachties but,like see PNG,doesn’t The Solomonsissimilarlypopularwith Solomon Islands waters of PNG. the through diving andexploratorycruises Madangthe Sepik, andTufitoPortMoresby. theTrobriands,NewBritain, through Alotau, holidays.com.au) Rabaul in PNG. the Nggelas andGizointheSolomons, It might bepossibletocrewIt might onayacht par- For somethingsmallerandmore bou- The Coral Princess (www.fieldguides.com/png.htm) Well- plies a route from Cairns to pliesaroute fromCairns that does charters, thatdoes surfaris,

(www.gizoyacht club.com.sb) SV ImajicaII www.noon site.com

( ( ( % % % 08-8264 7200,1800004 +617 40804080;www.png 323 4518;www.em.com

(www.theimajica . .

311 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT villages nowhave somefamiliaritywiththe themostremoteon tinyislands,buteven tered, often isolated valleysand in mountain country ontheearth.Thepopulationisscat- more reliant onair transport thananyother PNG andtheSolomonIslandsare probably AIR GETTING AROUND Tours Trans Niugini Holidays Niugini Services Tourist Melanesian 312 tours. which you’llstayatonitstours. Runsdivingand Sepik resorts, high-end www.mtspng.com) Operatesseveral ing, fishing, diving, trekking, war-veteranstours ing, fishing,diving,trekking, and more. range oftours,fromspecialisedfamilytoursthroughsurf- both inAustralia;www.nghols.com) Probablythebiggest clua shows. cultural general tours,wildlife tours,treks, cruisesandtoursofthe Spirit Sepik tours.com) BasedinMtHagen, theseguysoperatethe just gold equipment but also workers andevenjust gold equipment butalso workers thefirsthorsesever byair. tobetransported cost UK£30,000and couldliftthree tons. Intheearly1930s afleetoftheseaircraftcarriednot dismantle thedredges all-metalmonster theG-31,athree-engine, that andbuy anotherJunkers, a wayofflyinggold dredges weighing3000tons intothegoldfields. Mustar’sanswer wasto at thetime,musthave something intherealms seemedlike Hehadtofind ofscience fiction. air freight was lifted annually inNewGuineathantherest oftheworld puttogether! intheworldandmoreflights ofLindbergh Wau becamethebusiestairfield orKingsford-Smith. proved justasconvincingly asthemuchbetter thereal publicised possibilitiesofairtransport thatA secondW-34soonfollowed,andwith theseaircraftGuineaAirwaysoperated aservice been expensive, butatthetimeitwaslatest thingincargo aircraftandcouldliftover aton. W-34attheastronomicalcostofUK£8000. Itmayhavehe wenttoGermanybuyaJunkers 50-minute flights. on histhirdattempt, andwithanexperienced guideonboard,hemadethefirstofmany to Lae,tookmore directions andadvicetriedagainwithanequallackofsuccess. Finally, of dubiousreliability. to Lae–a650kmjourney,muchofitover aircraft seaandunexplored jungle,inasingle-engine travel where backtoRabaul theDH-37hadarrived inpiecesasseacargo, assembleitandfly there. theairstripconstruction hehadto fromSalamauatoWausupervise Next, he walked ranged foranairstriptobeconstructed atLae(thelocaljail provided prisonerstobuildit),then by unfriendlytribes. So hisGuineaGoldcompanysetupAirways. men andsuppliesupfromthecoastinvolved along,hardslogacrossdifficultterrain populated Guinea. Cecil JohnLevien realised thegoldfieldswouldnever besuccessfulaslonggetting The development oftheWauandBulologoldfieldsin1920slaunchedaviationNew THOSE MAGNIFICENT MEN&THEIRFLYING MACHINES ETN RUD • i AROUND••Air GETTING Mustar leftNewGuineabutin1929was calledbacktoattempt aschemethat,tomanypeople Mustar quicklyrealised theneedformore capacityandreliability, andbefore theendof1927 In April1927MustartookoffonhisfirstflighttoWau–andcouldn’tfind it!Hereturned Its pilot,‘Pard’ Mustar, hadtodofarmore thanjustflythefirstDH-37biplane. First hear- (see p315 luxurylodges. There) andseveral are ( % ( % 1300 850020,02-92902055, 675-542 1438;www.png ( % 675-311 2050; used to(alert:understatementused of theyear!). probably prove more informalthanyou’re them are great fun! strip atWauisonanine-degree slope. Allof negotiate duringtake andlanding!The off rally tracks,andothers have bendsto slight lookandfeel moreyou landonmight like look forthem.Someof themore remote strips almost unrecognisable ifyoudon’tknowto topped ridges masquerading as airports. telling yourself thisasyouapproach flat- forget. Thepilotsare extremely skilful–keep sort of hair-raising landingsyouwon’teasily regularly today,butmanyinvolve used the thanaquarter ofties. Less airstrips are these collectionofa loose hunter-gatherer socie- has intrudedsosuccessfullyintowhatwas come almostsymbolicof thewaytechnology last 80years orsoandtheaeroplanehasbe- into hilltopsandcoralislandsduringthe airstrips have cutoutof been thebush or ubiquitous Aviation inPNGandtheSolomonswill Aircraft are often smallandstripscanbe balus (aeroplane). About 2000 lonelyplanet.com ing ifyou’ve indulgingintoomuch been accepted), soare you –thiscanbeembarrass- (16kgisthelimitbut20kgusually weighed For lighter aircraft,notonlyisyourbaggage forget detectors. about X-raysandmetal Outside PortMoresby andHoniarayoucan lonelyplanet.com by anaverage of about 10%. 2007. AirNiuginidomestic fares were reduced mestic routes, itsfares AirNiuginirevised in PNG forbothitsmain international anddo- airstrips. remote further isolationforpeoplearound the ofAfter thecollapse Airlinkthiscreated toallbutitsmajor destinations. services ‘suspended indefinitely’ sinceJune2007its exactlyiforhowthis hole will seen be filled. rent costof aviation fuel–soitremains tobe PNG –manybarely profitable withthecur- manyremote airstrips in only flyerservicing gressions of safety regulations. Airlinkwasthe after being groundedforaperiodover trans- airlineAirlinkwentbrokelevel inmid-2007 a periodof dramaticchange. Popularthird- of ajoyifitwasn’tso damned expensive. your trip(orlife). more Itwouldbeeven some of themostmemorablemoments of than justgetting fromAtoBandprovides with the locals. have abook(ortwo)handy,andmake friends 50% chance of day.So arrivingontheright hasabouta Solomons yourdomesticflight around scanningthehorizonallday.In It’s notunheardof forpassengers tostand frequently leadtodelays,orcancellations. chanical problemsandcomplexschedules can a common problem. Moresby ‘thephonelinesare because down’– refused ourplasticatJackson’s AirportinPort in bigtownsthere’s noguarantee. AirNiugini being able topayfor anythingoncredit. Even your ticket direct fromthepilot– cash only. many of remote these stripsyou’llhave tobuy andat theflights, a two-wayradiowhomeets no facilitiesatall–sometimesjustaguywith moment of pique. Someremote stripshave ina thatyoubought carving Sepik weighty your travel costsifyou’re arounda lugging are reasonable butcanaddconsiderably to (food) and The PNGdomesticairsceneiscurrently in Unpredictable weathercombinedwithme- Outside themaincentres don’trely on Following stiff competition fromAirlines Following stiff At thetimeof writing,AirlinesPNGhad Flying inthispartof theworld isfarmore bia (beer). Excess-baggage charges (beer). GETTING AROUND••Air GETTING kaikai

.com.au) ets tonon-PNG residents who canproduce on alladvancepurchases of domestictick- and aRabaul– Kavieng return. buy aPortMoresby–Rabaul return,flights, Moresby, ratherthanbuyingthree one-way to flyPortMoresby–Rabaul–Kavieng–Port ofas aseries return journeys.Soifyouwant neys. Tobenefityoumustarrange your flights –anditsdiscountsapply toreturnflights jour- body thenit’sbetterflights toflywith Air Niugini. you canarrange youritineraryaroundreturn better to flywithAirlinesPNG.If,however, Niugini, soifyou’re onlytravelling onewayit’s little cheaper withAirlinesPNG thanwithAir withinPNGareround. One-wayflights a ply twicethepriceof aone-wayfare, allyear its domesticsectors, soareturn fairissim- offer anydiscountson Airlines PNGdoesn’t Fares &Discounts Solomon Airlines CoastAviation North MAF Airlines PNG Air Niugini the see services; Yellow Pages. to-date fare Otherairlinesdocharter tables. gional chapters; thewebsites alsohave up- or undertherelevant destinationsinthere- areLocal offices listed ontheairlinewebsites inPNGandtheSolomons. scheduled flights computer network. reservations any travel agency linked intotheinternational Niugini andAirlinesPNGcanbebooked at doing itpretty well.Intheory,tickets onAir dealing withthesmallestcommunities,and andMAF(MissionAviationLae, Fellowship) Coast Aviation, covering destinationsoutof airlineinPNG,withNorthmain secondary Air)isthePNG (formerlycalledMilneBay everywhere Airlines else. airlinesservice level larger centres, andthird- thesmallersecond- While AirNiuginioperates larger planestothe .net.pg) .maf.org.au) Airlines intheRegion valid for six months). withAirNiuginicostsK1449(K2206 flight Following isalistof airlinesoperating The ‘See PNGFare’The ‘See offers a20%discount Air Niuginihasabagfullof discounts– A 30-dayPortMoresby toHoniarareturn (Mission Aviation (Mission Fellowship; paysthefullfare onAirNiuginidomestic ( % ( % 327 3444;www.airniugini.com.pg) ( 325 0555;www.apng.com) % ( 03; www.solomonairlines 20031; % 472 1755; norco-lae@global % 325 2668; www

313

no- TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT vld year-round. valid you’re buyingtheticket outside PNG;it’s it). Thisistheonly discountavailable if their international ticket (so don’tforget 314 „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ „ FROM BOUGAINVILLETOGIZO–THEGUNRUN

as possible: dom fortheintrepid andGizoassafely totravel who’dlike byboatbetweentheShortlands and gotstampedinwithoutfuss’. this stretch withoutanyincident.The ridecostusS$200.WewenttotheImmigrationOffice duetohugeswells. Wearrivedracking inGizoat2pm,exhausted butrelieved tohave covered of MtKolombangarabecamevisibleonthehorizon.The crossing ofGizoStraitwasabitnerve- boat madeafew stops,atVella Lavella andothersmallerislands. Aroundnoonthesilhouette capsized fromafew boatsinthesewaters… showers,thesearemained Apart fairlycalm.The offagain,thistimeintheopenocean.Wetriedtoforgeta bit,westarted allthosestoriesof shelterthat wehadtotake inthelagoonsouthofFauro Island.Whentheseacalmeddown Gizo. Whatacrossing!The firsthourwasnightmarish–theseasorough(think3mswells) by boatfromPNG.WespentthenightnearKorovou. policemen were trulysurprisedtoseetwoforeigners anyfussaboutourarrival butdidnotmake ing coastline. Weregistered Island.The atthepolicestationinLofung,toeastofShortland from thelandslide. tookthree The hours,alongBougainville’samaz- crossingtotheShortlands duetoalandslide.road wasblocked Luckily wefoundamotor-canoe inSirawai,afew kilometres day),buttheArawa–Buin (onSaturday,whichismarket to share aboatridetotheShortlands in a10mmotor-canoe: fromGizo)orbymotor-canoe.Ballalae airstrip,infrequently serviced However it’spossibletoslipintotheSolomonsandgetGizo,eitherbyplane(frompassport. and there isnoPNGimmigrationpostin Bougainville soyoucan’tgetanexitstampinyour open tociviliantraffic,although‘open’issomethingofanoverstatement –thecrossingisillegal duringthesecessionistwar.of Bougainvillewhichwasblockaded Today,theroute isonceagain for smuggledgunstheBougainvilleRevolutionaryArmy(BRA)andcontrabandpeople The route betweentheSolomonIslandsandBougainvillewasforyearsmainthoroughfare Bringwater, foodandsunscreen. Bringwaterproof moneyandcameragear, aswellaraincoat. bagstosecure yourpassport, Never dothiscrossinginbad weather. Besure to register atthepolicestationinLofung andletthemknowyourwhereabouts. Checktheequipmentonboard:askaboutnumberoflifejackets (oneperperson). Avoid boatsthatare overloaded –risksofcapsizingare greater. engine (minimum40Hp,but Chooseaboatingoodshape,equippedwithpowerful It’sbesttohave previous experienceof theopenocean.Beingoutatseawithnolandmarks Preferably routes, aboatrideonshorter beforehand, test egbytaking yourseaworthiness ETN RUD • i AROUND••Air GETTING The boatsthatplythisroute have noroofsoyou’re exposedtotheelements. Should somethinggowrongduringthe crossing,atleastsomeofficialswillknowaboutit. preferably 60Hp),andwithtwodrivers. ness. Youneedtobeself-confident. of time(dependingontheweatherconditions)whenyoucanreally feel thatsenseofempti- periodis quite tothree-hour andGizo,there’s intimidating. aone- BetweentheShortlands Hanover. ofYorkIslandsorKavieng–New such asRabaul–Duke There are definitely some risksinvolved inthiscrossing,buthere are afew wordsofwis- (3am)totacklethesecondcrossing,duesouth The morningwehadanearlystart next ‘Initially wewanted togetBuin,thesoutherntipofBougainville,where wehadplanned We mettwointrepid crossing Germantravellers whodidtheBougainville–Shortlands–Gizo at peaktimes such asChristmasand Easter. they’re GST-exempt. Someare notapplicable ticketsIf these are purchased Following isasummary of otherdeals. Markus Arnold&WinSchumacher lonelyplanet.com outside PNG mxmm stay. maximum they muststayawayatleastoneweek).There’s a30-day stay awayatleastoneSunday(iftheyflyoutona fare. Passengersnormal economyclassround-trip must economy class. fare, Fullyround-trip FlexiFares canbeupgradedtofull Flexisaver FaresFlexisaver see within 24hours of booking. Formore details Discounted tickets mustbepaidforinfull lonelyplanet.com yct crewing. yacht are bylarge boats,smallcharters and hey, life could be worse. But sail. tofinallyset yacht oroutrigger canoe waiting foryourfreighter, bananaboat, luxury spend alotof timesittingunderpalmtrees truly memorable, exoticexperience,andyou’ll of travelling thiswayare thatyou’llhave a Unless theonlycertainties you take acruise, especially ifyouhave noconcern fortime. Solomons isapretty coolwayof travelling, PNGandtheIsland hoppingthrough BOAT but don’texpect anything flash. it’s possibletorent abike (about K20perday), In theoddtownorisland,such asNewIreland, BICYCLE prior toarrival be purchased in PNG. including taxes andcharges). Thepass must travel forUS$375(not fourdomesticsectors PNGPass’coupon ‘See thatallowsvisitors to Air Niuginioffers anexcellent-value four- Air Passes domestic fares. penalty. K165 themincurs aa K110penalty.Cashing travelling dates aschanging themincurs of certain youran AirNiuginioffice. Be ticket stocks–youmustbuythem from times, andmustbeissued onAirNiugini faresThese maynotbeavailable atall Wantok Fares FaresSupersaver Fully FlexiFares be availablewhenWantokFares are not). asontheWantokFareson thesetickets (thoughtheymay fare. Thesameconditionsapply economy classround-trip 90-day maximum stay. fare, FlexisaverFarestrip havenominimumstayanda The mainwaysof getting around bysea Solomon Airlineshasnodiscountsonits www.airniugini.com Theseare thecheapestat60%off At30%offthenormaleconomyround- At 15%offthenormaleconomy Theseare 45%offthenormal GETTING AROUND••Bicycle GETTING . p113 more), making those accessiblethan they totheislandsof (see Milne Bay uled services Madang. extent, the islandprovinces and,toalesser withLae linking there are regular services passenger petrol, theywillnot accept passengers. (or expect toload) dangerous cargo such as loading/unloading cargoes. Iffreighters load ‘schedules’ are unreliable duetodelaysin to keep entertainedasfreighter yourself (you’ll probably have toBYO).Bringplenty and youshould ask aboutfoodandwater Accommodation isusuallyinaspare cabin a few SPLagers)people. ratherthantheoffice (andperhapsinvestingthe ship’scaptain in getting onafreighter directly bytalking to going. You’llalmostalwayshave more luck what’s to look;askaroundtheportsee shipping hubinPNG,andit’sthebestplace onthenorthcoastismain your luck.Lae erally don’ttake travellers, it’sworthtrying romance toit.Andwhilecargo boatsgen- Conrad–style freighter Joseph hasa certain via who-knows-where, onaslowlyrolling Sailing fromoneexoticlocaletothenext, Large Boats per person, twin share. costsabout US$1740 cruise three-night Sepik river. It’snotcheap –allinclusive four-day/ luxury lodges andonthe intheHighlands usuallypackagedcruises, withthecompany’s River mainlySepik luxury roomsanddoes can accommodate upto18peopleinitsnine .pngtours.com) Sepik Spirit plan tobuildanother soon. cruiser boat Resortetal,soldtheirpopularcruise Beach owners of theMadang ResortHotel, Malagan Services Travel Melanesian Cruise Boats on dive boats, see p55 . or six,itisn’truinouslyexpensive. Formore andtheislands–foragroupof five Lae Bay, boat. Chartering isdefinitely possibleinMilne chance todive, istotrycharter awork if you’re notlookingforcomfortandthe Acheaperfor extended cruises. alternative, Many dive operators charter theirboats,some Ba Charter Boat If youdon’thave timetositaround waiting, For thetimebeing,thatleaves onlythe Several boatshave recentlySeveral sched- started MTS DiscovererMTS , cruisingPNGwaters full-time. It , runby inNovember 2006.They Trans Niugini Tours Trans Niugini (MTS;www.mtspng.com)

(www 315

, TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT to see what’sgoing. to see where. youhave For these tobe in theright goliterally every- boats, localboatsand canoes In additiontothe freighters andpassenger Small Boats and Western Province. for ages. Honiara, Malaita Theyrunbetween Solomons’watershave between sailing been of freighters theslowandsmellydiesel that 28064; [email protected]) Pelican Express time ‘SolAir’hassomecompetition. The ference tointer-island travel andforthefirst –arefast, cleanandefficient makingabigdif- In theSolomonstworelatively newvessels – Passenger Boats Honiara) Corporation Development to Western Province and andChoiseul, Transwest Shipping Honiara) wharf orcheck atthe in alldirections andit’sbesttoaskatthe sometimes entitled to discounts. and acartonof kunducrackers. Studentsare be justsomeonewithsoft drinksinacooler sometimes are simplesnackbars which might worth avoiding bunksnearthevideo. There haveclasses andit’s video‘entertainment’ berths). Deckclasscanget crowded;both berths) anddeckclass(air-vented and seats have touristclass(air-conditioned and seats guaranteed. from ule isout.Even then,thedeparture isfar can onlymake abookingoncethesched- the monthforfollowingmonth,andyou Manus. Schedules are released attheendof there are regular boatstoKavieng and Madang, FromRabaul KimbeandRabaul. Finschhafen, toOroBay, fromLae a week along thenorthcoast.Boatsrunatleastonce shippinghas avirtualmonopolyonpassenger ships.com.pg) % @global.net.pg) fax8523641;luship.madang 2066 inLae,8522577Madang, and totheislandsare any runningalongthe south coast. vessels linkingthenorthandsouthcoastsor have foryears. been There are nopassenger 316 Some boatscarrycargo andpassengers and In theSolomonscargo shipsleave Honiara The mainoperators alongthenorthcoast 982 1070/1071, fax 982 1955 in Rabaul; rabship@star 982 1070/1071,fax1955inRabaul; ETN RUD • ot AROUND••Boat GETTING services Western Province andMalaita, services goes to goes Isabel. Santa . Based in Lae, LutheranShipping inLae, . Based and and

( % MV SolomonsExpress Rabaul Shipping Rabaul Wings Shipping 60240, fax60421inGizo) Lutheran Shipping have bucked thetrend Marine Office Marine

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( 22811 in %

21609) goes goes 28104, Isabel 472 MV

4909; [email protected]) waves andwewere wettothebone–itwas aroundthecrestspilot waszigzagging of 3m fine whenweleftbutpretty soontheboat’s Yorks backtoKokopo. Theweatherlooked did atriponcereturning fromtheDuke of the windcanpickupwithlittlewarning.We shouldbeavoided. And up andtheopenseas boats are nofunatallwhenthewindpicks K20 toK30perhour’stravel. Note, banana boat; see p318 ) withreasonable fares –about will often beaPMVboat(apublictransport expensive ifyouhave tocharter one,butthere cost of runningoutboardmotors makes them and are bone-jarringly The uncomfortable. fibreglass thewaves boatsthatleapthrough areies orbananaboats.These usuallylong with outboardmotors, often knownasspeed- Negotiate thefee before you leave. delivering suppliestothearea’s tradestores. stores, have which might schedule for aset askaroundtheportandatbig Alotau, aboard. Ifyou’re inamajor centre, such as before toadayortwo youcommityourself and make sure theoperatoristrustworthy Don’t expectcomfort,bringyourownfood places. they canget youtosomeoff-the-track are irregular butifyou’re prepared towait, plying tradestores andactingasferries. They engines–plythecoast,sup- thumping diesel hopping in small boats. could travel thewholecoastlinebyvillage timebut,withpatience,you place attheright www.noon site.com clubs directly ortrythe bulletinboardsat theyachtpany. Youcould trycontacting for peopletoshare costsandforthecom- experience. Yachties are sometimes looking ing berthonayacht ifyouhave even some .com.sb) ( Rabaul in While there are thrivingyacht clubslocated Yacht Crewing with the paddling. andwillbeexpected toassist outrigger canoe the surroundingvillages, take an youmight withinsight try tostay of shore. frequently banana-boat crossings; inopen-sea genuinely terrifying! People diereasonably % For shorter there distances, are dinghies Trade boats–small,woodenwith For shorter such asfromTufi to distances, Port Moresby Port 22500) , inpracticeit’svery hard toget acrew-

( % and 982 1299;[email protected]) Gizo

(www.rpyc.com.pg) .

( % 76004; (www.gizoyachtclub , Wewak lonelyplanet.com ( , % Lae 856 2708) ,

Honiara ( % 472 ,

Highlands Hwy–thatconnectstwoormoreHighlands travelling. PNGreally onlyhasoneroad–the Solomon Islandsisnotreally aviable wayof Driving yourselfaroundPNGand/orthe CAR &MOTORCYCLE lonelyplanet.com tion chapters for details. panies have destina- aroundPNG; see offices Hwy.Thefollowingcom- along theHighlands some good deals. Hotels modation andcar-rental package; the cheapest wayof hiringiswithanaccom- per dayplusK1.35kilometre. Probably personal insurance. A4WDisabout K250 per kilometre, plus10%VAT, plusanyfee for option) costsfromK175perday,plus K0.80 Forexample,acompactcar(thecheapesttax. you addtheper-km charges, insuranceand both legs,andtherates are when higher even anything willcostyouanarmandprobably credit cardorK2500cashasadeposit.Hiring You mustbe25tohire acarandhave eithera and PortMoresby youcanhire aplainoldcar. cities, includingontheislands,andinLae Four-wheel drives canbehired inmostPNG Hire spare parts, praying. start dramaticallyonceyouleaverise town.As for is K3.90perlitre incities,butexpectpricesto PNG alitre of petrolcostsK3.30,whilediesel Fuel canbehardtofindandisexpensive. In Fuel &SpareParts the left-hand side. as are most drivinglicences.People drive on driving permitsare accepted intheSolomons, three months you’re inPNG.International Any validoverseas licenceisOK forthefirst Driving Licence companies. car-hire Ireland. All themajor citieshave anarrayof Hwy, orperhapstodrive aroundNew orMadang Lae forthetripupHighlands vehicle; it’snotworth the hassle. lack of appliestobuyinga roads.Thesame shipped manylocationsduetothe between vehicle adirtbike aseven tobe wouldneed the ‘Islands’partof the country’s name. nomoreSolomons youneed explanationthan wanttovisit,andintheplaces youmight In PNGit’spointlessbringingyourown One-way rentals are available atlocations hireYou could,however, acaror4WDin

(www.coralseahotels.com.pg) GETTING AROUND••Car&Motorcycle GETTING andBudget do Coral Sea Coral Sea .com.pg) or hitaperson). Tribalconcepts of pay back the accident(whether you’ve runover apig regardless of whowasatfaultorhowserious dent atthenearest Thisapplies policestation. don’t stop,keep drivingandreport theacci- mendations ifyouare involved in anaccident: tips onwhattodoifithappens to you. the Dangers ( &Annoyancessection p291 ) for admittedly quite slim,butit’sworthreading dit) factor. Yourchances of beingheld upare one youcan’tdomuch about:the it rains,youget bogged. Andthenthere’s that maintenance. There’s factor: thewet-season duetolackofbecoming almostimpassable manyareThere isthe deterioration factor: Roads inPNGcomewitharange of hazards. Road Hazards a 4WDis a necessity. If you’re planningongetting outof thetowns, Others are recently all-weatheraffairs. sealed by4WD, andonlytheninthedry. passable the least.Many are fullof potholesandonly Highway Highland near Mendi. connect KikoriintheGulfProvince tothe will pated GulfHighway SouthernHighlands Hwy.In2008thelong-antici- via theRamu Madang isalsoconnected tothehighway Kopiago, viaGoroka,MtHagen andTari. toLake Hwy,whichHighlands runsfromLae roadisthe Themostimportant difficulties. Kerema, andthatroadissubjecttoseasonal road toanyotherprovincial except capital Port Moresby, forexample,isnotlinked by roads inPNGisthatthere aren’t very many. Perhaps themostpertinentpointabout the Road Conditions policies don’tcover driving off-road. assometravelticularly important insurance sure toask before youdrive Thisispar- off. intheirrentalstandard agreements, butbe Most hire companies supplyfullinsuranceas Insurance else. nowhere of canbehired roads.Cars inHoniara,but The SolomonIslandshasless than1500km Travel-Car Hertz Avis Bear inmindthetouristoffice’s recom- Bear The roadconditionsare variable, tosay ( % ( % 324 9400;www.avis.com.pg) ( 302 6822;[email protected]) % 323 9878; queenemmalodge@daltron raskol

(ban- 317 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT TRANSPORT by asign insidethewindscreen orcalledout anywhere. Thedestinationwillbeindicated ing people. Youcan’tjust asktobeletoff indicated byayellowpole oracrowdof wait- routes. Stopsare pre-determined andare often lic transportalonganetworkof established universally knownas PMVs,provides pub- In mosturbanareas of afleet minibuses, Minibus (PMV) few kinaaday. islands rent battered bikes totravellers fora cheap andleave when full. principalasaPMV;they’reerate onthe same River. villagesbetween ontheSepik Theyop- forpaddling around Tufiordugoutcanoes forgettingtransport, such asoutrigger canoes a few placesyou’llfindmore exoticmeansof as PMVs(publicmotorvehicles), in though jority of tripsare known madebyminibuses cated inPNG andtheSolomons.Thevastma- Local transportisnotparticularlysophisti- LOCAL TRANSPORTINURBANAREAS planning to go. in pairs andletsomeoneknowwhere theyare tohitchwho choose willbesafer iftheytravel hitch inPNG ortheSolomonIslands.People risk, andsolowomenshould absolutely hitch are asmallbutpotentially taking serious safe inanycountry.Travellers who decideto at flights small airports. it’salsosometimespossibletohitch is light, pay the equivalent of aPMVfare. Ifyourbag of getting around.You’lloften beexpected to is goingyourway–atime-honoured way outrigger, freighter, plane–orwhatever else means jumpingontoabus,truck,tractor, the region. Thelackof scheduled transport Hitching partof is animportant travelling in HITCHING won’t have beltsin seat the back. passengers.driver Mostcars andfront-seat beltsmustbewornbythe in thecountry.Seat limitis60km/hintownsand80km/h speed driveCars ontheleftsideof theroad.The Road Rules immediate and action. satisfying local citizenrymaywellprefer totake more ance andyoumaybewillingtopay,butthe apply tocaraccidents.Youmayhave insur- 318 Keep inmindthathitching entirely is never A few (andonlyavery few) towns and ETN RUD • icig AROUND••Hitching GETTING not the meters work. kept, there isaradiodispatch networkand cars anddrivers are (mostly)cleanandwell- screens thatlooklike roadmaps,broken most of themare complete clunkers –wind- thatwillrun minibuses you around. be walking.Tofillthegap,hotels often have get aroundafter darkwhenyoudon’twantto Mt Hagen to have makingitdifficult notaxis, Wewak, Madang, Gorokaand Popondetta, and there are twoinVanimo. That’sit.Lae, PortMoresbytaxis. have andAlotau plenty nal danger, it’ssurprisingthere are notmore Considering PNG’sreputation fornoctur- Taxi length. of irrespective In town,PMVsusuallycost70tpertrip, to gohe’llletthedriver knowwhentostop. when theconductorgets his change sorted. you have towaitforyourchange; itwillcome of spare space,you’re if on.Don’tbesurprised directionright andthere’s acentimetre ortwo about thedestination.Ifit’sheadingin so whenthePMVstops,he’smantoask nearest the conductorsitsinseat thedoor, and copeswiththerabble. Onmostoccasions, passengers; andtheconductor,whotakes fares the best ways to meet the bestways tomeet local people. to travelling cheaply inPNG.It’salsoone of ferred toasPMVs), the PMVisoneof thekeys other meansof transport(boatsare alsore- butspaceinthe tray, orany whatsoever seats a tractorintheSolomons,pick-up withno bus, atruckwithtwofacingwooden benches, will bePMVs.Whetherit’sadilapidated mini- transport andwherever there are roads,there PMV isthegeneric term foranytypeof public PMV andGizoAukihavetaxis a few. Taxis get out. Theoneshining exceptionis don’t expecttobeoffered change whenyou to negotiate thefare before youget in,and ing aboutK2perkilometre) butyou’llhave excessive ataboutK5andaverag- (starting smellydrivers,seats, noradios.Pricesaren’t usually maintains an aloof distance from the analoof fromthe usually maintains distance staccato. machine-gun-style by thedriver’s aka‘conductor’,ina assistant, In theSolomons,Honiarahasplentyof If youdomanage toget you’llfind ataxi If youtell the conductorwhere youwant PMVs have acrew of two:thedriver, who

( % 323 4266) inPortMoresby, where the lonelyplanet.com Scarlet it leaves andfromwhere (usuallythelocal fortheintelligencea dayahead onwhen a day soaskaround have onlyoneservice and waitforittofillup.Many ruralroutes turn upatthedesignated departure point lonelyplanet.com is aPNGtourtosuitalmosteveryone. Of luxury-lodge there andcruise-boat affairs, From rough-and- ready village tours to TOURS fuel inyour home town. thewholeworld…notjustpriceofaffect is K60.Rememberthatoilpricefluctuations to GorokaisK40andMtHagen toMadang toMadangfrom Lae costsK40;fromMadang PMVs are refreshingly cheap. Forexample, Costs passengers andget a nearby. seat by PMV. Ifyoudo,findavehicle withwomen risk andshouldthinktwiceabouttravelling Hwy. Lonewomentravellers are alsoatgreater risk of robbery, especiallyontheHighlands some expensive 4WD.There is,of a course, most impressed you’re withthemandnotin perfectly safe; yourfellow passengers willbe can bethin,especiallyearlyin the week. roads,traffic for findingaride. Onsecondary (usually FridayandSaturday)are thebestdays the end,justyell‘stopdriver!’. Market days end of thetrip.Ifyouwantto get before off take yourmoney,usuallyatorjustbefore the conductor willtell youwhere it’sheadedand with lotsof peopleinitisaruralPMV. The returning. before while themorning’spassengers gotomarket ally larger) town,thenwaitacoupleof hours early inthemorning,drive toanother(usu- hours inonetownvery asmostPMVsstart market). alsosave Itmight youwaitingfor There’s no real sciencetousingPMVs;just Most of thetime,travelling inaPMVis Out of townyoucanassumethat anything GETTING AROUND••Tours GETTING friendly Norman Carver, includingclimbsof NormanCarver, friendly Mt Wilhelm. toursorganisedbythe .net.pg) ArangeofHighlands tours. Agenuinely nice guy. andcanarrangeallmannerof and knowledgeoftheSepik hasvastexperience lodge-sepiktour.com.pg) AloisMateos blown tour. Recommended. fromasingleguidetofull- They canprovideeverything experts. .pngfrontieradventures.com) Theseguysare Sepik Track and a Milne BayWar Track andaMilne walk. History walk,theBlackCat up MtWilhelm,theWilhelm–Madang Kokoda Trackfare, butalsosomeinteresting guidedtreks Thisoperatorofferstrekkingadventures.com) theusual mation on staying mation onstaying in villages. potato. orsweet and sago See p284 forinfor- available inthevillages –meaningfloorspace one. Accommodationandfoodisnormally from avery expensive countrytoareasonable ships andtheoddplane,PNGcanchange cious mixof PMVs,coastal walks,canoes, with PNGistowalk(see p288 ). Withajudi- The bestand cheapest waytocomegrips WALKING Tours Adventure Sepik Adventures PNG Trekking Tours PNG Highland PNG FrontierAdventures Tours Paradise Adventure p93 , andforbigger companies, see p311 Fortours tations. of theKokodaTrack,see . time. organisation coming toPNGandallowacoupleof weeks thembeforeorganised trip–trytocontact abetter- notnecessarily experience, though usually cheaper andoffer amore personal village-based tours. Smalleroperators are ing wildlife, bird-watching, trekking and withapenchantcatering forwatch- tothose particular interest are thespecialisttours watching tours. Good value. andbird- Sepik had goodfeedback onitsHighlands, .paradisetours.com.pg) ThisMtHagen-basedoperationhas The followingcompanieshave goodrepu- ( % ( % 732 1602;png.gold@global ( ( ( % % % © LonelyPlanetPublications 856 2525;www.ambunti 856 1584/1400;www 325 1284;www.png 542 1696;www

319 TRANSPORT TRANSPORT HEALTH if yourinsurance planwill make payments insurance.plemental Find outinadvance abroad, consider sup- for medicalexpenses If yourhealth coverinsurance doesn’t you INSURANCE from atravel health clinic. apreparedmedical necessityorobtain pack have aphysician’sletter documenting their If carryingsyringes besure orneedles, to including generic names,isalso agoodidea. your medicalconditionsandmedications, dated letter fromyour physiciandescribing nal, clearlylabelled,containers. Asignedand with you.Bringmedicationsintheirorigi- andtake youropticalprescriptionglasses, carry aspare and pairof lenses contact yourdentistbefore departing,abroad. See Prevention isthekey healthywhile tostaying BEFORE YOUGO are not good. overall of standards healthandhealthcare frastructure. steadily Although improving, under-resourced interms of medicalin- rabies-free. is crocodiles.Theregionmalaria andsaltwater countries share healthhazards: twoserious isthemainproblem.The transmitted disease and Solomon Islands are low.Mosquito- health riskstotravellers inPapua NewGuinea CONTENTS Health 320 precautionsWith sensible andbehaviour, the © LonelyPlanetPublications rdtoa eiie 326 324 322 321 321 320 Traditional Medicine 321 321 Environmental Hazards 320 Infectious Diseases Availability &CostofHealthCare 320 In Png&Solomon Islands Further Reading Internet Resources Medical Checklist Recommended Vaccinations Insurance 320 Before YouGo Both countrieslieinthetropicsandare rvle’ irhe 323 Traveller’s Diarrhoea Dr Michael Sorokin Dr Michael

you shouldconsider packing. aid kitwithyou.Followingisalistof items It isagoodideatocarrymedicalandfirst- MEDICAL CHECKLIST departure. before given, visitaphysicianatleastsixweeks after they’remunity untilatleasttwoweeks tion. Sincemostvaccinesdon’tproduceim- rubella andpolio,regardless of theirdestina- for diphtheria,tetanus,measles,mumps, recommends thatalltravellers becovered The WorldHealth Organisation (WHO) RECOMMENDED VACCINATIONS inordinately expensive. Brisbane) –theextrapremium isnotusually tothenearestevacuation major centre (eg payment in cash.) and SolomonIslands,mostdoctors expect for overseas healthexpenditures. (InPNG directly toproviders orreimburse youlater

oral rehydration (egGastrolyte, salts (forwateriodine tablets purification) DEET-containing repellent insect for the bandages (includingalongcompression antimalaria pills (prescriptionantigiardia tablets only,eg (forhayfever andallergicantihistamines drugs(egloperamide) antidiarrhoeal antibiotics (prescription only),egcip- antibiotic plus steroid eardrops(pre- antibacterial ointment(prescrip- anti-inflammatory drugs(egibuprofen) adhesive orpapertape Daoye Replyte) Diarolyte, skin dressings bandage), gauze,gauzerolls,waterproof tinidazole) reactions) (Utinor, Noroxin) rofloxacin (Ciproxin) ornorfloxacin otic) scription only,egSofradex, Kenacort abrasions forcutsandtion only,egBactroban) aspirin* or (paracetamol) acetaminophen Check whetheryourinsurancecovers .uk)

lonelyplanet.com Iael Young. Isabelle Australia, NewZealand andthe Pacific and Lanigan, by Cathy clude LonelyPlanet’s Good options for furtherreading in- FURTHER READING USA UK Canada Australia if one is available: ment’s travel healthwebsite before departure, site. Australian www.traveldoctor.com.au outbreaks andisvery user-friendly; and (www.cdc.gov) cost; the country,updatedfor every daily,alsoatno vides complete travel healthrecommendations Health Travel no cost. and isavailable onlineat Travel andHealth, publishes asuperbbookcalled TheWorldHealthplace tostart. Organisation website Planet Lonely the internet. Forfurtherinformation,the There is awealthof travel healthadviceon INTERNET RESOURCES prick, malariain the blood. agnostic kitthatcanidentify,fromafinger from atownarea aself-di- considertaking If youare travelling more than24hours away **Not incarry-onluggage. of incases bleeding dengue cause fever. *Aspirin forfever; itcan shouldnotbeused _e.html)

steroid cream orhydrocortisonecream Permethrin-containing sprayfor insect syringes andintra- andsterile needles, sun block (www.doh.gov.uk/traveladvice/index.htm) (for allergic rashes) clothing, tents and bed nets areas venous fluidsiftravelling invery remote scissors, safety pins,tweezers** pocketknife** It’s alsoagoodideatoconsultyourgovern- thermometer Other websites of general interest are , which has up-to-date informationabout (www.cdc.gov/travel/) (www.hc-sc.gc.ca/pphb-dgspsp/tmp-pmv/pub (www.dfat.gov.au/travel/) Centers forDiseaseControlandPrevention Centers ;

(www.mdtravelhealth.com) Fit forTravel INPNG&SOLOMON ISLANDS ••Availability &CostofHealthCare which annually isrevised

(lonelyplanet.com) Travel with Children , which isasimilar

(www.fitfor travel.scot.nhs www.who.int/ith Healthy Travel International , which pro- is agood byDr MD at

sm time. some they mayhave sittingontheshelffor been in majortained centres. Insmallercentres also behard to find. date antiepilepticsandantihypertensives may ofenough yourownsupply.Themore up-to- tives willbeavailable, itismuch safer tohave drug thatyouare alterna- usingand,although exactlythetypeoftain insulinpreparation or For diabetics, itmaynotbepossibletoob- specialdrugs canbeflownin. If necessary, pharmacies, butdonotexpectlarge supplies. in themaincentres where there are private contraceptives andantibiotics,are available long. very emergenciesserious waitingtimecanbe are free orof negligiblecost,butapart from outpatientservices accepted. Publichospital card toagovernment institutionmaynotbe quired. IntheSolomons,paymentbycredit private) exist, acashdepositwillbere- Where facilities(government hospital or chargedless thanthose inaWestern country. for ageneral practitionerare often slightly feesexpect paymentincash.Consultation facilities. these sion aidanddoctors maybeinsomeof vary. Intergovernmental orchurch mis- andfacilitieswill centresthese butstaffing and clinics are well-placedthroughout healthcentresfacilities. Smallhospitals, lower-quality diagnosticandtreatment canbelower–often of because of service and Gizo(SolomonIslands),thequality ric, orthopaedicand psychiatric specialists. while inPortMoresby there are alsopaediat- gynaecology are alsoavailable centres, inthese in internal medicine,surgery andobstetrics/ tory andradiologicalprocedures. Specialists by thelackof accesstosophisticated labora- primary care thatislimited of standard ahigh Honiara (SolomonIslands)–youcanexpect centres –PortMoresby (PNG)and andLae region andwithin each country.Inthemain The qualityof healthcare variesover the AVAILABILITY &COSTOFHEALTHCARE ISLANDS IN PNG&SOLOMON Tampons andpadscanbeeasily ob- drugs,includingoralCommonly used Private medicalpractitioners willusually In secondary centres,In secondary egMadang (PNG)

321 HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH and rulemalariaout.Ifyoudon’thave a in amalariousarea itisalwaysbesttotry isreasonable. of Inthe case feverarrhoea skin infections orcutsandforsimpledi- forminor day’s journey.Self-medication ae essential. are adults, asisdenguefever. repellents Insect much more dangerous tochildren than to andvomitingoccur.diarrhoea Malaria is verydevelops quicklywhenafever and/or problems. Intropicalclimates, dehydration pregnancy. during cephalitis vaccinationisnotrecommended possible allergic reactions, Japanese Ben- given duringpregnancy. of Also,because livetain virusmaterial andshould notbe con- mumps/measles/rubella vaccinedoes organisms soare notaproblem, butthe B andtyphoidfever) live donotcontain ommended ones(forhepatitisA, vaccinations are concerned,thethree rec- antimalarials.As whentaking even faras labour andprevention cannotbeguaranteed Malaria miscarriage cancause orpremature holiday destinationforapregnant woman. treatment. for getand certainly toamajor medicalcentre should stilltrytoget an accurate diagnosis preventive you antimalarials,inwhich case treatment medicationformalariaratherthan mayhaveadviser decidedtoprescribe self- to doablood-smearcheck. Your medical way), almostallclinicswillhave theability diagnostic kit(which isnotfoolproof any- ices may be available. Elsewhere, limited government serv- dental 322 The region isgenerally notanideal Medical helpwill be available withina Private dentistspracticeinPortMoresby. Travel withchildren canpresent special like illnesswithinaweek ofvaccination. like vaccine isdangerous foranyonewithanallergy toeggsandinabout5% ofcasescausesaflu- vaccine hasbeenassociated withallergic reactions thatrequire anantihistamine. Yellow fever and alittlemore commonwithhepatitis Bandtyphoidinoculations. Japanese B encephalitis fever withmuscleachesover thefirst24hours. These are withhepatitisAinoculations lesslikely that somevisitorsare vaccinated againstJapanese Bencephalitis. also recommended forhepatitisA,Bandtyphoidfever. ForPNG,itisalsorecommended to prove it)isrequired ifyouare entering fromayellowfever-endemic country.Vaccinations are When travelling toPNGandtheSolomonIslands,vaccination foryellowfever (andthecertificate REQUIRED &RECOMMENDEDVACCINATIONS NPG&SLMN ILNS • netosDsae IN PNG&SOLOMON Diseases ISLANDS ••Infectious All vaccinationscanproduceslightsoreness andredness attheinoculationsite, andamild Hepatitis Aisaviruscausingliver inflam- A Hepatitis be wise to accept. expatswhoarelong-stay offered thiswould in periodicmass-treatment campaigns,and drugsare bygovernmentsmectin. These used treated withthedrugsalbendazoleoriver- reason foranti-mosquitoprecautions. It’s rare, eliminated ithasn’t been andisanother can leadtochronic limbswelling.Though prolonged exposure (over aperiodof months) a fever withlymphglandenlargement, and Itcancause mosquito-transmitted disease. only intheSolomonIslands)isanother Also knownaselephantiasis,filariasis(found Filariasis danger in the Highlands. a blotchy dark red rash.Denguefever isnota prolonged vomiting,bloodinthevomit,and/or fluidsandrest.paracetamol, Danger signsare includes repellents. insect Self-treatment use should beavoided possible–always whenever There alsobeafinerash.Mosquitobites might enced withabad,prolonged of attack influenza. experi- severe musclepainssimilartothose afeverish illnessIt causes withheadache and Dengue fever isspread mosquitobites. through Fever Dengue INFECTIOUS DISEASES treatment consistsof rest, alow-fat dietand spread by contaminated foodorwater. Self- pregnant women intheirthirdtrimester. Itis of theelderlyandsometimesto liver disease, can bedangerous topeoplewithotherforms people recover completely over timebutit dark urine)occurandrecovery isslow.Most colouration of theskinandeyes, together with mation. Fever, debility andjaundice(yellow lonelyplanet.com ease and even cancer. andeven ease Itisspread, like HIV,by ous andoften progresses tochronic liver dis- liver inflammation,butthisvirusismore seri- Like hepatitisA,Bisaviruscausing B Hepatitis protective. 100% avoidance of alcohol. Thevaccineisalmost lonelyplanet.com exposing as littleskinpossible, applyingtop- to rely onmosquito-bite prevention (including here. Since novaccineisavailable you’ll have threatening but relapsing formsare present huts). Bothmalignant under thejunglecanopyorinterior of dark intensitylight islow(eginovercast conditions feedersgarded asnight theycanemerge when are mosquitoes re- Whilethese mosquitoes. infection transmitted byinfected anopheles the outlyingatollsandHoniara),is a parasite 1000m, andintheSolomonIslands (except Malaria, foundinallareas of PNGbelow Malaria going towork in villages. moreanyone staying thanafew and/or weeks occur. Vaccination isusuallyrecommended for tivity reactions rare, tothevaccine,though can inoculations over amonth).Allergic andsensi- vaccination isavailable (involvingthree costly rate. There isnospecifictreatment. Effective fever (encephalitis),which death hasahigh brain tocause sometimes theillness proceeds but this isusuallyasfartheinfection goes, symptomsare Early flu-like mosquitoes. and virustransmitted by isaserious the Highlands, PNG includingPortMoresby, butexcluding foundinthesouthernregion ofThis disease, Japanese BEncephalitis your own supply. orhavecheck isbeing used thatanewneedle tial. Ifyourequire aninjectionforanything unprotected ishuge. sex isessen- Condomuse proportions youcantake itthatthedanger of ences discusstheincidencereaching epidemic problem, sowhentheinternational confer- ports usuallyunderestimate theextent of the region of WestMelanesia. Government re- HIV infection inthewhole isontherise HIV/AIDS butvaccinationis cialised effective.highly Treatmentcontamination. iscomplexandspe- blood andaccidental contaminated needles intercourse, sexual mixing bodyfluidsthrough INPNG&SOLOMON ISLANDS ••Traveller’sDiarrhoea (falciparum) and less- arrhoea, be surearrhoea, todrinkplenty of fluids, parasites are more di- usual.Ifyoudevelop usually viral,but inthetropicsbacteria or water. Intemperate is climates thecause parasites present foodor incontaminated bacteria or byviruses, iscaused Diarrhoea a dramatic cure. person. Treatment withpenicillinproduces spreads viadirect withaninfected contact arecenthas been resurgence. Theinfection tohavethought eliminated, butthere been multipleskinulcers. Itwas Islands thatcauses This isabacterial infection foundinSolomon Yaws important. equally effective butcare witheatinganddrinkingis with antibiotics.Vaccination is moderately buttheinfectioncasionally fatal, iscurable Untreated itcan producedeliriumandisoc- fever,causes diarrhoea. debilityandlate-onset present ininadequately cooked shellfish.It mitted by foodhandlers andflies,canbe food orwater orboth.Thegerm canbetrans- terial infection acquired fromcontaminated Sporadic intheregion, typhoidfever isabac- Fever Typhoid as well.Malaria iscurableif early. diagnosed plies uptoafew months after leaving thearea malaria unlessbloodtests ruleitout.Thisap- zone itisbesttoassumethatfever isdueto isfever. ofessence thedisease Inamalarious No antimalarialis 100% effective. drugs before, duringandafter riskexposure. antimalarialwith permethrin)andtaking and, where bednetsimpregnated necessary, repellents, ical insect knockdowninsecticides TAELRS DIARRHOEA TRAVELLER’S Malaria varioussymptomsbutthe causes know whichwater issafe. altitude thannearbyvillages–localguides drinkonlyfromstreamstrekking, atahigher of townsinPNG,canbetrusted. Ifyou’re cities inbothcountries,andthemajority ice. The municipal water supplyincapital (with iodinetablets)andtosteer clearof boiled, filtered orchemicallydisinfected is toavoidtapwater unlessithasbeen To prevent diarrhoea,asensibleprecaution DRINKING WATER

323 HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH unconsciousness. rational behaviour, vomiting and eventually leading toa‘drunken walk’),confusion,ir- headache, lackof coordination (typically production of pink,frothysputum),severe (whichtative may progress cough to the include breathlessness atrest, a dryirri- More symptomsand irritability. serious breathlessness,sea, sleeping difficulty dizziness, lethargy, lossof appetite, nau- andinclude headache, atnight be worse during thefirst 24hours. They tend to enough. fast reactionspensatory maynotkickintogear andtoofast,yourbody’scom- is toohigh cumb whenyoutravel higher. Iftheascent get butyoucanstillsuc- AMSatthatheight, toagiven youarematised height unlikely to from onetothree days.Onceyouare accli- 3500m to4500misthe usual range. at3000m,although fatal AMS hasbeen trekkerseven altitudes. accustomedtohigh andcanaffecta notoriouslyfickleaffliction with which youmake yourascent.AMSis The major riskfactor inAMSisthespeed and lungstocompensatebyworkingharder. muscles andthebrain,requiring theheart oxygenple tosomeextent. Less reaches the of oxygen mostpeo- altitudesaffects athigh (AMS), oraltitudesickness,tobearisk.Lack sickness foracute mountain enough high 2500m, includingMtWilhelm(4509m),are Areas of than higher PNG’sHighlands Acute MountainSickness ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS Tinidazole usuallycures the infection. of (fourtablets) sive’, Onedose diarrhoea. smelling, persistent, not‘explo- although giardia producesbloatingaswellafoul- A parasite present water, incontaminated Giardiasis pain, seek medical attention. by fever, shaking, chills orsevere abdominal for more than72hours orisaccompanied isbloody,persistsLoperamide). Ifdiarrhoea agentdrug) andananti-diarrhoeal (such as should take anantibiotic(usuallyaquinolone having more thanfourorfive stoolsaday,you stools don’trequire treatment, butifyoustart Diarolyte, Gastrolyte, Replyte). Afew loose preferably anoralrehydration solution(eg 324 Acclimatisation is vital andusuallytakes isvital Acclimatisation Mild symptomsof AMSusuallydevelop NPG&SLMN ILNS • niomna aad IN PNG&SOLOMON ISLANDS ••EnvironmentalHazards able frommajor medical centres. no otheroption.Antivenins are usuallyavail- stillunlessthere’sment. Victimsshould stay with anyformof splintisthefirst-aid treat- over thebite of andimmobilisation thelimb careful. Compression bypadandbandage leaf-covered bealertand groundoratnight), where visibility isnotclear(such aslonggrass, reason, sowhenwalkinginareas inPNG humanswithout attack seldom ous taipan) Snakes venom- (egthedeathadderorhighly LAND CREATURES Bites &Stings enable further ascent. toavoid descentorto beused should never drugs.Drugtreatments these in peopletaking AMShasoccurreding signs;severe andfatal duce thesymptoms,theymayalsomaskwarn- iscontroversial.their use Whiletheycanre- doctors fortheprevention of AMS.However, dexamethasone are recommended bysome quickly aspossible–anydelaycould be fatal. vere AMSistoget downtoaloweraltitudeas can help.Themosteffective treatment forse- immediate descent symptoms persist orbecomeworse, however, Take oraspirinforheadaches. If paracetamol altitude untilrecovery, usuallyadayortwo. Treat mildsymptomsbyresting atthesame TREATMENT rivers; heed local warnings. well recorded. Crocodilescan swimintotidal Saltwater rare, though crocodile attacks, are MARINE CREATURES ticide (orburningitwitha cigarette tip!). the leechtoremove byapplyinganinsec- itself may result –itisbetter inbleeding toinduce leech infestation. Pullingaleech offtheskin lent toskin,clothingandbootswill prevent be allergic. Liberalapplication of repel- insect dangerous excepttotherare person whomay and easilyfixthemselves ontoskin.Theyaren’t clinics. village An antivenin isavailable –check withlocal asafirst-aidAn icepackisuseful measure. limb, severe pain,weakness andvomiting. heralded bymarked sweatingof theaffected bite withoccasionalgeneralised poisoning averystripe onitsback)thatcancause painful tive smallspider(knownfortheorange-red areLeeches present in swampyjungleareas The redback (jockey spider)isadistinc- (Diamox)The drugsacetazolamide and is necessary – even 500m –even isnecessary lonelyplanet.com the water orstrandedonthebeach itiswise Pacific mano’war. floatingin these Ifyousee whip-like stingsfromtheblue-coloured Indo- Straits, butmuch more commonare the recordedbeen inthewaters of theTorres lonelyplanet.com of time atrelatively shallowdepths isgreat and temptation tospend longer thansafe amounts precautions. Few dives are very butthe deep excited andneglectstrict depthandtime nities forscubadiving itiseasytoget over- theregion haswonderful opportu- Because Hazards Diving with a waterproof dressing. bits of andcover coral,applyanantiseptic gettingwound thoroughly, outallthelittle outofimmediately. Get thewater, cleanthe to cutyourself onlive coral,treat thewound infection. touch Never coral.Ifyoudohappen of rock,butlive prolonged coralcancause similar injuriestothatfromanyothersort Cuts andabrasionsfromdeadcoralcause Cuts Coral gone. have outofStay thewater untilthepainanditch steroid eardroppreparation isvery effective. doctor. withanantibioticplus Self-treatment common reason fortravellers toconsulta itisthemost holiday. Apartfromdiarrhoea long, wethairliesover the ear opening. into theearcanalafter ashower,especiallyif ming butcanbereactivated bywater dripping afterand inflammation.Itusuallystarts swim- lying aroundpredisposing tobacterial infection canal activatinganyfungalspores thatmaybe bywater enteringthe earcanal.Itiscaused the This isacommonnameforinflammationof Ear Coral fangs willnotpenetrate a wetsuit. They are extremely unlikely andtheir toattack attention. medical in breathing are for signsthatflagtheneed ordifficulty faintness,palpitations but nausea, gloves. localreactions, Stingsmainlycause dling theshellatitsbluntendandbyusing low coralreefs. Stingscanbeavoided byhan- packs. Donot alcohol. use painful andisbesttreated withvinegarorice not togointothewater. Thestingisvery The notoriousbox has jellyfish(seawasp) Sea snakes may be seen aroundcoralreefs. snakes maybeseen Sea It canbevery, very painfulandcanspoila Poisonous coneshells abound alongshal- INPNG&SOLOMON ISLANDS ••EnvironmentalHazards weakness, exhaustion and mental confusion. confusion. weakness, exhaustionand mental emergency conditioncharacterised bymuscle heat stroke ensues.This isadangerous and ofWhen thecooling effect sweatingfails, HEAT STROKE headaches and cancause and confusion. canresulttablets intoomuch beingtaken, salt (pint)ofpinch water. of toahalf-litre salt Salt lutions, areasonable drinkconsists of agood heat exhaustion.Apartfromcommercial so- arediarrhoea just aseffective whenitisdue to powders fortreating used dehydration dueto be madeworse bydrinkingwater alone. The are aswellwater lossandcan duetosalt are as muscleweakness and cramps useful, you’re very active. Salt-replacement solutions at least2Lto3Lof water perdayandmore if sign. Heat exhaustionisprevented bydrinking dehydrated withoutrealising it.Thirst isalate sweatingsoitiseasytobecome is through loss.Naturalheatlossassociated withsalt and forthemostpart humid. This region lieswithinthetropicssoitishot Heat wary ing hotisusuallysafe. Be of salads. handlers cancarryinfection. Foodthatispip- ofgood standards hygiene,butindividualfood safe butmostresortnot necessarily hotels have in restaurants thatare frequented bylocalsis andavoid meals.Food hot through buffet-style foodthatis milk.Eat unpasteurised contain bewaryof peeled; dairyproductsthatmight Only eatfresh fruitsorvegetables ifcooked or Food to cover costs. tus of compression chambers, and insurance www.danesap.org) organisations like Even experienceddivers shouldcheck with Novice divers mustbeespeciallycareful. to thechambers issometimesaproblem. Supplyofchamber canbedifficult. oxygen Moresby andinHoniara,buttransporttoa pression chambers couldbefoundatPort prevent the bends. must besuspect.Keeping wellhydrated helps but anymuscleorjointpainafter scubadiving severe andmaybeattributed toothercauses, painsmaynotbe illness (the‘bends’).Early ofis probably themaincause decompression Heat of exhaustion isastate dehydration At thetimeof writing,privately runcom- aboutthecurrent site andsta- Divers’ Alert Network Alert Divers’

(DAN; 325 HEALTH HEALTH HEALTH crioe cream. cortisone dressings. swellingmayrespond Severe toa mantra. Treata useful sunburnwithcool,wet a shirt, sloponsunscreen andslaponahat)is The Australian‘slip,slop,slap’slogan(slipon Doxycycline taking those asanantimalarial. rays. Sunburnismore likely aproblemfor cancer. Cloudcover notblockoutUV does andthedangering painandmisery of skin burningofcauses theskinwithaccompany- Exposure totheultraviolet raysof thesun Sunburn help. medical and withcolddrinksfortheinside,thenseek cooling thebodywithwater ontheoutside Skin willbehotanddry.‘Putthefire out’by 326 © LonelyPlanetPublications NPG&SLMN ILNS • rdtoa eiie IN PNG&SOLOMON ISLANDS ••TraditionalMedicine cancers. mouth unproven. Prolonged predisposes use to about otherhealingpropertiesremain astringent inthemouthbutclaims effect in PNGandSolomonIslands.Ithasan able inallof the main towns. fever are like herbsare aspirin.Chinese avail- can beignored. Tree-bark concoctionsfor Claims such asAIDScures andaphrodisiacs institutions are researching manyof them. ingredients, andgovernments andresearch Some of folkremediesthese have effective village having theirowntraditionalhealers. leaves have over evolved centuries,witheach Treatments involvinglocalherbs,rootsand TRADITIONAL MEDICINE Buai, or betel-nut chewing iswidespread lonelyplanet.com © Lonely Planet Publications 327 Language Many Austronesian languages can be un- derstood by non-native speakers (ie speak- CONTENTS ers of other Austronesian PNG languages). A disticntive feature of these languages is Who Speaks What Where? 327 that they usually have a number system Pijin (Solomon Islands) 327 based on five. Various dialects in the High- Tok Pisin (PNG) 328 lands and Sepik regions are closely related, non-Austronesian languages that can be broadly understood across old clan bound- WHO SPEAKS WHAT WHERE? aries. After the national pidgins of Papua New In the early days of British New Guinea Guinea and the Solomons, English is the and then Australian Papua, the local lan- most universally understood language, but guage of the Port Moresby coastal area, while it’s quite common in the cities and Motu, evolved into Police Motu, and was large towns, in rural areas you’ll need some spread through Papua by the native con- basic pidgin in order to communicate. stabulary. It’s still widely spoken in the southern Papuan part of PNG and you can Pidgins easily pick up a Motu phrasebook in Port Pidgins are very easy for English speakers Moresby. Motu are Polynesian descend- to get a handle on, and Solomons Pijin is ents, related to other Polynesians from else- even easier in this regard than PNG Pijin. where in the Pacific. The Solomons was a British territory and their Pijin is derived solely from English, Solomon Islands Officially, there are 67 listed indigenous whereas PNG Pijin has elements of German languages and about 30 dialects in the Solo- and various tok ples (native tongue, literally mon Islands. It is quite common for people ‘talk of your place’). PNG Pijin is closer to from villages separated by only a few kilo- Bislama (of Vanuatu) than it is to Solomons metres to speak mutually incomprehensible Pijin, and Tok Pisin speakers are easily languages. As a result, the national language understood in Vanuatu. of the Solomons is Solomon Islands Pijin, This language guide only includes phrases or Pijin for short. in the pidgin of PNG, Tok Pisin, as it is similar enough to Pijin for you to get by. PIJIN (SOLOMON ISLANDS) LANGUAGE Listen closely to what people say, use your Early 19th-century sailors stimulated the English inventively, and you’ll find it easy to evolution of Pijin. The recruitment of labour communicate in both PNG and the (including Solomon Islanders) from the Solomons. 1860s to 1900s to work in mines, and in Oceanic canefields and plantations, spread Papua New Guinea the language all over the Pacific. By the More than 800 languages are spoken in 1930s, Pijin was being spoken by mission- PNG – a whopping 12% of the world’s in- aries in many areas, helping to spread it digenous languages. Linguists divide these further. While English is now the official languages into 14 major groups. Austro- language of the administration, many nesian languages are spoken by a sixth of government staff use Pijin in everyday PNG’s people and dominate in the islands conversation. and around the coast. Enga is spoken by Solomon Islands Pijin – like similar about 165,000 speakers in the Highlands languages in PNG, Vanuatu, West Africa region, and is the most predominant spo- and along the old China coast – has been ken native language (tok ples) in PNG. condemned by all and sundry, including Kuanua, spoken by East New Britain’s Tolai the UN. It has been called ‘baby talk’, a people, has about 61,000 speakers. ‘bastard language’ and a ‘mongrel lingo’. LANGUAGE colonial days, TokPisin isavibrantand bastard language orcomicoperatalkin who speaksit. mote villagesit’s rarenottofindsomeone lingua francaofPNG,andevenin veryre- guages arespoken.TokPisinisthe major in acountrywheremorethan 800 lan- perceived usefulnessasacommon language posed itsuseforquitesometime), butits German andAustraliangovernments op- much todeliberatepolicies(infact boththe Guinea, butalsoinformerPapua. speakers, notonlyinformerGermanNew used regularlybymorethantwomillion pendent PapuaNewGuinea,andassuchis changed intothenationallanguageofinde- language ofthe1920sand1930shas their firstlanguage).Thesimpleplantation towns, ithasbecomecreolised(adoptedas growing numberofchildreninthebig second languageinmostvillages.Fora many functions,andisnowlearnedasa ence awayfromtheirhomevillage. the languageaspartoftheirworkexperi- speakers hadacquiredtheirknowledgeof very recently,themajorityofTokPisin and theHighlandswereemployed.Until young menfromthemoreremoteinterior islands oftheBismarckArchipelago,where established incoastalNewGuineaandthe guage oftheplantationsGermans guage. PidginEnglishalsobecamethelan- they tookwiththemknowledgeofthislan- workforce. OnreturningtoNewGuinea, guage ofamulticulturalandmultilingual English haddevelopedastheworkinglan- man plantationsofSamoa,wherePidgin periods ofthreeyearsormoreontheGer- thousands ofNewGuineansworkedfor labour trade.Between1880and1914, Melanesian) hasitsoriginsinthePacific Guinea PidginEnglish,TokBoi,Neo- Tok Pisin(orasithasalsobeencalled,New TOK PISIN(PNG) respect. guists havebeentreatingthisversionwith fellow countryfolk.Sincethe1970s,lin- the truePijin,whichtheyuseamongtheir English-speaking employers.Thesecondis simplified formusedbyislanderstotheir Pijin speakersusetwoversions.Oneisa 328 Much maligned asabrokenEnglish, The spreadofTokPisinisduenotso Tok Pisinhasgrownintoalanguagewith LANGUAGE ••TokPisin (PNG) which willalsohelpyoupickitup. broadcasts manyprogrammesin Pidgin, are easytofollowevenforbeginners.EmTV guage. Therearealsocomicstrips,which reading itisagoodwaytolearnthelan- Pisin. Aswellasbeingadecentnewspaper, weekly newspaper,writtenentirelyinTok less tosay,aPidginbible. have allsortsofliterature,including,need- there isusuallyoneineverytownandthey Pisin aretheChristianbookshopsinPNG; Lonely Planet’s Islands PijinandTokPisin,getacopyof languages ofOceania,includingSolomon want talktoPapuaNewGuineanssocially. when theymoveawayfromthetownsand visitors willfindthelanguageinvaluable Pisin speakersaretolerantofvariationand such asTolai(spokenaroundRabaul).Tok phenomena originateinlocallanguages origin, butmanywordsreferringtolocal the Madangregion. and spokenvarietyofTokPisinisthat ings stillabound.Themostwidelywritten Wantok ists (usedinthe and althoughanofficialwritingsystemex- been awrittenlanguagesincethe1920s, education, churchesandthemedia.Ithas daily life,includingthePNGparliament, expressive languageusedinallareasof mother tongue. grammar bythe conventionsoftheir influenced intheir pronunciationand ond languageTok Pisinspeakersareoften towns ornon-traditional settlements.Sec- (about 100,000)andtheyaremainly in eans speakTokPisinastheirfirst language Only asmallnumberofPapuaNew Guin- Pronunciation It isworthwhilebuyingthe The bestplacestolookforbooksinTok For amoredetailedguidetothepidgin Most TokPisinwordsareofEnglish rapidly becominganarchaicform. ‘Bilong’ isstilltechnicallycorrect,butit’s both spokenandcommonwrittenforms. day usageit’struncatedtoasimple‘blo’in almost everysentence.ThesedaysInevery- In PNGthepossessiveword BILONG BLOHUSAT? newspaper), non-standardspell- Pidgin PhrasebookPidgin Nupela Testamen bilong lonelyplanet.com isusedin . Wantok and

is it?’: or bat! bokis woman’s trunk orsuitcasemaybea also aeuphemismforintercourse.Aman’s while youcan means tocopulatewith,notpush.And more like‘nottoonear,notfar’. a longwayornot–ittranslates have to (hard); tokillsomebodyorsomethingyou lonelyplanet.com ludy laundry bath/shower a...? Is there tocheckouttoday/tomorrow. I’d like I wanttostay...day(s). thetoilet? Where’s amosquitonet? Is there thisroom. I like Iseetheroom? Can How muchisitpernight? asingle/doubleroom? Do youhave Accommodation Pidgin. Forinstance, English buthaveadifferentmeaningin Be waryofwordsthatmaysoundsimilarto Avoiding Confusion oi au ai u o i e a when unstressedandattheendofaword. diphthongs arepronouncedclearly,even kw tion, asare changeable inbothspellingandpronuncia- asin‘sit’ asin‘set’ asin‘art’ asin‘lot’ asin‘put’ asin‘ais;e’ asin‘boil’ Mi laikbaimilusimhotel Mi laikstap...de. Haus pekpekistapwe? I gatmoskitanetistap? Mi laikim(tru)dispelarum. Inap milukimrumpastaim? Em ikostimhamaslongwanpelade? Yu gatrumsliplongwanpela/tupelaman? asthe‘ou’in‘house’ You’ll love the standard reply to ‘how far You’ll lovethestandardreplyto‘howfar Be carefulofthesexualphrases– Note that representstheEnglish‘qu’.Vowelsand isnotablacksuitcasebutflyingfox longwe liklik kilim idai bokis d and p ple tenis and ishervagina,anda t , . . It doesn’t actually mean . Itdoesn’tactuallymean j and

I gatrum...? tede/tumora. bilong wasim (ol)klos waswas (istap) kilim f arevirtuallyinter- (playtennis), z . Thecombination justmeanstohit bokis, buta pusim ple blak is

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Numbers far near in frontof Is transport How farisit? Turn left/right. Straight ahead. is...? Where Directions forbidden big a little brother sister relative child man/woman I needhelp. youdrawamap? Can slowlyplease. More I (don’t)understand. I’m (a/an)... What’s yourjob? I’m from... youfrom? are Where My nameis... What’s yourname? I’m well. you(very Thank Excuse me/Sorry. Please. No. Yes. Goodbye. Hello. &Essentials Conversation behind you? How are

available? much). bikpela pikinini liklik brata wantok tambu LANGUAGE ••TokPisin (PNG)

man/meri Mi ... ten nain et seven sikis faiv tri tu wan longwe klostu ai bilong bihain long I gatbas,teksisamting? Em ilongweonogat? Tanim lep Stret. ... istapwe? susa Mi laikimsampelahalp. Inap yuwokim/droimmap? Yu tokisiplis. Mi (no)save. Wanim kainwokbilongyu? Ples bilongmi... Ples bilongyuwe? Nem bilongmi... Wanem nembilongyu? Mi stapgut. Yu stapgut? Tenkyu (tru). Sori. Plis. Nogat. Yes. Lukim yu. Gude. foa / rait.

329 LANGUAGE LANGUAGE teh sia the hospital the church a bank for... I’m looking it. I’ll take Is thatyourlowestprice? cheap. very That’s I’m justlooking. What’s that? How muchisit? tobuy... I’d like Shopping &Services 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 330 © LonelyPlanetPublications Bai mikisim. Pe/Prais idaun(tru). Mi lukluktasol. Wanem dispela? Hamas longdispela? Mi laikbaim... I gatsekenprais?

LANGUAGE ••TokPisin (PNG) Mipainim... Pidgin Phrasebook Also availablefromLonely Planet: wanpela tentu etpela ten sevenpela ten sikispela ten faivpela ten fopela ten tripela ten tupela tentu tupela tenwan tupela ten wanpela tennain wanpela tenet wanpela tenseven wanpela tensikis wanpela tenfaiv wanpela tenfoa wanpela tentri wanpela tenwan wan handet nainpela ten haus sik haus lotu haus mani/benk one-way one-way to ... a...ticket I’d like Hamastaimlonggo...? How longisthejourney? How muchisitto...? Transport Saturday Friday Thursday Wednesday Tuesday Monday Sunday yesterday tomorrow today night (11–4) (7–11) evening afternoon morning o’clock. It’s (eight) What timeisit? whattime? When/At Time &Dates the police the market plane bus boat ...leave? next What timedoesthe the ...arrive? What timedoes return Em ihamaslong...? bas bot balus

biknait nait Wanem taimnau? Wanem taim? Long wanemtaimneks...igo? Wanem taim...ikamap? igolongtasol Mi laikbaimtiketlong... Sarere Fraide Fonde Trinde Tunde Mande Sande asde tumora tede apinun moningtaim Em i(et)klok. polis stesin maket/bung go naikambek lonelyplanet.com © Lonely Planet Publications 331 Glossary arse tanket – a bunch of tanket leaves stuck into a belt kumul – bird of paradise to cover a man’s backside; also called arse gras (Highlands) kunai – grass, grassland kundu – hourglass-shaped drum covered with lizard or bagarap – broken; literally ‘buggered-up’ snake skin bagi – red shell necklace used for trade in the kula ring kwik piksa leta – fax; literally ‘quick picture letter’ islands balus – aeroplane laplap – sarong banana boat – trade boat or dinghy liklik – small baret – artificial channel or canal constructed across loops liklik haus – toilet; literally ‘small house’ in a river (Sepik) loloi – rolls of shell money strung on lengths of cane (East bigman – important man, a leader New Britain) bikpela – big, great lotu – religious service, worship bilas – jewellery, decorations, finery lusim – to leave bilum – string bag boi – boy malangan – ritual of making totemic figures (also called BRA – Bougainville Revolutionary Army (Solomon Islands) malangans) to honour the dead; also known as malagan buai – betel nut masalai – spirit of the bush or water; a devil (East New buk tambu – the bible Britain and New Ireland) bukumatula – bachelor house (Trobriand Islands) masta – white adult male (colonial) bekim moni – ‘payback’ or compensation money mausgras – beard, moustache, whiskers buli – tinned (bully) beef MEF – Malaitan Eagle Force (Solomon Islands) meri – wife, woman dewel – devil misis – European woman dim dims – white people missinari – missionary diwai – wood moga – ceremony surrounding the giving away of goods doba – leaf money (Milne Bay Province) to display one’s wealth (Highlands) dobu – long house Motu – the indigenous people of the Port Moresby area; dukduk – spirit and ritual costume the language spoken by these people garamut – drum made from a hollowed log mumu – traditional underground oven GRA – Guadalcanal Revolutionary Army (Solomon Islands) mwala – decorated armlets made from cone shells used for trade in the kula ring islands haus – house haus sik – hospital nambawan – number one, the best haus tambaran – spirit house natnat – mosquito haus win – open-air structure like a gazebo; literally ‘house of wind’ OPM – Organisasi Papua Merdeka, or Free West Papua Movement inap – enough payback – compensation paid for a wrongdoing, but in kai bar – cheap takeaway food bar reprisal more than revenge kaikai – food pikus tri – fig tree karim leg – courting ceremony involving crossing legs pinis – finish with a partner; literally ‘carry leg’ (Highlands) pis – fish kastom – custom pisin – bird GLOSSARY kaukau – sweet potato pitpit – wild sugar cane TAB5 kiap – patrol officer (of colonial origin) PMV – public motor vehicle kina – unit of PNG currency; large shell traded from the pukpuk – crocodile coast as an early form of currency kokomo – hornbill bird raskol – bandit, criminal or thief kula ring – ring of trading islands in Milne Bay Province ria – volcanic fjord, as found near Tufi 332 GLOSSARY

rokrok – frog toea – unit of PNG currency (100 toea = 1 kina); a shell saksak – sago necklace also used as currency salvinia – (Salvinia molesta) weed found in many Tok Pisin – the Pidgin language waterways Tok Ples – local language; first language; pronounced save – understand, think ‘talk place’ singsing – celebratory festival/dance Tolai – the main inhabitants of East New Britain’s Gazelle solwara – ocean, sea Peninsula, pronounced ‘tol-eye’ spia – spear tumbuan – large, feather-draped body mask story board – narrative carving done on a wooden board tupela – two, both susu – milk, breast turnim het – a courting ceremony involving rubbing faces together, literally ‘turn head’ (Highlands) tambaran – ancestral spirit; also called tambuan, tabaran or tabuan voluntia – volunteer tambu – forbidden or sacred; shell money (Tolai) tapa – beaten bark cloth wantok – fellow clanspeople, kith and kin; literally ‘one taro – tuberous root vegetable similar to a sweet potato talk’ or ‘one who speaks the same language’ tasol – that’s all, only tee – ceremony where men give away goods to display yam – tuberous root vegetable similar to a sweet their wealth (Enga) potato

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