Central, Oro & Milne Bay Provinces

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Central, Oro &

MilnePOP 732,600 / AREA 67,940 SQBay KM Provinces

Includes  Why Go? Kokoda...... 63 In these eastern provinces, the legendary Kokoda Track zig- Popondetta...... 66 zags relentlessly through the jungle-clad mountains, throwing Oro Bay...... 67 down the gauntlet to those who wish to walk in the footsteps Tufi...... 67 of WWII’s fallen. Further east, amid the fjords of the rugged coastline, some of the world’s most biologically diverse reefs Alotau...... 69 have divers gasping through their mouthpieces. Coastal vil- East Cape...... 73 lagers welcome visitors with old-fashioned hospitality and Wagawaga...... 73 can show them the sacred skull caves of their ancestors. Samarai Islands...... 74 North across the Solomon Sea, the Trobriands are a world D’Entrecasteaux apart: yams rule supreme, ‘free love’ is occasionally prac- Islands...... 76 tised, magicians bring rain and cricket is played aggressively. Head south and the land dissolves into thousands of Trobriand Islands...... 78 islands, islets and atolls, where the adventurous can spend weeks island-hopping. This watery world celebrates its seafaring heritage during the Milne Bay Canoe & Kundu Festival, during which island warriors race their splendidly Best Places to decorated ocean-going canoes. Stay ¨¨Ulumani Treetops Lodge (p74) When to Go ¨¨Nuli Sapi (p76) Kokoda °C/°F Te mp Rainfall inches/mm ¨¨Butia Lodge (p81) 40/104 24/600 ¨¨Tufi Resort (p68) 30/86 ¨¨Tawali Resort (p74) 16/400 20/68

8/200 10/50 Best Village Stays 0/32 0 ¨¨Garewa (p68) J FDM A M J J A S O N ¨¨Kofure (p68) Catch Dry, Calm, ¨¨Okaiboma Beach Huts Jun–Aug May–Sep Oct–Dec the raucous cooler weather in dry weather in (p81) Milamala Festival Central Province, Milne Bay – best ¨¨Kaibola Beach Guesthouse on the Trobriand ideal Kokoda trek- for diving and (p81) Islands. king weather. snorkelling. ¨¨Orotaba (p68) Central, Oro & Milne Bay Provinces CKokodaentral Province 63 ------that has that museum their origin is volcanic (buggered up). The Stan the Owen is divided by mainland remains Popondetta, near Lamington, Mt are Province The Bay islands of Milne CENTRAL PROVINCE POP 550 mation. Opposite the post office is a branch Opposite the post office mation. where trek Authority Track of the Kokoda haven’t king permits can be bought if you Trekkers Moresby. already done so in Port should also report the trail here tofinishing the trail. stamped off be officially Kokoda The Stanley rises almostOwen sheer Range vil Province face behind the Oro a cliff as where the northern Kokoda, of tiny lage (p35) Track end of the infamous Kokoda Theterminates. area in the centre grassed of town houses a small and Islands; Muyua (Woodlark) Island; Island; (Woodlark) Muyua and Islands; the Conflict groups; and the and Engineer Louisiade300km-long They Archipelago. to mountainous islands dots from tiny range Goodeand Normanby Fergusson, as such last,the nough; soarswide, 26km only while the summit of Mt Oiautukekea, to 2566m at making it one of the most steeply sided is lands on earth. Stretching for more than 500km either side in the lives Province Central Moresby, of Port Overlooked capital. shadow of the national by tourists by politicians, and long ignored infrastructureevenis, standards, local by bagarap Guinea and out into the Coral and Solomonand Coral the into out and Guinea of islands and hundreds in the Seas, taking Province. Bay Milne of atolls from the northley rises rapidly which Range, coastsern and southern to to peaks of 3500m and few: roads are the Magi 4000m. Major Moresby, Hwys extend from Port Hiritano any the only road of Province while in Oro to Kokoda. Popondetta runs from length and furthera mildly active volcano east The section of near Tufi. there are volcanoes has unique trop coast around Cape Nelson ical ‘fjords’ (rias); than glacial. rather the Samaraidivided into six main groups: group; D’Entrecasteaux group; the Trobri photos and descriptions of the campaign.the of descriptions and photos it opened. Postmistress Ask around to have source of infor Eroro (p66) is a great Grace ------trade between trade (sailing boats). In 1606 Spanish mariner Luis Vaéz de Vaéz Luis mariner Spanish 1606 In Milne Bay became a huge Allied naval naval Allied became a huge Bay Milne On the north coast early European con Apart from men of God, the region at Torres, after Louisiadethe whom Archipel Torres, Geography tail’ The region stretches down the ‘dragon’s New the eastern end of mainland Papua at base and the gardens and plantations inlandbase and the gardens and plantations from Buna and Gona had barely recovered 1951 from the war when Mt Lamington’s the districteruption wiped out Higaturu, headquarters, killing almost 3000 people. The new headquarters town of Popondetta a safer distancewas established from the at volcano. ally things quietened down and the mines out. Then came WWII. worked were ly peaceful, but when gold was discovered atly peaceful, was discovered but when gold soon in 1895, violence and Kokoda Yodda estab was station A government followed. locals afterlished between altercation an officer government and miners, but the first was killed shortly after Eventu he arrived. cibly removed local men to work in northern work local men to cibly removed into the well sugar plantations Australian 20th century. tacts relative people were with the Orokaiva tracted ‘blackbirding’ opportunists who for til 1847 that Europeans sought to settle the Europeans sought to settle that til 1847 ar missionaries Marist year, that region. In but the Island, (Woodlark) on Muyua rived unenthusiastic aboutlocals, it seems, were gone were Christianity and the Marists Apparently undeterred,within eight years. the London Missionary Society (LMS), and finally Anglicans, Methodists Catholics, opened for businessAdventists Seventh-Day notable the 1870sbetween and 1908. Most among them was Reverend Charles W Abel, LMS, who in 1891a dissident member of the Association Extension founded the Kwato totraining providing skills Island, on Kwato Bay. people of Milne the indigenous ago was named, abducted 14 children and abducted was named, ago 14 in the Philippines to Manila took them to ofarray an by was followed baptised. He be explorers, including the famous Frenchman Antoine d’Entrecasteaux, but it wasn’t un The coastal re of this and islanders people in extensive centuries for traded gion have barter The networks. hiri and villages Province in Central Motuans further around the gulf was conducted in lakatois two-masted huge History