©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 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) 63 History Guinea and out into the Coral and Solomon The coastal people and islanders of this re- Seas, taking in the hundreds of islands and gion have traded for centuries in extensive atolls of Milne Bay Province. barter networks. The hiri trade between The mainland is divided by the Owen Stan- Motuans in Central Province and villages ley Range, which rises rapidly from the north- further around the gulf was conducted in ern and southern coasts to peaks of 3500m to huge two-masted lakatois (sailing boats). 4000m. Major roads are few: the Magi and In 1606 Spanish mariner Luis Vaéz de Hiritano Hwys extend from Port Moresby, Torres, after whom the Louisiade Archipel- while in Oro Province the only road of any ago was named, abducted 14 children and length runs from Popondetta to Kokoda. took them to Manila in the Philippines to Mt Lamington, near Popondetta, remains a mildly active volcano and further east be baptised. He was followed by an array of CENTRAL, OR explorers, including the famous Frenchman there are volcanoes near Tufi. The section of Antoine d’Entrecasteaux, but it wasn’t un- coast around Cape Nelson has unique trop- til 1847 that Europeans sought to settle the ical ‘fjords’ (rias); their origin is volcanic region. In that year, Marist missionaries ar- rather than glacial. rived on Muyua (Woodlark) Island, but the The islands of Milne Bay Province are locals, it seems, were unenthusiastic about divided into six main groups: the Samarai O & MILNE& PR BAY Christianity and the Marists were gone group; D’Entrecasteaux group; the Trobri- within eight years. Apparently undeterred, and Islands; Muyua (Woodlark) Island; the London Missionary Society (LMS), the Conflict and Engineer groups; and the Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists and finally 300km-long Louisiade Archipelago. They Seventh-Day Adventists opened for business range from tiny dots to mountainous islands between the 1870s and 1908. Most notable such as Fergusson, Normanby and Goode- among them was Reverend Charles W Abel, nough; the last, while only 26km wide, soars to 2566m at the summit of Mt Oiautukekea, O a dissident member of the LMS, who in 1891 VIN founded the Kwato Extension Association making it one of the most steeply sided is- on Kwato Island, providing skills training to lands on earth. C the indigenous people of Milne Bay. ES Apart from men of God, the region at- C K okoda E tracted ‘blackbirding’ opportunists who for- N CENTRAL PROVINCE T cibly removed local men to work in northern R Australian sugar plantations well into the Stretching for more than 500km either side A L PR L 20th century. of Port Moresby, Central Province lives in the shadow of the national capital. Overlooked On the north coast early European con- O tacts with the Orokaiva people were relative- by tourists and long ignored by politicians, V I ly peaceful, but when gold was discovered at infrastructure is, even by local standards, N ce Yodda and Kokoda in 1895, violence soon bagarap (buggered up). followed. A government station was estab- lished after an altercation between locals and miners, but the first government officer Kokoda was killed shortly after he arrived. Eventu- POP 550 ally things quietened down and the mines The Owen Stanley Range rises almost sheer were worked out. Then came WWII. as a cliff face behind the Oro Province vil- Milne Bay became a huge Allied naval lage of tiny Kokoda, where the northern base and the gardens and plantations inland end of the infamous Kokoda Track (p35) from Buna and Gona had barely recovered terminates. The grassed area in the centre from the war when Mt Lamington’s 1951 of town houses a small museum that has eruption wiped out Higaturu, the district photos and descriptions of the campaign. headquarters, killing almost 3000 people. Ask around to have it opened. Postmistress The new headquarters town of Popondetta Grace Eroro (p66) is a great source of infor- was established at a safer distance from the mation. Opposite the post office is a branch volcano. of the Kokoda Track Authority where trek- king permits can be bought if you haven’t Geography already done so in Port Moresby. Trekkers The region stretches down the ‘dragon’s tail’ finishing the trail should also report here to at the eastern end of mainland Papua New be officially stamped off the trail..