It is a sad fact that some of the most beautiful spots on earth have some of the most sought after commodities underground, such as the uranium under Kakadu national park in Australia. The island of Bougainville, east of Papua New Guinea is another such place. There are great coral reefs for diving, long sandy beaches, and a lush green interior dominated by smoking volcanoes. It is the very picture of a tropical paradise. Except that in the middle of the island there is a huge open cast mine polluting all around it.
I tried to to like Lae, I really did. But I could not wait to leave. It is the second city of PNG, with just over a 100,000 population, located on the Huon Gulf, with palm trees, beaches, and a great position overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It could be a tropical island village in Hawaii, but the reality was more like Kabul.
Madang is one of the best places to visit in the South Pacific that you may never have heard of. Being part of Papua New Guinea puts off most tourists, they fear crime and gangs and all the bad aspects of Port Moresby. It is also expensive, it costs another $U350 to get a return flight from the capital to the north coast town. Yet it is beautiful, having great diving (with lots of WWII Japanese ships and planes close to shore in shallow water), long sandy beaches nearby, great seafood and a picturesque colonial centre.
Looking down on the rainforest canopy |