Papua New Guinea - Milne Bay Province

Thursday, 15 January 2015

Food and accommodation

Food is basic. Islands of PNG is not a destination for gourmet traveller. Vegetables as yam, sweet potatoes, rice and pumpkin are part of most meals. And so is corn, bananas and coconut. Protein intake would be chicken, fish and pork (for celebrations). Heaps of exotic fruit. If there is no fish caught that day there would be no meat. I have visited in very hot part of the year so I was not much hungry anyways. Keep hydrated instead, the heat and humidity is a killer.

Accommodation - I would suggest to stay with the locals if you travel islands. You won't have much choice anyways. Guesthouses are clean, looked after and in most cases food will be provided to you as restaurants are non existent. Women's Association places were my favourite as they are the cheapest and the staff is fantastic. Value for money. If you are a couple you may want to look for a fancier places but these are double to triple the price. Suit your requirements, on most small islands you'll find one guesthouse only, usually with not many visitors staying, you will be the only one. Depending on part of the year, location etc. etc. Booking is not essential as it adds to your adventure, right? (book Port Moresby though, you don't want to miss out there on a good deal, accommodation in Port Moresby is overpriced)

Some great places I have stayed:

PORT MORESBY - Jessie Wyatt House tel.: 32 53 64 6 (cheap and clean stopover)

ALOTAU - Saugere tel.: 64 1016 5 (budget yet comfortable, quiet and clean)

FERGUSSON ISLAND - ZIMS DeiDei Guesthouse tel.: 72 78 12 58 (Francis and his family, very friendly, food is fantastic and they will show you the whole island if you wish, very recommended)

NORMANBY ISLAND - Esa'ala Women's Association Guesthouse tel.: 64 11 21 7

KIRIWINA ISLAND - Cindy's Guesthouse tel.: 73 13 65 38 (Cindy and Janet will look after you and the food is delicious, room large and comfortable, recommended)

KITAVA ISLAND - no guesthouses, village stays only, best beaches and snorkelling

Quick snack

ZIMS Guesthouse

Dinner at ZIMS guesthouse

Esa'ala guesthouse Christmas lunch (festival celebrations)

Some bakery products

Christmas Day on Kiriwina Island

Picnic on Kitava Island

New Years Eve dinner, Kiriwina Island

New Years Day breakfast, Kiriwina Island

Wednesday, 14 January 2015

Safety

PNG varies in places you can go, cultures to see, flora and fauna and levels of safety you come along.

Port Moresby is unexciting, dirty, expensive to stay and dodgy to move around yourself without a guide. Transit place only for me.

Milne Bay Province is - on the other hand - very safe place to travel. Na rascals to speak of. As Alotau is not connected with Port Moresby via highway, the trouble stays in the western parts of PNG - highlands and Port Moresby itself.

I have heard of some rascal activity in the New Britain. I would suggest to check current situation in the country before you go but I would not be worried unless there is a major unrest happening. And once you are in PNG, use common sense - do not go out very late by yourself, go with locals they know where it is ok to go and where not - in Milne Bay Province you can go where ever you would like to - pretty much anytime.

Speaking to trustworthy locals is the way to go, they will help you with pretty much anything, from accommodation to things to do.

Do not believe the negative hype and experience yourself, it is worth it and you will be just fine.

Tuesday, 13 January 2015

Transport

Transport in PNG is not very reliable. It is actually one of the weaknesses when you want to see a lot within a short period of time. Strict schedules don't happen here and departures/arrivals are erratic. So if you plan to travel PNG I would suggest for you to go with the flow as everything seems to run under 'PNG time'

Planes are the most reliable and comfortable, also the most expensive. Book early.

PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) are very often used by the locals, cheap and do the trick. Comfortable and on time not. Recommended.

Taxi - ok in bigger towns, pricey. Bargain price before getting into one.

Car hire - considering the number of roads in PNG (not many) and steep cost of vehicle hire - this is not common form of travel

Dinghies - the only way to travel islands and cheap (travel with locals to share the cost). Safe - not really. But if the ocean is calm you are fine. Check the weather (no life vests, UHF etc.). If the dinghy gets lost out in the ocean of break down you are in a serious trouble.

Boats - slow and very erratic schedule (if any). Cheaper than plane but takes 3 days instead of 45mins on the plane. Often overcrowded.