Alotau

Police forcefully remove road block

Police had to use force and remove logs and drums from the road block.

It is understood that the road block was set up because of Government's reluctance to meet a compensation demand.

Waima village Chief Arthur Perua said their demand have not been met for three years now.

They demanded for K20 million after a police vehicle ran over an old woman in the village.

Perua, who is the deceased women’s brother said the government only paid them K20,000.

 

More updates to come.

Waima locals demand Government compensation

A road block has been set up at and vehicles coming in from Gurney airport and also from the town area have been blocked from travelling.

Waima village Chief Arthur Perua in an interview told Loop PNG that the government had not met their compensation demand of K20 million for his deceased sister.

The deceased, Claire Perua was killed instantly by a police vehicle on July 30, 2015.

"We have been waiting for the government to pay go the compensation demand for the past three years now.

Holiday cruise ship visits Alotau

Sun Princess, which departed Freemantle in Melbourne four days ago berthed at the Milne Bay wharf in the early hours of this morning.

The cruise ship with more than 2,000 tourists from Australia didn't waste time but went straight into business of visiting various tourist destinations around the province.

Loop PNG interviewed one of the tourist Karen Huen from Perth.

Huen was a first timer to travel to PNG and was amazed how friendly the people were making a commitment to return later.

Amazing handicraft talent on display in Alotau

In recent times, these activities have also been aimed at preserving culture and transferring local knowledge from the older to younger generations.

One such event was the recent gathering of the Women Weavers of Milne Bay early this month.

This saw women from around the province gather in Alotau for a two-day show and tell event.

It was specifically for sharing knowledge on cultural practices, particularly the art of weaving.

Hitting the road to avoid high airfares

The father, Julias Maputuna, from Goodenough Island, is taking his family home for the first time for Christmas after living in Moresby for 17 years.

Their journey started this morning at Boroko where they got on a PMV to Kupiano in Central Province.

From Kupiano, they will travel by dinghy to Mailu Island in Central, which is about 121km from Alotau Town.

They plan to spend a night on the island before heading out to Five Bay in Suau, MBP, by dinghy.

Magi Highway upgrade to start in Milne Bay

The upgrade will be done on the 56km road from Alotau town to East Cape in Milne Bay, which is where the national highway ends.

The Magi Highway goes southeast from Port Moresby, turning inland and east just before Rigo, passing through Kwikila.

The road then runs across the Mai Kussa River at Bannon Bridge, where, within a few kilometres, the asphalt concrete gives way to a graded road which continues to Kupiano.

Cruise tourism continues to grow in Milne Bay

Member for Alotau Open Charles Abel confirmed that 36 to 56 ships are expected to arrive on Milne Bay shores in 2017.

Abel recently told Loop PNG that Milne Bay is heading cruise tourism in the country and is now receiving almost one cruise ship a week.

He added that the arrival of cruise ships is increasing rapidly every year.

Local tourism operator Egwalau Tours and Events Milne Bay has also reported a recent influx of cruise ships visiting Alotau this year.

Kulang welcomes chopper tours in Milne Bay

Tourists from cruise ships traveling into Alotau will experience an aerial view of the township and outer islands following the launch of the chopper service recently.

The chopper service is operated by HeliScope PNG and will offer three different tours for tourists.

This service provides a 12-minute tour, 25-minute tour and a 40-minute tour towards East Cape, showing cruise line guests the beautiful scenery of the province.

Kulang said this is an exciting addition to what Alotau can provide for tourism in PNG.

Chopper service to offer tourists flight tours in Milne Bay

The chopper service is operated by HeliScope PNG and will offer three different tours for tourists.

This service provides a 12-minute tour, 25-minute tour and a 40-minute tour towards East Cape, showing cruise line guests the beautiful scenery of the province.

HeliScope PNG chief executive officer Giles Rooney told Loop PNG that Milne Bay is one of the areas that they feel is really untapped as far as tourism goes, therefore they want to look at how they can boost income for the local area.

Alotau: Top things to do

Most of these will be cultural activities and will come all in a day on the day.

However, if you are planning to have more fun in the days leading up to this big day or the days after, why not choose the peaceful town of Alotau and its outer lying islands and atolls.