Experience Kokopo like no other place

You will notice from the moment you set foot here -- this place looks different, sounds different, smells different, feels different.

That's because it is different!

That’s how the capital of East New Britain in Papua New Guinea is described.

Some describe it as an opportunistic town given the history that it literally raised from ashes.

Kokopo started to develop just after Rabaul was flattened by the volcanic eruptions of 1994.

In fact the capital was moved from Rabaul when the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan erupted.

Kokopo is serviceable, with a range of well organised accommodation options, banks, government services and lots of businesses, but there are no big-ticket sights.

If you come from mainland PNG, Kokopo is a good base to set your body clock to island time, get your bearings and make the most of the infrastructure before heading out to rougher areas found in the New Guinea islands.

It is "tropical island" at its glorious best with swaying palms, grumbling volcanoes, spectacular scenery, profligate fauna and flora, wondrous reefs, dark war history, wrecks, and the millennia old cultures of the Tolai and Bainings peoples.

The place is exotic. There is no other word for it.

  1. Diving and Snorkelling

 Beaches near Kokopo are perfect for swimming. In Simpson Harbour there are World War II boat and plane wrecks, good walls, and the Beehives (a small group of craggy islands) to explore. At Tavui Point is a Submarine Base where Japanese subs pulled right up to the edge of the reef. This area offers superb snorkelling on the flat coral beds and along the edge of the 75m drop-off, which is also good for diving. Most resorts can arrange dive trips.

Eco-friendly Rapopo Resort, just ten minutes from the Tokua Airport  offers deep sea game fishing, internationally qualified scuba experts to guide you through the magical world of coral gardens, the teeming habitat of the munificent, multi-colored marine life. The crystal waters of East New Britain hold some of the most fascinating aquatic features in PNG.  From the historical WWII wrecks to the spectacular and immaculate coral reefs, there are countless photo opportunities and the added thrill of diving near an active volcano.

The PADI trained diving crew at the Kabaira’s Dive Centre provide the most professional, affordable and safe scuba service in the country. 

As local operators, the dive crews’ knowledge and understanding of the area are unmatched and offer the opportunity for unique, personal tours.  Guests are assured of a memorable and enjoyable experience. 

Two morning sessions and one after lunch session are available.  The canopied banana boats, powered by four stroke engines can accommodate up to twelve divers.  Refreshments, light 

snacks and fresh fruit are provided on each vessel.

The regularly serviced equipment including fins, masks, snorkels, BCDs, regulators and dive computers are available for hire.

2: Climb a Volcano

The island of New Britain is dominated by both active and dormant volcanoes, some of them bellowing great clouds of black ash-laden smoke. All the volcanoes, except Tavurvur, can be climbed. Be aware that heavy rain can make the ground slippery and cause landslides. The deep fissures on the volcano, Vulcan, can make it a difficult climb, and is best tackled on the northern side. Be sure to take plenty of water.

3: Arts and Crafts

Artefacts vary throughout Papua New Guinea. Apart from common artefacts such as shells, those unique to East New Britain area are:

  • Tolai tubuan and dukduk masks. These masks are made of barkcloth or mesh shaped over conical cane frameworks. Both have layered skirts of red and green leaves down to their knees. Tubuan masks are topped with tufts of feathers. The less important dukduk are faceless, but taller and have elaborately carved openwork wood peaks.

  • Tolai mask with figure similar to the marawot figures of the iniet society. Tolai iniet secret societies made limestone initiation figures.

  • Tolai masks (lorr) included two types using over-modeled human skulls. Another type is made of light wood or bark.

  • Wooden dance accessories use openwork carving with sawtooth edges. They include ornaments and wands called pokopoko. Some are carved in pairs (bair) which are held at shoulder height when dancing.

While some artefacts can be sold, others are sacred and used only on occasions. Those that can be purchased are usually sold at markets. A place to look out for also is the PNG Diabetic Centre. This place is a treasure trove for artefact hunters, with masks, necklaces, shells, carvings and other souvenirs.

4: Tabu

Tolai Shell Money or Tabu as it is called in Tolai language is unique form of Tribal Art made from traditional nasal shells. It has been made a legal tender in East New Britain Province and is used as currency by the Tolai community on the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain / Duke of York Islands and Southern New Ireland in New Guinea. It has been in widespread use for many generations. Traditionally Tabu was measured in fathoms, which is roughly from the nose of the person measuring to the outstretched palm. There is also a question of the spacing of shells in the fathom. It would seem that the normal practice was to allow about 5 millimetre between each shell, which means that there would be two shells to a centimetre.

Currently the price of a fathom is anywhere between K2 and K3.50 due to the drop in the value of the Kina, according to michie.net.

It is estimated that there is approximately K6 million Kina of Tabu available for sale. This is currently being used to pay for goods bought from markets and even stores.

Try this out when you visit Kokopo.

5: Warwagira & Mask Festival

Heard of dukduks and tumbuans (masked forest spirits; dukduks are the taller ones).

If you’re planning to visit in July, you should join in on this festival to see these masked forest spirits come out of the sea from canoes at dawn to dance.

Warwagira & Mask Festival, is an annual event, initially introduced in 1995, and celebrates the mask culture of East New Britain, New Ireland and other areas in PNG where masks have a significant cultural value.

Masks have been a feature of human civilization for thousands of years and vary from culture to culture, providing many different functions.

The festival is held over a 5 day period and is a unique exhibition of cultural dances and ritual performances.

At night Baining fire dancers perform, fire walking in huge masks, with a live snake.

6: World War Historical sites

For those interested in war history, there are some points of interest that are worthy of a visit.

  • East New Britain Historical & Cultural Centre

The East New Britain Historical & Cultural Centre is located in Kokopo across from the golf course. It has a fine if deteriorating collection of historical objects/ relics. There are fading photographs and numerous WWII relics, including massive guns, torpedoes and a corroding Zero fighter. The centre is open daily and charges K5 for entry.

  • German War Cemetery (Bita Paka)

Rabaul (Bita Paka) War Cemetery contains the graves of those who lost their lives during the operations in New Britain and New Ireland, or who died in the area while prisoners of war, which were brought into the cemetery from isolated sites, from temporary military cemeteries and from camp burial grounds.

The cemetery contains 1,114 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 495 of them unidentified.

This cemetery also contains First World War graves brought in from Rabaul Cemetery in 1950 and from Kokopo Old German Cemetery in 1961.

  • Kokopo War Museum (Kokopo Museum)

This museum began in the early 1980's as a small museum at the so called "Yamamoto Bunker" in Rabaul, and was moved toKokopo to accommodate the growing collection, and in anticipation of a volcanic eruption. The museum's collection was largely assembled and donated by the efforts of Brian Bennett. This museum contains a large collection of WWII artefacts from the Rabaul related to the history of the area, including local art & culture, German colonial period, pre-war and WWII Japanese occupation. It also contains several "real" museum items, such as a number of Japanese artillery pieces, tanks and one A6M2 Zero fighter (picture 2) in good condition.

7: Queen Emma of New Guinea

Emma Eliza Coe was a business woman and plantation owner of mixed American/Samoan descent. In 1881, Emma bought land from the local chiefs around the Gazelle Peninsula of New Britain and set up large coconut and cocoa plantations around Kokopo. She became highly successful and well respected and it was during this period she became affectionately known as the “Queen of New Guinea”.  She is a historical figure in the area to date.

  • Queen Emma's House:Head to the site of Queen Emma's house, located right where the road terminates at the Ralum Country Club. But there’s not much to see of Gunantambu, her grand home, as it was ruined in WWII. Her ashes were buried here, in her old station cemetery “Gunantambu” at Ralum.

  • Queen Emma's Steps:Gunantambu is now occupied by the Gazelle International Hotel and the Ralum Country Club. There's not much to see other than an old gate and the crumbling steps that hint at the once-grand colonial home that was ruined in WWII.

8: Music

You should try out the night life here. East New Britain’s are great musicians and are famous for their ‘Tolai Rock’, a genre distinct to musicians from this area. This music perfectly suits their slow and relaxed dance moves. They are proud of their music so you will never miss tolai rock.  But, you also have other music options:

  • Kadat Nite Club: Night owls swoop on Kokopo's only real nightclub on weekends, with people dancing, or swaying, to a mix of reggae, sexy island sounds and international hits. Male travellers, take note: ladies' night is on Thursday. It's certainly not glamorous, but a good spot to rub shoulders (and everything else) with locals.

  • Vavagil Restaurant: Check the blackboard out front for live music and DJs, which occasionally rock into the night.

9: Food

While you’re at it, a good mix of island food cooked with an international touch will leave you wanting for more.

You can buy food from the local market or supermarket to cook yourself a meal of your choice.

  • Andersons Foodland: This higher-end supermarket is well stocked, with a selection of Australian imports. There’s a kai (takeaway) bar near the entrance, as well as a bakery with some of the best house-made savoury pies in PNG (steak and mushroom, egg and bacon), plus muffins and cakes (try the fluffy banana cake). Or you can check out the restaurants for food prepared by experience chefs.

  • Emma's Restaurant:  The Gazelle International's restaurant may not win any design awards but the food is top notch. There are tropical seafood dishes: start with Peruvian ceviche and move onto grilled lobster or reef fish, also chicken and steaks and an excellent Indian menu – we recommend the fish Chettinad. The daily lunch special (four to five options) at K20 is great value.

  • Haus Win: Inside the Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort, Haus Win serves up some of the city’s best dishes. The Asian-influenced menu showcases regional delicacies such as Kavieng chilli crab, New Ireland lobster and Ulaveo steak. Other hits include coconut-coated prawns, sweet-and-sour pork and Thai chilli prawns. The open-sided, thatch-roof restaurant with orchids on the tables has lovely bay views.

  • Ralum Country Club: A mix of expats and nationals come to this laid-back spot with sea-fronting veranda. In addition to cold drinks (and darts!), Ralum has Chinese and steak and chicken pub-style meals (mains K30 to K40) at its un-glamorous Gurias restaurant.

  • Steak House: The Queen Emma Lodge serves up sizzling rump, eye fillet, T-Bone steaks and less beefy options, like sweet-and-sour pork, crumbed fish of the day, seafood laksa and even pizzas. The dining room has a wooden floor and is strung with artefacts, adding a mildly exotic tropical air to the proceedings.

10: Fishing:

Sport fishing for blue and black marlin, sail fish and dog-tooth tuna is good in the waters around New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The Blanche Bay area is good for casual line casting. Boats operate from Rabaul and hotels and guesthouses can organize trips.

Be sure to visit one day and have a good time with the friendly locals who are waiting for you. As  Kokopo Lodge and Tours puts it: “We are Tolais, the people of this land. Let us show you our home and heritage as our guests.”

(Content sourced from: Lonely planet, trip advisor, TPA, Wikipedia, Rapopo Plantation Resort, Kokopo Lodge and Tours, PNG Tourism Business)

 

Author: 
Gloria Bauai