Source Link: http://melanesianwayz.blogspot.com/2010/11/bosco-your-best-bet-on-bougainvillie.html
Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Bosco your best BET on Bougainvillie
Greetings from Bougainville. Today, I am taking a break from our usual adventures with our three mates of Erima to set sail for the island of Buka in what used to be the North Solomons Province.
A short hop across the famous Buka Passage by dinghy takes us to Kokopau from where a PMV ride south leads to Arawa, once the headquarters of the giant Panguna Copper Mine to meet my new friend Bosco. I’ve come here because of a BET — well it’s not a bet shop or gambling parlour. If you see this sign ’BET’ in Buka or Arawa on Bougainville, you will be a happier person for staking your kina on BET for the tour experience of a lifetime. BET stands for Bougainville Experience Tours and you can bet your last two toea that this rapidly expanding tourism company will stretch your kina the length and breadth of Papua New Guinea.
Be in for a BETTER experience with BET when you visit Bougainville. The cost may be fair but the experience is treasured, from bus trekking, trail hiking, mountain climbing, diving, and bird watching to photography tours and village stays, BET is your BEST BET for an enjoyable stay.
BET is owned and operated by an energetic young Bougainvillean named Zhon Bosco Miriona and his family of Arawa, Central Bougainville. It is a relatively new tour company in PNG with limited resources but boundless energy. It specializes on Bougainville experiences that will take your breath away.
Miriona registered BET in 2007 after returning from a tourism expo in Fiji. He now has offices in Arawa, Buka and is setting up a base in neighbouring Solomon Islands. BET also has connections with guest houses in many village stops and tour guides in Arawa, Wakunai, Torokina and Buin.
Ten years after the Bougainville conflict, much of the island’s infrastructure is still in shambles but it is the untouched pristine environment, the beauty of the flora and fauna, and the magical allure of its mountains, forests, rivers, valleys, beaches and islands that BET is marketing to the world. Bougainville, like many of the beautiful islands of PNG, is still a place waiting to be discovered.
The magnetism of Bougainvilleans as the darkest skinned and friendliest people on earth is what BET is trawling as it builds up a visitor base of tourists from far and wide. Bougainville is also famous as a theatre of conflict during World War II and its oceans, beaches, jungles and valleys are strewn with the refuse of war as an added attraction. Among the relics is WWII’s most famous Japanese commander, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plane, a Betty bomber which was intercepted by allied fighters and shot down on April 18, 1943 near Buin.
Recently, BET rediscovered and mapped the Numa Numa Track, which runs between Wakunai on the east coast to Torokina on the west coast, crossing numerous rivers and the Empress Augusta mountain range.
The experience is worthwhile, the view is breathtaking and the track takes in a lot of flora and fauna that is unique only to Bougainville including the rarely seen and endangered moustache Kingfisher bird. And of course, being a wartime track, the remnants of the conflict are plentiful, although the jungle has reclaimed much of it. In August, Miriona led a team which included Bougainville government officers to map the track to gauge its viability as a potential tourist walking track.
He said that while Numa Numa does not rival Kokoda or Black Cat in blood and guts from WWII, it witnessed heavy fighting and has its share of exciting moments and lots of war relics including guns, mortars, cartridges, bunkers and rusting tanks. Numa Numa Track gets its name from the plantation of the same name at Wakunai, reputedly the biggest commercial coconut grove still producing copra in the southern hemisphere.
The track is 60km long, (36km shorter than Kokoda), and takes a three to four day hike with stops at villages along the way.
Another exciting project is the Mount Balbi bird watching trek. At 2685, it is the highest mountain on Bougainville. What makes it more scenic is the lagoon — Lake Billy Mitchell — near the top. A strato volcano, its last recorded activity was in the mid 19th century and it has remained quiet since.
The Balbi ascent normally starts from the Torokina side of the mountain and takes two to three days depending on group fitness, weather and the track itself. In 2004, a Bougainville resident expat Bob Willis decided to scale Mt Balbi. Willis and his group succeeded in reaching the top and were ecstatic at what they discovered, lots of birdlife, a beautiful blue lagoon and a scenic morning view of the island’s most active volcano Mount Bagana (1730m) to the east.
A book — Birds of Bougainville — by Don Hadden has been the lure for bird lovers to Bougainville. Besides Guadalcanal in neighbouring Solomon Islands, Bougainville is home to the highly endangered moustache kingfisher bird among other popular species. BET has cashed in on the interest in birds and with the new track to be opened; it has bird watching tours booked till 2013 from US, Swedish, UK, Aussie and Kiwi bird fans. Meanwhile, the beauty of Balbi still fresh in his mind, the willing Willis attempted another ascent in early August 2010 with a team of 10 American retirees led by Bosco Miriona of BETS.
The Willis group walked, tracked and had fun on the way, bird watching, camping and drinking a lot of PNG coffee and despite some bad weather; they made it to their objective.
“Beautiful and awesome,” one tourist told Bougainville based reporter Peterson Tseraha.
“It was a beautiful scene, the blue lagoon is fantastic and I hope locals advertise it more so more tourists can come walk this track or up this highest peak to experience one of the beauties of Bougainville.”
The tourists said they only knew about Torokina through reading about the war but advised there was more to see than just the relics. Miriona admits that Bougainvilleans are still getting over the harsh lessons of the crisis years and in some parts of the island, there is still resentment to outside influences. However, he added that through awareness created by BET and the regional government, locals are opening up and are interested in tourism. The Autonomous Bougainville Government is also very keen on tourism with the setting up of Bougainville Tourism Industry Association. Its website is http://www.bougainvilletourism.org.pg/
Miriona allayed fears that visitors’ hold of Bougainville saying the people had suffered through the crisis and learnt a lot of lessons from the conflict and are prepared to go back to a peaceful way of living. “Because of the violence witnessed during the crisis, people think Bougainville is a dangerous place. But let me tell you, before that, we were the friendliest people on earth. After the conflict, we are still the friendliest people on earth,” a confident Miriona beamed. “Come and visit us and see for yourself.”
Indeed I can bet my last one toea I will be coming back to visit Mirix for a try at Mount Balbi sometime next year.
Maybe I might just find the last of the moustache kingfisher. You never know until you try.
Take the plunge with me on email at: bigpatpng@gmail.com or place your bet on 7349 1672.
Published: Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Bosco your best BET on Bougainvillie
Greetings from Bougainville. Today, I am taking a break from our usual adventures with our three mates of Erima to set sail for the island of Buka in what used to be the North Solomons Province.
A short hop across the famous Buka Passage by dinghy takes us to Kokopau from where a PMV ride south leads to Arawa, once the headquarters of the giant Panguna Copper Mine to meet my new friend Bosco. I’ve come here because of a BET — well it’s not a bet shop or gambling parlour. If you see this sign ’BET’ in Buka or Arawa on Bougainville, you will be a happier person for staking your kina on BET for the tour experience of a lifetime. BET stands for Bougainville Experience Tours and you can bet your last two toea that this rapidly expanding tourism company will stretch your kina the length and breadth of Papua New Guinea.
Be in for a BETTER experience with BET when you visit Bougainville. The cost may be fair but the experience is treasured, from bus trekking, trail hiking, mountain climbing, diving, and bird watching to photography tours and village stays, BET is your BEST BET for an enjoyable stay.
BET is owned and operated by an energetic young Bougainvillean named Zhon Bosco Miriona and his family of Arawa, Central Bougainville. It is a relatively new tour company in PNG with limited resources but boundless energy. It specializes on Bougainville experiences that will take your breath away.
Miriona registered BET in 2007 after returning from a tourism expo in Fiji. He now has offices in Arawa, Buka and is setting up a base in neighbouring Solomon Islands. BET also has connections with guest houses in many village stops and tour guides in Arawa, Wakunai, Torokina and Buin.
Ten years after the Bougainville conflict, much of the island’s infrastructure is still in shambles but it is the untouched pristine environment, the beauty of the flora and fauna, and the magical allure of its mountains, forests, rivers, valleys, beaches and islands that BET is marketing to the world. Bougainville, like many of the beautiful islands of PNG, is still a place waiting to be discovered.
The magnetism of Bougainvilleans as the darkest skinned and friendliest people on earth is what BET is trawling as it builds up a visitor base of tourists from far and wide. Bougainville is also famous as a theatre of conflict during World War II and its oceans, beaches, jungles and valleys are strewn with the refuse of war as an added attraction. Among the relics is WWII’s most famous Japanese commander, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto’s plane, a Betty bomber which was intercepted by allied fighters and shot down on April 18, 1943 near Buin.
Recently, BET rediscovered and mapped the Numa Numa Track, which runs between Wakunai on the east coast to Torokina on the west coast, crossing numerous rivers and the Empress Augusta mountain range.
The experience is worthwhile, the view is breathtaking and the track takes in a lot of flora and fauna that is unique only to Bougainville including the rarely seen and endangered moustache Kingfisher bird. And of course, being a wartime track, the remnants of the conflict are plentiful, although the jungle has reclaimed much of it. In August, Miriona led a team which included Bougainville government officers to map the track to gauge its viability as a potential tourist walking track.
He said that while Numa Numa does not rival Kokoda or Black Cat in blood and guts from WWII, it witnessed heavy fighting and has its share of exciting moments and lots of war relics including guns, mortars, cartridges, bunkers and rusting tanks. Numa Numa Track gets its name from the plantation of the same name at Wakunai, reputedly the biggest commercial coconut grove still producing copra in the southern hemisphere.
The track is 60km long, (36km shorter than Kokoda), and takes a three to four day hike with stops at villages along the way.
Another exciting project is the Mount Balbi bird watching trek. At 2685, it is the highest mountain on Bougainville. What makes it more scenic is the lagoon — Lake Billy Mitchell — near the top. A strato volcano, its last recorded activity was in the mid 19th century and it has remained quiet since.
The Balbi ascent normally starts from the Torokina side of the mountain and takes two to three days depending on group fitness, weather and the track itself. In 2004, a Bougainville resident expat Bob Willis decided to scale Mt Balbi. Willis and his group succeeded in reaching the top and were ecstatic at what they discovered, lots of birdlife, a beautiful blue lagoon and a scenic morning view of the island’s most active volcano Mount Bagana (1730m) to the east.
A book — Birds of Bougainville — by Don Hadden has been the lure for bird lovers to Bougainville. Besides Guadalcanal in neighbouring Solomon Islands, Bougainville is home to the highly endangered moustache kingfisher bird among other popular species. BET has cashed in on the interest in birds and with the new track to be opened; it has bird watching tours booked till 2013 from US, Swedish, UK, Aussie and Kiwi bird fans. Meanwhile, the beauty of Balbi still fresh in his mind, the willing Willis attempted another ascent in early August 2010 with a team of 10 American retirees led by Bosco Miriona of BETS.
The Willis group walked, tracked and had fun on the way, bird watching, camping and drinking a lot of PNG coffee and despite some bad weather; they made it to their objective.
“Beautiful and awesome,” one tourist told Bougainville based reporter Peterson Tseraha.
“It was a beautiful scene, the blue lagoon is fantastic and I hope locals advertise it more so more tourists can come walk this track or up this highest peak to experience one of the beauties of Bougainville.”
The tourists said they only knew about Torokina through reading about the war but advised there was more to see than just the relics. Miriona admits that Bougainvilleans are still getting over the harsh lessons of the crisis years and in some parts of the island, there is still resentment to outside influences. However, he added that through awareness created by BET and the regional government, locals are opening up and are interested in tourism. The Autonomous Bougainville Government is also very keen on tourism with the setting up of Bougainville Tourism Industry Association. Its website is http://www.bougainvilletourism.org.pg/
Miriona allayed fears that visitors’ hold of Bougainville saying the people had suffered through the crisis and learnt a lot of lessons from the conflict and are prepared to go back to a peaceful way of living. “Because of the violence witnessed during the crisis, people think Bougainville is a dangerous place. But let me tell you, before that, we were the friendliest people on earth. After the conflict, we are still the friendliest people on earth,” a confident Miriona beamed. “Come and visit us and see for yourself.”
Indeed I can bet my last one toea I will be coming back to visit Mirix for a try at Mount Balbi sometime next year.
Maybe I might just find the last of the moustache kingfisher. You never know until you try.
Take the plunge with me on email at: bigpatpng@gmail.com or place your bet on 7349 1672.
Hi, Bougainville I left you in 1972 and wish I could return, My time spent there left me with lots of memories of warm people and a life that was always changing miss you guys Bruno Gumela now in Ghana
ReplyDeleteHeres something that could only happen when you are very lucky I had the privilege of seeing a rainbow at night time, it was on the top of the ridge on the Loloho to Panguna access road on a night with a full moon and it was raining in the area around camp 5 with the full arch of a rainbow above it, Bougainville I miss you
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