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Pristine Beach Pokpok Island, Bougainville.
Picture by Lachlan Joyce
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By Alexander Rheeny
Source: Air Niugini Inflight Paradise Volume 3, 2011. July-September 2011 Edition
Publisher: Islands Business International, Suva Fiji
Permission: Sought and granted from and by Air Niugini, Island Business International and Alexander Rheeney to republish this article.
Acknowledgement:
Sincere appreciation extended to the Air Niugini Paradise
Inflight Magazine editorial team especially Eva Arni and Laisa Taga of Islands
Business International for the second consecutive coverage of Bougainville in
the first 2011 editions. Thank you Alexander Rheeney for coming over and
writing about Bougainville tourism potential. Looking forward to your continued
support.
About 1000 kilometres to the
northeast of Port Moresby lies Papua New Guinea’s next tourism gem.
The autonomous region of
Bougainville, comprising the main islands of Bougainville, Buka and 166 smaller
islands, is a treasure trove for the adventurous traveller.
From its lush jungle to its fast
flowing rivers and white sandy beaches, the region remains an untouched
paradise. Throw in attractions such as World War II relics, the Numa Numa
trail, cave exploring, diving and snorkelling, fishing and island tours and you
have tailor-made packages to suit your taste.
Thirteen years following the signing
of the UN-sanctioned peace agreement to end the 15-year Bougainville conflict,
the islanders are moving mountains to catch up with the rest of PNG.
The growth of locally-owned
businesses in the main centres of Buka, Arawa and Buin, coupled with the
increase in cocoa and coconut exports, epitomise the hunger for success.
My own adventures in Bougainville
began when I landed at Buka Airport (on Buka Island) on an Air Niugini Fokker
100, paid K2 for a short water taxi ride to Kokopau (on the main island of
Bougainville) and embarked on a gruelling three-hour drive in a Toyota
Landcruiser to Arawa, the former provincial capital.
It is a scenic journey that takes
you through some of the South Pacific’s largest coconut plantations and
waist-deep rivers.
Arawa is slowly making a comeback.
You cannot miss the ‘White House’, the former headquarters of the pre-conflict
Bougainville provincial government, or the Peace Park which was built in 2003
to mark the end of the conflict.
I heard the autonomous Bougainville
government has plans to return their capital to the island’s former seat of
government.
A stone throwaway from the “White
House” is the Arawa market. Here, you can meet sellers from nearby villages of
Pokpok Island, Koromira, Kongara, Rorovana, Panguna and even Siwai in south
Bougainville.
You also cannot miss Bougainville’s
humungous betelnuts at the market with a heap (containing 4-5 betelnuts) going
for as low as 20 toea, a price that will make PNG’s betelnut chewers salivate.
A variety of colourful garden
produce and skilfully-made traditional crafts sold five-days-a-week, attests to
the significant role the market plays in uniting villagers from central and
south Bougainville.
After a three-day stopover in Arawa,
I set my compass on Koromira - a two-hour drive south of the township. Road
conditions in Arawa and nearby port of
Kieta are still in good condition despite a lack of general maintenance during
the conflict years.
Getting on a PMV is the best travel
option to take as it keeps cost to a minimum and enables you to mix with the
local population.
Recognising
that you are new to the area, a local will no doubt show you landmarks that
fell victim to the conflict during the course of your journey.
We stopped at Mang-kaki market for
fresh coconut juice and snacks. The market is mainly used by Pokpok Islanders
with their surprisingly mountainous island a short canoe ride away. Two wind
cones, bits of an unused runway and charred remains of a brick building are all
that remains of what used to be the Aropa Airport, the island’s once upon a
time international gateway.
Koromira in central Bougainville is
picturesque and its people hospitable. I was upon arrival captivated by the
beauty of the area with its white sandy beaches, deep rivers, coral islands and
mysterious jungle.
I made it my mission to explore as
much as I could of this yet-to-be-discovered tourism jewel before I left the
region.
The islands of Baikai, Pangkamui and
Kompa - all lie off the coast of Koromira. They became my first assignment.
With my family in tow and ably guided by our skipper Joseph Katepo, it took us
40 minutes to travel by motorised dinghy to Baikai from the mainland.
The island is a typical coral atoll
with white sandy beach and small woodland. It is home to sea birds and
occasionally villagers out on a fishing trip.
On a fine day,
you can see Gizo Island in the Solomon Islands. Thanks to local fish diving
maestros Domari Deras and Tarumo Robert who accompanied us, we soon had fresh
fish on the fire. The day was spent fishing, swimming and exploring - the
perfect getaway.
Looking from Baikai to Koromira, you
get to see Bougainville’s mountainous terrain. That jagged landscape of
tropical rainforest was my next assignment.
Local businessman Justin Boa offered
to be my guide. Batamai village, which was my temporary home, was the point of
our departure.
The first 30 minutes of our walk
took us through hundreds of neatly pruned cocoa trees and a coconut plantation
before we entered the jungle.
The distant call of wild pigeons and
the strong smell of decaying matter in the rainforest welcomed us as we
descended down a hill and got to a river filled with huge black stones.
Villagers call the river by different names in the local language, depending on
which part of the estuary you are visiting.
There was something eerie about
Kenung Dung Ku Pu, the only part of the river with a deep black pool, which not
so long ago immersed a 20-metre long tree which villagers chopped down to build
a canoe.
The last bit of our expedition was a
stopover at the now deserted Banara village.
I knew there was a lot more to
discover about Bougainville when I flew out from Buka for Port Moresby.
Further south of
Koromira lies Buin and the mysteries of the Siwai people or travel inland in
central Bougainville and you end up in Panguna and its silent copper and gold
mine.
