MOROBE PROVINCE, Papua New Guinea

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Morobe Province curves around the tropical waters of the Huon Gulf. The Saruwaged Mountains, rising from the sea at the tip of the Huon Peninsula are blanketed by tangled and impenetrable rainforest. To the south-west, the fertile Markham Valley rests between equally awesome ranges while the waters between Huon Peninsula and New Britain are dotted with volcanic islands.

The hinterland and coast of Morobe Province offers spectacular sightseeing, a wonderland of flora and fauna and numerous walking tracks, particularly near the Wau/Bulolo areas. A network of roads connects the capital city of Lae with Madang to the north west, through the Markham Valley to the Highlands in the west and south to the Highland areas around the Wau and Bulolo.

Lae, the second largest city in Papua New Guinea was a tiny mission station before the 1920s gold rush at Wau transformed it into a major port and industrial centre. It was the last place to farewell famous pioneering American aviator Emelia Earhart, as she took off on one of the final legs of her round the world flight before disappearing without a trace. Lae was a strategic base for the Japanese during World War 2. The graves of thousands of allied soldiers killed during battle can be visited at the Lae War Cemetery, situated within the grounds of Lae Botanical Gardens.
A tour through the Gardens provides the visitor with a glimpse of life in the rainforest. Huge trees smothered in vines and creepers are home to brightly coloured birds and lizards and a display of exotic orchids. More recently the Rainforest Habitat, occupying an area of over 3,000 square metres, has been purpose built to create a display of some 15,000 native and exotic plants, 21 species of birds including the magnificent Raggiana Bird of Paradise as well as crocodiles, lizards, butterflies, turtles, frogs and fish.

Known as the Garden City modern day Lae is an attractive, tropical city well serviced by banks, international standard hotels, department stores, local markets and street stalls selling produce and artefacts. A good collection of artefacts including sand paintings can be seen at the Melanesian Arts Centre and the Morobe Arts and Handcraft shop. The Lae University of Technology also has an artefacts collection of rare and valuable pieces, Sepik carved pillars and a coffee shop built in traditional haus tambaran style.
Further afield, is the town of Finschhafen, first settled in 1885 by the Germans and still a major Lutheran base. Salamaua Beach to the south has excellent swimming, diving, windsurfing, trekking and tours of battle sites, tunnels and war relics. The Labu Lakes across the Markham Valley are home to crocodiles while the beaches on the ocean side around Maus Buang and Labu Tali are breeding sites for the leatherback turtle, weighing up to 500kg and measuring up to two metres in length.
Daily Air Niugini flights connect Lae with most major centres, while second and third level airlines fly regularly from smaller towns. As the Port of Lae services both international and coastal shipping it is possible to reach most northern coastal centres by boat.

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