Holiday on New Britain Island
The town of Rabaul sits on the edge of a caldera with several active volcanoes sticking up along the shore. This black one behind us is the one which destroyed Rabaul back in 1994. You can still see roof tops sticking out of the sand dunes nearby.
We couldn’t make it all the way to Britain this year, or even manage to leave PNG, so our holiday on New Britain Island will have to do. And it did! We had a wonderful time seeing a part of PNG which MAF does not fly to (not enough planes & pilots) and we had ample opportunity to rest and relax, which we were really in need of. We stayed in a couple of resorts in Kokopo, East New Britain Province, with some very dear friends of ours, Brandon & Sharlene, who, like us, met in PNG.
Sadly, COVID has had a massive impact on the small tourist industry in PNG. The few nice resorts that attract foreign tourists have all suffered as it’s so hard to get into the country and they depend on foreign customers. In order to try and keep themselves afloat, these resorts which are still operating are offering significant discounts to people living in PNG. This is how we were able to afford a holiday which, just 2 years ago, was only a dream. Despite the challenge of not being able to leave PNG this year, we are very blessed!
We relaxed on the beach. We walked on one of Rabaul’s active volcanoes, which last erupted in 1994. We boiled a Megapode egg in a volcanic hot spring, and ate it. :-S We visited World War 2 sites used by the Japanese to try and invade Australia. We snorkeled in turquoise waters, marveling at the variety of fish and examining underwater Japanese tanks and a fighter plane. And we were even able to swim with dolphins!
