Just off the easternmost tip of Papua New Guinea and just a short flight from Cairns, Australia, lies the most peaceful part of Papua New Guinea, Milne Bay. This is a maritime province comprising some two thousand islands and at the eastern start of the Papua New Guinean mainland. It has everything from unique cultures to a pristine environment with virgin rainforest and stunning beaches.
There are seven groups of islands:-Trobriand, Woodlark, Laughlan, Louisiade Archipelago, Conflict Group, China Straits Group and the D'Entrecasteau Group. The names originate from a variety of explorers from as early as 1660. Throughout the islands, white sandy beaches are surrounded by turquoise sea, islanders enjoy a traditional lifestyle and live in harmony with the greatest, bio diversity marine habitat in the world. The world-renowned Trobriand Islands, dubbed the "Islands of Love" by the anthropologist Malinowski, are hypnotic, romantic and captivating. This is the home of the famous yam festival in July.
The rainforest is full of native flora and fauna and we have indigenous birds of paradise found nowhere else in the world. We are known for our orchids, our butterflies and our birds as well as our marsupials and insect life. Our reefs and seas have the richest marine biodiversity in the world. Our diving is in the top three world sites, according to National Geographic Magazine. We have a variety of beaches with powdery white sands, black sand, volcanic rock or with pebble or coral beaches. There are hot springs, craters and mountains.
Our cultures are diverse and vibrant. Our people live their culture daily. Unlike many other Pacific islanders our people maintain theirs and speak their own languages. The Kula trade, one of the oldest trading systems in the Pacific, thrives in Milne Bay. The Milaa Mala, the Yam Festival in the famous Trobriand Islands takes place during the second week in July and the Cameron and Hagita Cultural Festivals are also in July. The annual Canoe Festival is held during the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday in November. Milne bay is the only matrilineal society on the main land, which is why the people are so peace loving and friendly. A totally unspoilt and beautiful environment, experience the magic of Milne Bay.
Milne Bay offers cascading waterfalls, untouched rainforests that flourish with rare flora and fauna, intriguing bat caves, hot thermal springs to enthral the would be geologists, and a marine life of extraordinary colours to mesmerise the sea lovers. Many legends and secrets are passed on from generation to generation. Milne Bay is the only matrilineal society on the mainland, so women have a unique role as landowners, peacekeepers, conservationists and guardians of the old customs. This makes Milne Bay culture very special.
Experience the magic of secret chants to appease the spirits as you cross the mountain tracks. Discover the healing properties of medicinal plants along the way, but beware the sorcerer’s powers that underly every illness or misfortune in the Milne Bay society. Listen to intriguing legends and stories told by local characters and oral historians. Learn about food taboos and food conservation methods. Find out about bird clans and totems, traditional hunting fishing and gardening methods, all influenced by ancient rituals and beliefs. There is also the ancient trade system, the Kula Ring, where goods are still exchanged between trade partners on different islands to win the prized shell ornaments called bagi and mwali.
Over the years, Milne Bay Province has been visited by missionaries, miners, traders in pearls, scientists and Japanese and American warships. During the war Milne Bay became a huge naval base through which hundreds of thousands of servicemen passed. The battle for Milne Bay in 1942 saw the Allied troops defeat the Japanese, in one of the most decisive campaigns of the war The island of Samarai in the China Straits is the gateway to the islands of the Calvados Chain, the Conflicts and Engineer group
Today thousands of tourists arrive to enjoy diving around the wreckage left behind from the war. There are 160 named islands and 500 cays and atolls scattered over 250,000 square kilometres of ocean. In many parts of Milne Bay, the reefs are characterised by dramatic drop-offs, clefts and overhangs.
Things to Do
Diving live aboard boats, dive resort or day dives (muck diving messa, war relics, wrecks and reef)
Fishing: game, sport and catch and release : black bass
Snorkeling
Glass Bottom Boat Tours
Trekking across the ranges: mini kokoda from the Battle of Milne Bay
