Alotau last stop in PNG

Alotau is the provincial capital of Milne Bay. It was the scene of a major battle between Australian , Papua New Guinean and American troops against the Japanese. When we get off the ship we are greeted by music and dancers with spears, they look a little out of context standing on the dock.

Two of the stops involve a museum with not very much and a memorial to the battle. A short morning of touring and no snorkeling. We start with a memorial of the Milne Bay battle and then on to the last performance we will have in this part of the island of New Guinea.

The bus ride takes us well out of the Town center and down a dirt track towards the sea. It's a little hard to quite know what it is we are supposed to be doing. We can see men with canoes and a welcoming group opposite the water, it's a little chaotic, a matter of going with the flow. It starts with a traditional welcome with spears, dancers and general battle cries. This is not the main performance, just the warm-up act. Two large war canoes arrive filled with men. We are told this is a traditional canoe the men would go off to battle in this type of craft. They are very narrow so I don't think the purpose of the battle is to return with any booty just kill and destroy I suspect. No women participate in these performances which is the first time that has been the case. It's all very dramatic and I think the purpose of this performance is how tribes around the sea would have raided other villages. A small boy with his spear stands beside the men dancing and copying their actions. It is good to see these traditions being carried on and embraced even by small children.

There is a small market with a few handicrafts, mostly wood carvings. We have 200 kina left and decide on another small bowl, we have no intention of taking any local currency home with us.

Back to the ship, we stop at another memorial park arriving back in time for lunch, we will sail a day and a half to Cairns.Read more