At a glance
Port Moresby > Kieta > Buin > Arawa

Inclusive of

– Accommodation
– Flights from Port Moresby to Bougainville and back
– All meals from Buka to Kieta
– Transportation (hired bus and boats)
– Entrance fees
– Guide, cook, security guard fees

Exclusive of

• – Visa fees for Papua New Guinea if applicable (most countries get a free visa on arrival, GVT can assist for those of countries which don’t)
• – International Flights to and from Port Moresby
• – Tips for local guides
• – Drinks and souvenirs

*Flights to Bougainville are highly irregular, and airports can sometimes be closed with flights being rescheduled. If this happens we may have to switch our flights from Buka airport to Kieta. Our itinerary might thus see some changes but don’t worry the experience will stay the same!

Tuesday 17th August 

• Meet your guide and your fellow travellers at the hotel in Port Moresby at 4 pm.

• Enjoy a group dinner and some drinks at the Port Moresby yacht club. We will discuss the trip in more detail and it will also give you a chance to get to know your guide and fellow travellers.

• Stay overnight in Port Moresby

Wednesday 18th August – Buka

• After breakfast we take an early transfer by shuttle from Citi Boutique Hotel back to the airport to catch a flight to Bougainville.

• We’ll meet our local guides at Buka airport an dmake our way out to Masalang Village.

• Take a short rest at the accommodation and then we will take a tour around the village and check out a traditional clay pot making place.

• After lunch we will take a bus ride to Kubu where we can visit the parliament house and access a gorgeous viewpoint allowing us to observe the whole of Buka passage, a strait filled with World War II shipwrecks.

• On our way back we’ll stop at the ruins of the Japanese war bunkers that were used during the second World War.

• We’ll go for dinner and drinks and spend the night in Masalang village

Thursday 19th August – Buka/Arawa

• Early start to visit the historical site located next to the police station in Buka Town. During the civil war this place was used as a mass graveyard for the Bougainville Revolutionary Army.

• We’ll jump on our ver own banana boat which will take us across the Buka passage.

• On the other side of the passage at Kokopau, we jump in a 4 wheel drive and take the 4 hour trip to Arawa with stops along the highway for photo opportunities, we’ll also check out a roadside market.

• En route to Arawa we will drive through the decommissioned Panguna Mine. It used to be the biggest open cut mine in the world with a width of 2 kilometres and a depth of 430 metres. In fact, it was the farmers protests for its closure in 1989 which sparked the secessionist movement in Bougainville and the Civil War. Locals still come here to pan, hoping to find gold. We will visit the abandoned installations of this monstrous monument to careless exploitation.

• Next we drive to the Siwai region until arriving at Panakei Lodge, where we have dinner.

• Overnight in Panakei Lodge

   

Friday 20th August – Siwai Region

• After breakfast in Panakei we’ll head out for a village tour.

• In the morning, we’ll go WWII relic hunting! Bougainville was the centre of the Pacific Campaign and here the Australian and American forces were locked in a brutal fight. During our relic hunt, we’ll see an Australian tank, cannons, artillery and a small museum, where a local exposes the artefacts he finds regularly.

• Then, we head to one of the nearby villages where the locals have organised a singsong for us. If you’ve been to Papua New Guinea, you’ll find that the style here is very different and quite lively!

• We visit another village for another great performance, this time of a bigger size. The locals here get very few tourists so they are very eager to perform, which is very different from the jaded cultural performances you’ll find elsewhere in the world.

• The village has arranged for us a feast of local food. Bougainvillian eat mostly yam, other root vegetables and chicken. We might have the opportunity to try other very special delicacies.

• TRIP HIGHLIGHT – Having arranged our visas well in advance, we visit the micronation of the Twin Kingdom of Me’ekamui and Papaala. During the Civil War, after the takeover of the Panguna man, leader of the rebellion Francis Ona owned half of the island and proclaimed himself king of Me’ekamui. Another man, now known as King David Peii II, proclaimed the kingdom of Papaala, upon’s Francis Ona’s passing, David Peii II combined Me’ekamui and Papaala into one Twin Kingdom. Now, the Kingdom rules over a village. The kingdom has its own currency and defense force and the king wears an actual crown of gold. We will be the first tourist group to ever set foot there!

• Head to the Hurai Guesthouse for dinner. Located right under a Digicel satelite tower, this guesthouse probably has the best network signal on the island.

• Overnight at Hurai Guesthouse.

   

Saturday 21st of August – Buin Region

• After breakfast this morning, we will drive down south to the region of Buin.

• We drive as far as we can go before we get off and start our trek to nothing less than the plane wreck of Admiral Yamamoto. Admiral Yamamoto was the leader of the Japanese Army who design the attack against Pearl Harbor, effectively declaring war against the USA during WWII. One day, as he was on a tour to review the troop, his itinerary got intercepted and an ambush was design to attack him. Admiral Yamamoto’s plane crashed in the jungle here and we’ll get to see it. The trek takes about 2 hours each way but is on easy flat terrain. Bugs are not an issue either. Things will get very muddy though! We’ll see multiple kinds of scenery and are sure to meet some very curious locals.

• Successful in our outing to Yamamoto’s wreck, we drive south to the coastal area.

• Here, we will see some more japanese war relics, such as a bunker and cannons. From the beach, it is possible to see the first islands of  the Solomon Islands. Locals take boat and cross into the nearby islands of the Solomon, which share a lot of their culture with Bougainville. Some would say that Bougainvillians feel more like Solomon Islands than Papua New Guineans.

• We drive back towards Arawa, which used to be the capital and take a boat to cross to Pokpok Island, stopping on the road to buy some drinks!

• Check in at Uruna Resort to drop our baggages before we head out for an afternoon of Island Hopping.

• After a day of trekking, there is literally nothing more heavenly than Uruna Resort. The nicest accommodation on our tour, we’ll be on a pristine island between us and not a single other tourist around. Water are crystal clear and everything is so peaceful. Anywhere else in the world, this place would be a tourist hotspot!

• Dinner of fresh fish prepared just for us.

• Our own little island party!

• Overnight at Uruna Beach Resort

   

Sunday 22nd of August – Pokpok Island/Arawa

• After breakfast, we’ll go Island Hopping, we can swim, snorkel and fish in untouched waters where snorkelling is so good it feels like scuba diving! We are in one of the least visited part of the world!

• Afterwards we‟ll get on a banana boat and travel to a cliff over the sea, called “Eberia”. “Eberia” literally translates as ‘’this way‟ in the local language and according to local folklore is rumoured to be the gateway to the Underworld. It is a truly unique and spooky sight. Then, we’ll stop and check the abandoned Arovo Island Resort. Its services were disrupted by the Civil War.

• We go by boat by Pidia village, if you are familiar with the movie ”Mr. Pip”, staring Hugh Laurie, which tells the story of a girl in Pidia village going through the events of the Bougainville Civil War. It happened here!

• On our way back on the mainland, we’ll stop by a WWII memorial by the town of Kieta where a zero plane and a Japanese tank are exposed.

• We stop by Arawa market to meet the locals and shop for some souvenirs. Arawa was the capital of Bougainville before the Civil War but most of it was destroyed during the war.

• We head to Topiniang village where we will finish our trip with a bang. Here villagers will welcome us to stay with them. Amongst other things, they will show us their flowers gardens as well as a live bridge made up of vines from a Ficus Tree. The most intrepid of us will get to cross this bridge which goes over a mountain stream and takes us to pools and caves waiting only for us to explore them.

• Back in the village of Topinang, we will see women weaving a traditional fan called Biruko and relax in the afternoon by the beach.

• The villagers will send us off with our own personal singsing and a night of storytelling

• We have dinner and sleep in a homestay in the village.

   

Monday 23rd of August – Kieta

• We’ll rise early for breakfast, and then transfer to Kieta Airport to catch the flight back to Port Moresby.

• End of tour, numerous international connections are available to Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and others. Please let us know if you need any assistance with this.