Southern Region
The Provinces
once important in traditional ceremonies.
Owen Stanley Ranges. You can walk from either direction between Kokoda and Owers’ Corner, taking 5-9 days (depending on your fitness), staying in basic guesthouses and well- groomed campsites along the track. Tufi is another popular and world- class dive destination in Oro and boasts a boutique resort nestled atop breathtaking fjords, only a one-hour flight from Port Moresby. A nearby attraction is a Queen Alexandra birdwing butterfly garden at Yagi Rua village, a short walk from the resort.
Patterned tapa is still the choice for commercial sale. When selecting your tapa be sure to check the texture of the cloth is soft and the design has a straight edge. Activities Milne Bay is world famous for its diving. Other activities include turtle watching, game fishing, bush walking and bird watching. Known as one of the world’s most awe-inspiring and challenging treks, the Kokoda Track traverses the rugged
Oro’s distinctive tapa bark cloth is a source of inspiration to PNG’s fashion designers including this fresh design by Dylan Yaruso, seen at Paradise Runway in Port Moresby. Photo: Oliver Regondola, Silversoul Studios
suitably thick, fibrous inner bark. The bark is soaked, scraped, folded and repeatedly
reinterpret or create anew. The abstract, brown swirling designs are stained, painted, stamped or stencilled onto the cloth from local clays, native plant dyes and charcoal. Plain tapa, bleached
beaten by stone or heavy wooden beaters until the cloth is smooth. Clans own the rights to their specific designs that individuals
Accommodation Eco-tourism is blossoming in Milne Bay , with a plethora of village guesthouses popping up across the islands to accommodate tourists on every budget. In Alotau , options include Tawali Resort, Driftwood Resort, Alotau Inter.l Hotel, Treetops, and Nuli Sapi Lodge.
pure white and thin as lace, was
45
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