The Provinces
Southern Region
other trees with suitably thick, fibrous inner bark. The bark is soaked, scraped, folded and repeatedly beaten by stone or heavy wooden beaters until the cloth is smooth. Clans own the rights to their specific designs that individuals 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 pure white and thin as lace, was once important in traditional ceremonies. 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 Normanby Island beach, Milne Bay Photo: Mombi Onesimo
the rugged 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.
A Queen Alexandra birdwing emerges
at the Yagi Rua village butterfly garden, at Tufi Photo: Fiord View Guest House
Oro’s distinctive tapa bark cloth is a source of inspiration for PNG’s fashion designers. Oro designer Diana Wilkins (label Itatie) made this gown from tapa and bilum for Miss PNG entrant Hannah Tabara to wear at the pageant crowning ball in December 2022 Photo: Margo Nugent
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