Ecotourism Melanesia’s PAPUA NEW GUINEA

MADANG PROVINCE

- Daily flights from Port Moresby, Lae and Wewak with Air Niugini

- Smaller airlines connect Madang with Lae, Goroka, Mt Hagen, Manus, Kimbe and Rabaul.

- PMV passenger trucks from Goroka and Lae via the Highlands Highway.

- Lutheran Shipping has passenger boat services from Lae to Madang and through to Wewak

Madang town parks, ponds and memorials – great for walks, safe environment

Coastwatchers Memorial Lighthouse - World War 2 history

Madang Visitors and Cultural Centre - museum and artifact shop

The Sepik River - cruises on MV Melanesian Discoverer depart from Madang

Madang town market - fresh fruit and vegetables, Sepik and Ramu handcrafts and artifacts

Madang harbour - cruises and day tours depart daily

Madang coastline - snorkelling and diving
Balek Wildlife Sanctuary - 15 minutes from town along the south coast road, fish-filled sulphurous caves, hot springs, pristine jungle walks... this site has been used for several film sets including Robinson Crusoe and James Bond

Kranget Island – swimming, snorkelling, canoe rides, picnic area

Coastal villages (Bilbil, Yabob) – pottery, shell jewellery

remote Teptep station – walking trails
Simbai - home of the exotic Kalam tribe

Long Island – volcanic cones, bird life, turtle hatchery

Manam Island – active volcano

Hansa Bay – Japanese shipwrecks and other WW2 relics

Wasab Ecotourism Village - take a day trip to experience cultural displays, a village feast, a rainforest nature walk, traditional dancing
Madang Coffee Mill - see how raw coffee beans are processed
Alexishafen Catholic Mission - historical site, WW2 relics, wartime airstrip
Ohu Butterfly Conservation Project - a 45 minute drive out of town, huge birdwing butterflies will alight on your head and arms.

Game fishing with Reel Fish Charters - sailfish, kingfish, tuna, mackerel, barracuda, marlin, wahoo etc
Scuba diving with Jais Aben Resort, Madang Resort or Smugglers Inn - shore, wreck or reef dives close to town or as far as Hansa Bay

 

Madang Resort Hotel - right on the habrour, PNG's premier tourist hotel with all facilities set in 5 acres of landscaped gardens with large saltwater pool, dive shop and artifact hut.

Madang Lodge - motel rooms and backpacker accommodation right on the waterfront

Jais Aben Resort - located 15km north of Madang town, a diving and water sports resort set on 22 acres of private peninsula overlooking the Bismarck sea and coastal islands. Tours of Madang town and local villages. Frequent courtesy transport into town.

Madang Inn - budget / backpacker motel, cheap but sparse, some distance from shops
Coastwatchers Hotel - split-level apartments situated opposite the Coastwatchers Memorial Lighthouse overlooking the Bismarck Sea.

Malolo Plantation Resort - a grand colonial-style plantation house situated 45km north of town overlooking a superb beach, with airconditioned rooms, swimming pool, tennis court, orchid gardens, diving, snorkelling, tours
Kranget Lodge / Laidex Guesthouse, Kranget Island - basic self-catering accommodation only 5 minutes by boat from town, but a world away. White sandy beaches and pretty reef with views of Madang Harbour and Karkar Island.
Siar Island Lodge - family-run basic guesthouses on small coral islands close to Madang Harbour. Snorkelling and swimming, boat and canoe hire.
Keki Eco Lodge - a remote village guest house deep in the Madang forest, offering close contact with undisturbed flora and fauna. Access by helicopter or 4 wheel drive vehicle in dry weather only. You haven't done THIS before :)
Ohu Village Stay - right next to the Ohu Butterfly Conservation Area, 30 minutes inland from town
Udisis Village Stay - a 100% authentic village experience located at Udisis, one hour's drive north of town, historical caves, scenic lookouts, birding, rainforest walks, entertainment including bamboo bands and traditional dancing, try drinking kava.
Kalam Guest House - Simbai

Madang Day Tour 1: A day out with your local guide. Visit Madang town points of interest including Suyau Lookout, Omuru Flying Fox Cave, Balek sulfur caves and wildlife sanctuary, BilBil pottery, WW2 aircraft wreck, Ohu Butterfly Conservation Area, and a visit to a bush village for a feast of traditional foods.

Madang Day Tour 2: Our intrepid tour guide will accompany you on a friendly tour of the Nobnob Lookout, the Madang Haus Tumbuna (culture house), the Madang Market, and Kranget Island for swimming or beachwalking. Includes picnic lunch, bottomless coconut juice to drink, and fresh flowers to take away with you.

Madang Day Tour 3: Local village tour guide will transport you by open-back truck to Udisis Village, where you will be welcomed by a short display of traditional dancing and drama performed by the village children. You will visit the village culture house, orchid garden and see how vegetables like yam and sweet potato are cultivated. Take a dip in the freshwater stream or jump on a bamboo raft for a gentle ride downstream. You will enjoy a village-style lunch of fresh vegetables and fish cooked in an earth oven, with coconut juice to drink. After lunch you will be taken on a guided nature walk through cool shady rainforest where you will meet some of the plants and animals native to the area. You may even spot a bird of paradise.

Probably the most tourism-oriented province in PNG, Madang has a good range of visitor facilities. The tourism scene tends to be dominated by the larger hotels, but there are some excellent alternative options including village guest houses and homestays.

 

Madang is a large province (pop. 365,000) with rugged mountain ranges interspersed with river valleys and fertile plains. There are coastal roads running north and south of Madang town which allow for good access to coastal villages. Feeder roads run up into the foothills but there are no roads into the mountainous areas apart from the main Ramu Highway which links up with the Highlands Highway.

Madang is close to the equator, with the town and coastal regions experiencing uniformly warm temperatures ranging from 20C to 34C all year round. There is a dry season from May to September but even in the wet season it mainly rains at night and clears up during the day. Up in the mountains the weather is much cooler.

Papua New Guinea's highest mountain, Mt Wilhelm, lies at the border of Madang and Chimbu province. The Finisterre and Adelbert ranges run through the province, hosting villages shrouded in mist, waterfalls plummeting hundreds of metres down precipices, and breathtaking pristine rainforest teeming with wildlife. Cutting through the mountains is the Ramu River, which villagers ply in dugout or motorised canoes.

The coastline of Madang lies along a geological faultline and is volcanically active. Manam Island is an active volcano that has recently erupted. Due to the volcanic activity in the province, the sea bed rises along the coast bringing deep corals closer to the surface to provide superlative diving conditions.

Various species of bird of paradise are commonly found in Madang but the province is also famous for its huge butterflies. Cute marsupials known as "cuscus", flying foxes, wild pigs and parrots are so common that they are kept as pets. In fact there are so many flying fox colonies in the Madang town area that the airport closes down at 5pm every day due to the danger created when thousands of these winged mammals fill the skies at dusk.

Madang Province plays host to many different tribes, from the coastal areas to the mountains to the Ramu Valley. Up to 200 different dialects are spoken in the province, which is a quarter of PNG's amazing 800 languages. The Madang fine art scene is dominated by the art and culture of the Ramu Valley which bears strong similarities to the Sepik cultures. Ramu and Sepik carvings are easy to purchase in Madang, both at the main market and the hotel craft shacks. The Madang Visitors and Cultural Bureau has a museum and artifact shop.

 

Madang town has been said to be the prettiest town in PNG. This may be so but the locals do have an ambivalent attitude to littering and spitting red betel nut juice. Nevertheless one thing that sets Madang town apart from other PNG towns is the number of parks with lawns and lily ponds where one can wander freely and safely, encountering only the smiles of local people you meet as you go.

Madang best buys: Sepik and Ramu handcrafts and artifacts.
Our favourite spot: Ohu Village Butterfly Conservation Area

 

PHOTO ALBUM

Manam Island - Volcano		Village guest bungalow, Udisis	Caving, Udisis

 

Unique traditional dance, Madang		Hibiscus groves at the Ohu butterfly conservation area	Clay pottery, Bilbil village

 

 

MORE INFORMATION

 

Map of Madang Province

Our PNG links page

Frequently-Asked Questions about travel in PNG

ECOTOURISM MELANESIA LTD
Unit 1 Lot 3 Section 444, Ranu Place
Four Mile Hill, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea
(Postal address: PO Box 24 Waigani NCD)
Phone & Fax (675) 323 4518
E-mail ecomel(at)online.net.pg · Website: www.em.com.pg

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