The 1994 eruption should have destroyed little Matupit Island but the prevailing winds brought Tavurvur’s load over Rabaul and left this connected island almost unscathed thanks, villagers say, to the local dukduks. The thousand-strong village community still chooses to reside right beside the belching monster. You can hire a canoeist to get you around to see Tavurvur’s southern slopes, which have giant lava flows. The megapode-egg hunters are here, burrowing almost 2m into the black sand to retrieve the eggs.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
7.62 MILES
For a picnic spot, nothing can beat the Submarine Base at Tavui Point. The Japanese used to provision submarines here during the war. There are tunnel and…
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8.07 MILES
From the Historical & Cultural Centre it's a short walk to the site of Queen Emma's house, Gunantambu, now occupied by of the Gazelle International Hotel…
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New Guinea Club & Rabaul Museum
2.66 MILES
Established in 1933, the New Guinea Club was a businessmen’s club with strict guidelines for membership, although that didn't prevent a young Errol Flynn…
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8.66 MILES
The buzzing Kokopo market is also well worth a stroll. It’s best on Saturday. Buai (betel nut) and its condiments, daka (mustard stick) and cumbung …
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3.86 MILES
A worthwhile site is the Vulcanology Observatory, about 900m off Tunnel Hill Rd, from where you can enjoy million-dollar views over the bay and the…
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13.69 MILES
This poignant war cemetery contains the graves of over 1000 Allied war dead, many of them Indian slaves. The gardens are lovely. It’s 8km off the main…
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Peter ToRot’s Cemetery & Memorial Church
4.63 MILES
As the Burma Rd begins to dip towards the coast, it passes through the Rakunai site of Peter ToRot’s Cemetery and Memorial Church. Peter ToRot was a…
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3.89 MILES
Tunnels built to hold the barges out of sight from the Allies. They were hauled to the water along rails by Indian slaves, now buried at Bita Paka War…
Nearby New Britain attractions
1.22 MILES
In the same area at Matupit Island, there’s quite a smattering of Japanese aircraft wreckage scattered among the palm trees and now semi-buried in earth,…
1.46 MILES
The two rocky pinnacles rising from the centre of Simpson Harbour are called the Beehives and are said to be the hard core of the original old volcano…
1.58 MILES
These hot springs are an impressive sight amid an eerie landscape where locals cook and devour their megapode eggs.
5. New Guinea Club & Rabaul Museum
2.66 MILES
Established in 1933, the New Guinea Club was a businessmen’s club with strict guidelines for membership, although that didn't prevent a young Errol Flynn…
2.69 MILES
There are Japanese tunnels and caverns in the hillsides around Rabaul, though nearby to the Rabaul Museum is Admiral Yamamoto’s Bunker. It is rather…
2.71 MILES
The Japanese Peace Memorial, the main Japanese memorial in the Pacific, is dignified and testament to the forgiveness of the local people. There’s another…
3.13 MILES
The barn-like St Francis Xavier's Co-Cathedral was built in 1965 replacing the much more attractive original building, which was destroyed in WWII.