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The ship docked in Alotau (Milne Bay, PNG) around 8am.
The ship was welcomed by dancers on the dock, so I raced back to get the camera, only to find that with the heat and humidity, the camera had completely fogged up internally and was useless.
I ran back to get the phone, which thankfully was not similarly effected, and managed to take some photos and video from the ship.
After an early breakfast we disembarked to be taken the short distance into town by bus, but not after an onboard briefing that included its own comedy of errors.
The scene on the short bus ride into town was reminiscent of what we saw in Timor Leste, lush green vegetation, dusty pot-holed roads and Melanesian locals plying their trades.
We were taken straight to the Wanigili Cultural Centre which is a showcase for mostly Milne Bay culture, but also a educational and training centre for Papua New Guinea youth.
It is also a market for local crafts, including some quite stunning wood carvings as shown below.
Within the complex there were various groups of dancers and some singers.
After my museum experience of Melanesian material culture through my work at the Australian Museum (photographing artefacts – mostly partial outfits- and managing the Frank Hurley PNG photo collection) the impact was incredible – seeing people wearing outfits that were complete and colourful, consisting of plants and bird feathers in all sorts of combinations which I had rarely seen before, and in their local context.
There was a sense that it was a little manufactured, but at the same time genuine. The Cultural Centre has been set up to teach and promote indigenous culture and aid in its preservation.
The performers were quite happy to pose for photographs, either by themselves or with tourists called International Visitors.
I felt a little uncomfortable, a little like a voyeur, but when I talked to some young performers, there said were very happy with their arrangements and were quite proud of sharing their culture.
I can’t help feeling though that they are seen as curiosities by many cruise passengers, as you can see by the photos. At this stage, the local Melanesians are proud of their culture and have no embarrassment about wearing traditional clothing, but this may change with more exposure to western culture through tourism and cultural exchange.
We were bused back to the boat because of the shuttle arrangements, but then we set out together to explore by ourselves.
Just outside the terminal, we visited the small Massim Museum. It had an exhibition of the history of Milne Bay, including photographs by John Lindt from 1885.
There was also a temporary exhibition of Kiriwina Island Carvers celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of Branislaw Malinowski in the Trobriand Islands. Well worth the visit.
We then caught a taxi to the main local market which was an absolute eye-opener. The fresh food section had everything from woven tobacco sticks to unknown types of fruits, root vegetables and herbs, fresh and smoke fish.
There was also a large market for betel nut makings, where it is known locally as "buai". The nuts are chewed in conjunction with a mustard stick dipped in slaked lime powder (crushed from coral). There is a view that the chewing of betel nut is a major health hazard in Papua New Guinea.
Another section had local food for sale, and small manufactured items, mostly from china, common in most western "$2" shops.
The food included, Sausage Flour (battered sausage), Chicken Liver (battered), Pork Kebabs (with banana on skewers).
Of course there were also hand-rolled cigarettes along with the manufactured ones.
We then walked to the main shopping district, which involved crossing a raging torrent as shown in the photograph with Frances bravely crossing alone.
We visited a supermarket which had some of the highest security I have ever seen.
We thought we'd see if we could buy some wine to take back on board. The alcohol was kept in a high security room at the rear and only one customer was allowed in at a time.
We decided against buying any wine - not at AUD$26 for a bottle of Australian Jacob’s Creek Rose!
We did buy some local biscuits including "Navy Biskit" and "Paradise Foods Scotch Fingers" and PNG coffee.
I then headed back to the ship and was lucky to be offered a free ride with a local, Jerry, and found the dancers from this morning were still going!
Frances followed later after sampling PNG beer at the Waterfront Lodge.
At 3pm I ran another Tai Chi class. It had been scheduled in the daily program but I had not been notified.
We had an early dinner as we starving after not having any lunch, then in the evening saw the show by the Magician, Brad Manuel, who was actually pretty funny.
Here are some parting photos of Alotau.
Unfortunately we were in Alotau one day before the annual Alotau Kenu & Kundu Festival. This is a video about the festival.
 |
| Dancers on the dock |
 |
| Camera effected by heat and humidity |
The ship was welcomed by dancers on the dock, so I raced back to get the camera, only to find that with the heat and humidity, the camera had completely fogged up internally and was useless.
I ran back to get the phone, which thankfully was not similarly effected, and managed to take some photos and video from the ship.
After an early breakfast we disembarked to be taken the short distance into town by bus, but not after an onboard briefing that included its own comedy of errors.
The scene on the short bus ride into town was reminiscent of what we saw in Timor Leste, lush green vegetation, dusty pot-holed roads and Melanesian locals plying their trades.
We were taken straight to the Wanigili Cultural Centre which is a showcase for mostly Milne Bay culture, but also a educational and training centre for Papua New Guinea youth.
It is also a market for local crafts, including some quite stunning wood carvings as shown below.
Within the complex there were various groups of dancers and some singers.
After my museum experience of Melanesian material culture through my work at the Australian Museum (photographing artefacts – mostly partial outfits- and managing the Frank Hurley PNG photo collection) the impact was incredible – seeing people wearing outfits that were complete and colourful, consisting of plants and bird feathers in all sorts of combinations which I had rarely seen before, and in their local context.
There was a sense that it was a little manufactured, but at the same time genuine. The Cultural Centre has been set up to teach and promote indigenous culture and aid in its preservation.
 |
| Dancers in the Cultural Centre |
 |
| Be photographed with a local? |
I felt a little uncomfortable, a little like a voyeur, but when I talked to some young performers, there said were very happy with their arrangements and were quite proud of sharing their culture.
 |
| Be photographed with a "native" |
We were bused back to the boat because of the shuttle arrangements, but then we set out together to explore by ourselves.
There was also a temporary exhibition of Kiriwina Island Carvers celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the arrival of Branislaw Malinowski in the Trobriand Islands. Well worth the visit.
We then caught a taxi to the main local market which was an absolute eye-opener. The fresh food section had everything from woven tobacco sticks to unknown types of fruits, root vegetables and herbs, fresh and smoke fish.
There was also a large market for betel nut makings, where it is known locally as "buai". The nuts are chewed in conjunction with a mustard stick dipped in slaked lime powder (crushed from coral). There is a view that the chewing of betel nut is a major health hazard in Papua New Guinea.
 |
| Betel nut and mustard sticks |
 |
| Lime powder from coral |
 |
| Woven sticks of tobacco |
 |
| Two happy and friendly local guys. |
Another section had local food for sale, and small manufactured items, mostly from china, common in most western "$2" shops.
The food included, Sausage Flour (battered sausage), Chicken Liver (battered), Pork Kebabs (with banana on skewers).
Of course there were also hand-rolled cigarettes along with the manufactured ones.
We then walked to the main shopping district, which involved crossing a raging torrent as shown in the photograph with Frances bravely crossing alone.We visited a supermarket which had some of the highest security I have ever seen.
We thought we'd see if we could buy some wine to take back on board. The alcohol was kept in a high security room at the rear and only one customer was allowed in at a time.
We decided against buying any wine - not at AUD$26 for a bottle of Australian Jacob’s Creek Rose!
We did buy some local biscuits including "Navy Biskit" and "Paradise Foods Scotch Fingers" and PNG coffee.I then headed back to the ship and was lucky to be offered a free ride with a local, Jerry, and found the dancers from this morning were still going!
Frances followed later after sampling PNG beer at the Waterfront Lodge.
At 3pm I ran another Tai Chi class. It had been scheduled in the daily program but I had not been notified.
We had an early dinner as we starving after not having any lunch, then in the evening saw the show by the Magician, Brad Manuel, who was actually pretty funny.
Here are some parting photos of Alotau.
 |
| Looking towards the town of Alotau |
 |
| The port |
 |
| Sunset over Alotau |
