Namatanai - Part 4 Kokopo

Melanie, Belinda, and I took a weekend vacation (it’s silly to call it a vacation because everyday here feels like one) to Kokopo which is a town on the East New Britain province.  It was about a 20 minute PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) ride to the West Coast of the island then about a 2 ½ hour boat ride to East New Britain.  The boat we road over in was a banana boat with no seats.  They put a plastic crate down and some of us sat on that while other people sat on the bottom of the boat.  This doesn’t sound so bad, right?  Well, in calm water I suppose it wouldn’t have been bad at all, but with the water just a slight bit choppy it was a rather unpleasant feeling for my boney bum. 

6 am on the PMV (Public Motor Vehicle) heading to the boat

Holding on for dear life while my bum turns black and blue

Melanie and Belinda definitely got better seats 

Kokopo was lovely.  We stayed with a friend of Melanie and Belinda’s named Chris.  They met while diving about a month before and he and his wife extended an invite to stay with them any time they wanted.  It’s funny how that works here.  I had about a 10 minute conversation with Melanie before I was invited to come to stay with them.  Their friend was a lovely host and his house not only had air conditioning AND a hot shower, but it also had a TV.  Wahoo!  We definitely took full advantage of that and watched a couple TV shows and a movie. One of the highlights of the trip was eating food you can’t get in Namatanai or Kavieng.  In the picture below you can see what we had for breakfast the first morning there… meat pies, french fries, garlic bread, donuts, and a butterfinger… nom nom nom.

The breakfast of champions.

The second day in Kokopo we went to a resort called Rapopo and got a massage and lounged by the pool drinking cocktails.  I’ve been introduced to Lemon Lime and Bitters and am hooked.  Apparently it’s a popular drink in Australia and I completely understand why… Dee-lish! We got the massages for a killer deal! They had a special for volunteers and instead of paying 100 Kina it was only 50 Kina (about $25) for an hour-long massage.  And it was amazing!  One of the best massages I’ve ever had. 

After our afternoon message and lounging Chris took us for a drive to watch the sunset over Rabaul.  Rabaul is the town next to Kokopo and has an active volcano.  The last time it erupted was either in 1994 or 1996, I can’t remember what I was told.  The view of Rabaul was lovely and though we missed the sunset Chris joined in a game of “chop the stick with a machete” with a couple local kids.  How the game works – 1) stick machete in ground 2) find long stick 3) hold stick like baseball bat 4) hit machete with stick as though it were a baseball while your friends stand in the “outfield” and attempt to catch the piece of stick that was chopped off 5) repeat steps 1-4.

Beyonce pose in front of Rabaul

Chris playing with the kiddos

While out shopping one day we came across some small pillows.  I immediately thought of the boat ride back to Namatanai and proceeded to purchase one.  Obviously, since I purchased a pillow to sit on for the ride home the seas were completely calm thus making the pillow obsolete.  And even though I applied 70 spf suncreen about 20 minutes before getting on the boat I still managed to get burnt during the 2 hour ride.  Fail.  Sometimes genetics just can’t be conquered.

We liked Kokopo so much we got a cake that said it and
took it to dinner at some other expats house

Coca-Cola "Nothing like the real thing"... uhhh I'm not sure the sign says it all.  And in fact, it doesn't.  There is oversea Coke and PNG made Coke.  PNG made Coke put up this sign to say that overseas made Coke is nothing like the real thing.  Chris works for Coke and explained this all to us.