Melanesien – Von Lautoka nach Darwin

Lautoka wird oft als die Zuckerstadt beschrieben. Zuckerrohr ist die wichtigste Industrie der Fidschis und Lautoka ist der wichtigste Stützpunkt. Hier finden sich die Hauptsitze der Industrie, die größte Zuckermühle, moderne Verladeanlagen und eine riesige Werft. Es erwarteten Sie dort 112 km an Straßen, wobei ein Großteil dieser geteert ist, ein wundervoller botanischer Garten und traumhafte Palmen, die die Hauptverkehrsader der Stadt, Vitogo Parade, schmückt. Der Gemeindemarkt ist eine weitere Attraktion, die Sie sowohl von außen als auch von innen bestaunen können. Fidschi ist ein Synonym für das Paradies. Die Bevölkerung hier lebt, wie sie es schon vor hunderten von Jahren getan hat und konnte sich somit ihre uralten Traditionen und ihren einfachen und unstressigen Lebensstil bewahren, der auch von der Ernte, die sich von dem großzügigen Land und dem freigiebigen Meer einfahren lässt, unterstützt wird.

Unlike Espiritu Santo with its raised coral reefs and white sand, Ambrym is a volcanically active island with dark sand beaches. Ambrym is known as the island of magic and is the source of five local languages that all evolved on Ambrym. This handful of languages contributes to the well over 100 languages of Vanuatu. Some of Ambrym’s magic takes place in the lush greenery of the local community of Ranon. Here the people perform a very special and traditional ‘Rom’ dance. Participants prepare their masks and costumes in secrecy and the dance is reserved for special occasions.

Pentecost Island is a lush mountainous, tropical island stretching over 37 miles from north to south. It was named after the day on which the first European, Louis Antoine de Bougainville, sighted it on 22 May 1768. There are no towns on Pentecost – most of the islanders live in small villages and grow their own food in small gardens. Local traditions are strong, including the age-old ritual of land diving. This unique ritual was first given international exposure by David Attenborough in 1960. View less

Later, in the 1980s, New Zealander AJ Hackett used the idea to invent bungee jumping. Every harvest season from April to June, the people of southern Pentecost construct the towers around a lopped tree, using saplings and branches held together with forest vines. It can take up to five weeks to complete. Each young man who jumps must carefully select his own liana vine. Men and boys as young as seven jump from platforms at different heights (between30 and 90 feet) with only those vines attached to their ankles. The intention is to touch the ground with their heads or shoulders. This ceremony is believed to ensure a good yam harvest. It is also a fertility rite for men.

As world famous beaches go, Champagne Beach is one of the big hitters. In 2003, CNN ranked it number nine in its list of top 100 beaches and independent travel specialists permanently include it on their list of 50 best beaches worldwide. It’s one of the world’s greatest natural beauties: picture-perfect beach white sand, turquoise water and nothing – save for the occasional cow or curious turtle – around. With only coconut plantations and a few friendly locals to keep you company, this might just be the island of your dreams. The glorious name “Champagne Beach” was given to the island in the 17th century, when Pedro de Quirós believed he had reached the famous unknown southern land or the “Tierra Australis Incognita” (or Australia as we now know it). He believed the effervescent bubbles of volcanic origin that bubble up from the crystal clear waters were reminiscent of the bubbles of Champagne. Additionally, the coastline is shaped like an art deco Champagne saucer, so the name stuck! The beach is located on the largest yet least populated island in the 40-island Vanuatu archipelago, near the village of Hog Harbor on Espiritu Santo Island. If you want to venture beyond the beach, then Espiritu Santu is also famed for its blue holes. The island is home to some of the clearest waters on Earth, benefiting from natural filtering from underground limestone caves. Ride or paddle your way through emerald green rainforest amid the sound of birdsong for an experience that will make your soul sing.

Stretching about 25 miles wide and 14 miles from north to south, Nendo is the largest of the Santa Cruz group of islands located in the Temotu province of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Interestingly, Nendo is sometimes referred to as Santa Cruz and at other times as Ndeni, Nitendi or Ndene. The name Santa Cruz was given to in the late 16th century by a Spanish navigator who unsuccessfully started a colony there, although the island was first settled approximately 3,000 years ago. View less Nendo has a population of just over 5,000, most of whom speak the native language of Natugu. While the island has an inactive volcano, the region is prone to earthquakes (the most recent one a magnitude of 8.0 in 2013) which can disrupt active volcanoes, such as nearby Tinakula.

Port St Mary is a village district in the south-west of the Isle of Man. The village takes its name from the former Chapel of St Mary which is thought to have overlooked Chapel Bay in the village. Its population is 1,953 according to the 2011 census. In the 19th century it was sometimes called Port-le-Murray.

If surreal and unique experiences are your thing, then the Papua New Guinean town of Rabaul should tick your travel boxes. Found on the north eastern tip of New Britain Island (the largest island off mainland PNG) Rabaul, the former provincial capital, has quite a remarkable location. The town is inside the flooded caldera of a giant volcano and several sub-vents are still quite active today! The lively city was almost entirely devastated by Mount Tavurvur in 1994, covering the city in ashfall, but thankfully costing no lives. View less

Since then, thanks to Rabaul’s deep-water port, commerce has been on the up, and a few shops and hotels have managed to find an audience. However, Rabaul’s remote location together with the volcano still being one of the most active and dangerous in Papua New Guinea means tourism in not rife. Rabaul has an impressive WWII history which includes a 300-mile network of tunnels dug by Japanese POW designed to conceal munitions and stores. After the Pearl Harbour bombings, the Japanese used Rabaul as their South Pacific base for the last four years of WWII, and by 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul. Post war, the island was returned to Australia, before it was granted independence in 1975. It should be noted that patience is a virtue here. However, that is not all bad. The slow pace of transportation allows travellers to marvels at the quite astonishing landscape. Divers will also be richly rewarded – the marine life of the island is extraordinary.

If surreal and unique experiences are your thing, then the Papua New Guinean town of Rabaul should tick your travel boxes. Found on the north eastern tip of New Britain Island (the largest island off mainland PNG) Rabaul, the former provincial capital, has quite a remarkable location. The town is inside the flooded caldera of a giant volcano and several sub-vents are still quite active today! The lively city was almost entirely devastated by Mount Tavurvur in 1994, covering the city in ashfall, but thankfully costing no lives. View less

Since then, thanks to Rabaul’s deep-water port, commerce has been on the up, and a few shops and hotels have managed to find an audience. However, Rabaul’s remote location together with the volcano still being one of the most active and dangerous in Papua New Guinea means tourism in not rife. Rabaul has an impressive WWII history which includes a 300-mile network of tunnels dug by Japanese POW designed to conceal munitions and stores. After the Pearl Harbour bombings, the Japanese used Rabaul as their South Pacific base for the last four years of WWII, and by 1943 there were about 110,000 Japanese troops based in Rabaul. Post war, the island was returned to Australia, before it was granted independence in 1975. It should be noted that patience is a virtue here. However, that is not all bad. The slow pace of transportation allows travellers to marvels at the quite astonishing landscape. Divers will also be richly rewarded – the marine life of the island is extraordinary.

Jacquinot Bay is a large open bay on the eastern coast of the island of New Britain. It is a tranquil place with white sandy beaches and tropical palm trees all around. There is also a well-known beautiful waterfall that flows out of the mountainside with freezing cold water right onto the beach. But during WWII, however, it was not a quiet place. It was, in fact, an important base for the Australian Army who liberated it in November 1944. View less This base was used to support Australian operations near Rabaul which were conducted in early 1945 in conjunction with advances on the northern side of New Britain.

Kuiawa (Kuyau) is one of the Trobriand Islands, the northernmost islands in the Milne Bay Province. Kuiawa is found some 200 kilometers from the province’s capital and to the southwest of Kiriwina, the largest and best known of the islands. The Trobriand Islands are of uplifted limestone and gardening is not that easy –but Trobriand Islanders are known for their magic to improve the growth of yam, a highly desired plant for ceremonial reasons and as food. Certain islands and villages have yam houses where the larger yams are stored and displayed. Houses are strung along the main road through the village and beach almond, casuarina and frangipani trees give shade. Trobriand Islanders are famous carvers and dancers and local groups and school classes love to compete dancing or playing their version of cricket, especially during harvest time.

Tufi is located on the south-eastern peninsula of Cape Nelson in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. It is situated on a tropical fjord, which is the work of ancient volcanic activities and was not shaped by ice as the descriptive name might lead you to believe. Surrounded by uncharted coral reefs, the underwater world has attracted many divers wanting to see for themselves how the area earned the description of having more fish than water. View less

Although Tufi has been the administrative centre of the region, traditional ceremonies are still very important with natives wearing tapa cloth made from the bark of mulberry trees found in the local forest. Dance is predominant in the culture and performers sport fanciful headdresses decked with bird-of-paradise plumes and a rainbow of iridescent feathers. Tufi’s wide range of colourful birds and butterflies is well-known throughout Papua New Guinea, boasting several ‘largest’, ‘biggest’ and ‘smallest’ records.

Fergusson ist eine der drei größten und gebirgigen Inseln in der Provinz Milne Bay und gehört zu den DEntrecasteaux-Inseln. Auf der Südseite von Fergusson befinden sich die berühmten Dei Dei Geysire – natürliche heiße Quellen, die in regelmäßigen Abständen neben Schlammpools und einem warmen Bach ausbrechen und Dampf absondern. Die heißen Quellen werden von den Einheimischen noch immer zum Kochen von Speisen in Körben aus Palmwedeln und Pandanusblättern genutzt, die in das kochend heiße Wasser gestellt werden. Zu den Vögeln in diesem Gebiet gehören Eklektus-Papageien, Gelbbauch-Sonnenvögel und der endemische Schopfmanukode – ein Paradiesvogel.

Dobu is a small island in the D’Entrecasteaux Group next to Fergusson Island and Normanby Island. The island was formerly feared because of black magic and the local “witch” doctors cursing the healthy or treating the sick. An anthropological study was done by Reo Fortune in the 1930s which resulted in the book “The Island of Sorcerers”. The island is also part of the famous Kula ring. Participants in the exchange system pride themselves with mwali and soulava (armbands and necklaces) that are given and received still today and it is interesting to see how the traditional objects have been adorned with modern paraphernalia. A stroll through the main village on the northwestern tip will show the school and church and trails leading along the shore passing traditionally thatched houses and gardens.

Thursday Island ist das nördlichste Verwaltungszentrum von Queensland, gleich vor der Spitze der Cape York Halbinsel in der Torres Straße gelegen. Es liegt mehr als 2,100 km nördlich von Brisbane. Thursday Island, ein farbenfroher Außenposten, konnte sich eine Mehrheit an eingeborenen Insulanern und einem Mix aus Malays, Polynesiern, Chinesen und Japanern erhalten.
Die Gemeinde von Thursday Island schmiegt sich in die beschützende Umarmung einer Inselgruppe namens Prince of Wales in der Straße von Torres. T.I., wie die Insel auch liebevoll genannt wird, wurde im Jahre 1877 besiedelt. Die Gründe dafür waren in erster Linie ihre Nähe zu den wichtigsten Schiffskanälen und ihr hervorragend geschützt liegender Hafen. Mit einer heutigen Bevölkerung von etwa 3,500 Menschen kann die Insel eine interessante Geschichte vorweisen und war einst der Stützpunkt einer Flotte bestehend aus 150 Perlenloggern und ein geschäftiger Handelshafen.

Yirrkala ist eine Aborigine-Gemeinde im Nordosten von Arnhem Land mit rund 800 Einwohnern. Die Yolngu leben seit mehr als 40.000 Jahren in diesem Gebiet, aber sie kamen erst in größerer Zahl hierher, als die Gemeinde 1935 nach der Gründung einer methodistischen Mission gegründet wurde. Diese kleine Küstensiedlung wurde in den 1960er Jahren berühmt, als sich die Yolngu gegen die Eröffnung einer Bauxitmine auf ihrem Land wehrten und die Yirrkala Bark Petition an das australische Repräsentantenhaus schrieben (und schickten). Weniger anzeigen

Yirrkala ist auch einer der bekanntesten Orte für die Kunst der Aborigines – nicht nur in den Northern Territories – und beherbergt das von der Gemeinde kontrollierte Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre and Museum. Nur 10 Kilometer südlich von Yirrkala liegt Wurrwurrwuy, eine interessante Anordnung von Steinen, die auf der australischen Liste des nationalen Kulturerbes steht. Die Steine wurden in der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts aufgestellt und stellen Praus, Kanus, Seegurkenkochstellen und Häuser dar. Die Anordnung der Praus zeigt sogar die Aufteilung an Bord der Schiffe und zeugt von einer hervorragenden Kenntnis der nicht-einheimischen Gegenstände, die mit dem Seegurkenhandel der Macassan zu tun haben.

Bathurst Island is one of the Tiwi Islands in the Northern Territory off the northern coast of Australia along with Melville Island

Darwin liegt in der oberen Hälfte des Northern Territory, ein Landstrich, der von der restlichen Nation durch tausende Kilometer karger Wüste getrennt wird. Dies ist das Land von Crocodile Dundee, mit Darwin als seiner Vorzeigestadt. Dieses Land der Extreme hat nur zwei Jahreszeiten: trocken und nass, oder besser gesagt Dürre und Sintflut. Letzt Genanntes ist außerdem ein Merkmal seiner Bewohner; der durchschnittliche Einwohner konsumiert angeblich mindestens 227 Liter Bier pro Jahr. Die Stadt wurde nach dem Naturforscher Charles Darwin benannt, der auf seiner historischen Reise auf der M.S. Beagle hier Halt gemacht hat. Während des Zweiten Weltkrieges spielte Darwin als ein wichtiger Militärhafen der Alliierten eine signifikante Rolle und musste unzählige Bombenattacken der Japaner ertragen. Im Dezember 1974 wurde die Stadt von einigen heftigen und grausamen Zyklonen heimgesucht, die fast 60 Prozent der Gebäude zerstörten.