Super Typhoon Haiyan, Yap, and Rabual, Papua New Guinea

Super Typhoon Haiyan, Yap, and Rabual, Papua New Guinea

As we left Manila we were under direct threat from Super Typhoon Haiyan, now a category 5.  It was projecting to come from Yap Island, directly across hitting the Philippines.  Because of this we had to skip our next port of call in Yap, and use the extra day to sail deep south toward Australia where we could stay out of the storm’s path and keep the ship at a safe distance for comfort. We now had six sea days sailing near the Australian coast before we arrived at our next port Rabaul, Papua New Guinea.

Rabual was the provincial capital, a popular tourist destination and most important settlement in the New Guinea province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash from a volcanic eruption, heavily populated Matupit Island in the center of the caldera sunk beneath the sea.  Rain soaked the thick ash that fell on buildings, and the combined wet ash weight collapsed 80% of the buildings in Rabaul.  The ash was up to seven feet thick throughout the city. Even today, most of the old city is a moonscape of ash and buildings without roofs.  After the 1994 eruptions the capital city relocated to Kokopo about 12 miles away.

Matupit volcano is the sunken one on the far right, the currently active volcano on the lower left.

Rabual was one of the focal points of the bloody World War II pacific arena.  Many tunnels, machinery, gunships are still found there today.  During the war the Japanese occupied the island until late 1943, when the HQ was relocated to underground tunnels to the north. 

For our tour today started with a stop at Matupit Village.  Since the eruption in 1994 the area around the volcano has slowly started to be rebuilt.  Our first stop today was to the new elementary school that was built in 2011.  There we were greeted by a show from the local children and crafts set out by villagers. 

 

The people here have a strong Aboriginal appearance, however you notice several children specifically with curly blond hair instead of the expected black hair.  This gene is due to German ancestry as the island was occupied by the Germans prior to the Japanese.   

Next we stopped at the bottom of the volcano to visit the Tavurvur hot springs.  This area is actually at the base of 5 volcanos, including Matupit.  Another volcano Tavurvur is currently active and we continuously saw ash and steam coming from the craters top.

 

Leaving the volcano base, we got stuck in the ash and had to push!

We then stopped at the old New Guinea Club.  It was built prior to the war, destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again by the 1994 eruption.  It has been somewhat rebuilt as a small building, a shell of what it once was.  It now houses the Rabual Historical Centre and displays wartime relics and history related to Rabual.

 

The last stop was to the town’s oldest hotel Rabual Hotel built in 1952. The stop here was to take a peek at the south pacific themed hotel, but more so for the air conditioned lounge and drinks.  It was extremely hot and humid out so after spending all morning touring it was a much needed break.

 

We headed back to the ship and spent some time browsing the craft tables that were set up by locals at the port.  The, non-A/C busses, heat, humidity and breathing the ash all day really took a toll.  We were happy to get back to the A/C and get a cool shower!  This island though having been devastated by natural disasters is very scenic and beautiful.  The people were very friendly pulled out all the stops for their visitors which only come by ship 2-3 times a year.  We felt very welcome.