Daru

Introduction

Daru is the capital of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. Daru is located on an island of the same name, which is located near the mouth of the Fly River on the western side of the Papuan Gulf, just north of Torres Strait and Far North Queensland in Australia. It is a poor town that has benefited little from mining activities in Western Province and has relatively little to interest visitors other than fishermen. It is an occasional anchorage for yachts sailing from Australia to Port Moresby.

Sights and Activities

Fishing. Fishing trips for Barramundi and Black Bass can be arranged through the Kuki Hotel.

Getting There

By Plane

Airlines PNG has daily flights from the nation's capital, Port Moresby.

By Boat

There is no commercial transport from Australia but it may be possible to persuade someone in the Torres Strait Islands to take you Daru by boat. You will, of course, need to have obtained a visa for PNG in advance. Torres Strait Islanders are allowed to travel into Papua New Guinea without documents as far as the 9 degrees South latitude line, just north of Daru, but that permission does not apply to anyone else.

Eat

• Barramundi. Excellent eating fish found in the Gulf of Papua.
• Sago. The traditional staple food of the area. Sago is a starch extracted from the pith of sago palm stems. It is cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a paste, or as a pancake.

Sleep

• Kuki Hotel, ☎ +675 645 9476, ✉ [email protected].
• New Century Hotel, PO Box 290 Daru, ☎ +675 645 9169, ✉ [email protected].

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet usage among the people is relatively low. You can find internet cafes in major cities, towns and other tourist centers. Wifi coverage is still very low, but is growing.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Papua New Guinea's international country code is 675.

Digicel is by far the better telecom provider. A new prepaid sim card is easy to purchase and can be used in any unlocked phone. Calls cost from 0.60-1.00 kina and SMS from 0.25 kina. Topup is available anywhere where there is network and also online (credit card or PayPal). Mobile Internet costs 0.35 kina per MB but it's possible to buy hourly (30 MB for 1 kina), daily (60 MB for 2.5 kina), weekly (150 MB for 10 kina) or monthly (900 MB for 65 kina) packages. There are also promotions and packages for calls and sms.

Post

Post PNG offers postal service in the country. It is only recommended to use for sending postcards, as it is not very reliable nor fast. To send packages overseas, use international courier companies like FedEx, DHL or UPS.

External Links