New Britain

Introduction

New Britain (Tok Pisin: Niu Briten) is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago (named after Otto von Bismarck) of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from the island of New Guinea by the Dampier and Vitiaz Straits and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel. The main towns of New Britain are Rabaul/Kokopo and Kimbe. The island is roughly the size of Taiwan. While the island was part of German New Guinea, it was named Neupommern ("New Pomerania").

Geography

New Britain extends from 148°18'31" to 152°23'57" E longitude and from 4°08'25" to 6°18'31" S latitude. It is crescent-shaped, approximately 520 kilometres along its southeastern coastline, and from 29 to 146 kilometres wide, not including a small central peninsula. The air-line distance from west to east is 477 kilometres. The island is the 38th largest in the world, with an area of 36,520 km2.

Steep cliffs form some sections of the coastline; in others the mountains are further inland, and the coastal area is flat and bordered by coral reefs. The highest point, at 2,438 metres, is Mount Sinewit in the Baining range in the east. Most of the terrain is covered with tropical rainforest and several large rivers are fed by the high rainfall.

New Britain was largely formed by volcanic processes, and there are several active volcanoes on the island, including Ulawun (the highest volcano in Papua New Guinea), Langila, the Garbuna Group, the Sulu Range, and the volcanoes Tavurvur and Vulcan of the Rabaul caldera. A major eruption of Tavurvur in 1994 destroyed the East New Britain provincial capital of Rabaul. Most of the town still lies under metres of ash, and the capital has been moved to nearby Kokopo.

Cities

• Rabaul - the capital city of East New Britain province. Destroyed by volcanic eruption in 1994 and still slowly getting back to normal. Many ruins from the Japanese wartime occupation and great diving to see wrecks, and amazing coral and fish.
• Kimbe - a thriving port, capital city of West New Britain province and an important dive center.

Sights and Activities

• Diving - There is good diving around both Kimbe and Rabaul and dive companies to support you. Apart from the excellent marine life, there are numerous wrecks from World War II to explore.
• War relics - New Britain was occupied by the Japanese in World War II. Particularly in the Rabaul area there are still visible many reminders of this occupation, including numerous tunnels built into the rocks.

Events and Festivals

Tumbuan Mask Festival

First beginning in 1995, the Tumbuan Mask Festival puts the ever-impressive mask making culture of PNG into the spotlight. Rabaul, the largest city’s island region, hosts this festival for three days each July.

Weather

Most of New Britain has a hot and humid tropical climate. Average daytime temperatures in the lowlying areas hoover around 30 °C during the day and 23 °C or 24 °C at night. Temperatures and humidity are about the same in most areas at sea level.

Getting There

By Plane

Rabaul Airport (RAB) offers flights to/from Buka, Cairns, Hoskins, Kavieng, Kieta, Lihir Island and Port Moresby.

Kimbe Airport has comparable connections.

By Boat

There are several vessels that connect Lae with Rabaul, with intermediate stops. Some of these carry passengers.

Getting Around

Although there are good roads in the immediate vicinity of both Rabaul and Kimbe, most of the island's coastline has no roads. It is not possible to drive between the two main cities. Passenger accommodation is available on some coastal shipping between Kimbe and Rabaul.

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