The Morobe Province curves its way around the tropical blue waters of the Huon Gulf taking in the mountainous Huon Peninsula and the superb Markham Valley,with its tropical birdlife, butterflies, and orchids. The Morobe Province is truly a beautiful part of the country with breathtaking scenery.
The Province may well be the birth place of the first human settlement in Papua New Guinea. Axe heads found at Bobongora have been dated at 40,000 years old and it is believed early coastal settlements were flooded by rising sea levels after the last Ice Age, destroying most of Papua New Guinea’s prehistoric artifacts.
Lae’s importance as a deep water port attracted the Japanese in securing Lae as a strategic base in World War II.
Some of the heaviest fighting of the war took place in and around Lae. Thousands of troops were killed or injured. Each year relatives and loved ones, and some who fought on the battlefields, come to pay their respects, Japanese, Australian and American alike.
There is a well-tended cemetery and fine memorial to those Australians who fell in defense of what was then the Australian territory of New Guinea. Japanese visitors also ensure the memorial is on the “Places to See” list in the same way as they do Pearl Harbour in Honululu.
It was also from Lae that in 1937 the pioneer American aviator Amelia Earhart took off on one of the final legs of her round the world flight. She never made it. Lae was the last place to farewell the famous adventurer.
Lae is situated at the mouth of the Markham River. It is the connecting point, of the famous “Highlands Highway” and has important harbour facilities and a busy airport second only to Port Moresby.
No visit to Lae would be complete without a trip to the Rainforest Habitat. It is situated on the University of Technology campus, just a short trip from town, it encapsulates the flora, fauna and wildlife that Papau New Guinea has to offer. At the habitat, there are reptiles and other animals and more than 50 species of birds such as Queen Victoria’s Crowned Pigeons (the largest in the world), hombills, parrots, brush turkeys, cassowaries and fruit doves live peacefully under an eleven metre high canopy. A sighting of the magnificent Raggiana Birds of Paradise, forest wallabies, flying foxes, green frogs, crocodiles amid myriads of insects and coloured rare butterflies drink from the lake where native fish and turtles swim.
Approximately 15,000 plants, most indigenous but with some exotics for extra colour, have been planted at the habitat under shade cloth around a concreted lake which is fed by a freshwater underground bore. To add to the excitement, a jungle walk and refreshments may be served to visitors amongst the lush foliage and waterfalls. A few kilometres outside Lae you will find some of the most beautiful, unspoilt beaches in the world fringed by coral reefs. The crocodile farm is home to over 36,000 crocodiles, and is one of the biggest in the world! You can go to a village where life has remained unchanged for thousands of years and then you spend the night in a luxury hotel with fine cuisine and fine wine and the best of friendly service.