Breaking through the tourism frontiers

Weekender

By JAMES GUMUNO
SOUTHERN Highlands is poised to become another tourist destination in the country.
The province hosts the country’s oil and gas project, is home of the popular Lake Kutubu and Wasi falls and houses the third highest mountain in the country, Mount Giluwe.
This province used to be no-go zone for tourists in the past.
Tourists from overseas would usually fly straight into Tari to see the Hela wigmen. From there, they would fly straight out to Port Moresby or to wherever else they wanted to go and overlook the Southern Highlands.
Law and order problems, bad road conditions and no international-standard lodges, hotels and bungalows were some of the reasons contributing to this conundrum.
However, these problems are now being slowly addressed with the support from the national government.
The law-and-order problem is being reigned in under the command of new highlands Western End police commander Kaiglo Ambane and his provincial police commander Chief Superintendent Sibron Papato.
According to Papato, there have not been any major criminal activities such as armed hold-ups, robbery, rape, stealing and killings like in the past.
The restoration of law and order paves the way for the national government to fund three national roads in the province with a loan from the Asian Development Bank.
These roads connect Mendi to Kandep in Enga, Tambul in Western highlands, and Nipa bordering on Hela.
Thousands of commuters now use these roads every day.
One industrious local businessman took advantage of the influx of people coming into the Southern Highlands by building a set of bungalows which is claimed to be the first in the highlands region. The bungalows, set beside the Mendi river, were officially opened last week by Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.
The new Giluwe EcoTours Mangani Bungalow, costing over K2 million, is owned by Berry Mini, the managing director of Pebeson Mini Trading limited.
Each of the eight bungalows have a master bedroom and a single room each with toilet, shower, kitchen, conference room, and a big swimming pool outside. The Prime Minister, while officially opening the bungalows, commended Mini for investing in his home province which would give a major face-lift to Mendi town and boost hospitality and tourism in the province.
He said the Southern Highlands has a lot to offer to the tourists to come and enjoy.
The PM said the government recognises the hardship and challenges faced by people engaging in business and has come up with the Small Medium Entrepreneurs (SME) policy to assist them.
“We have a SME council in place and as the chairman, my government wants to help promote local businesses in the country.”
Before building the bungalows, Mini operated the Wambu Lodge at the foot of Mt Giluwe, which borders Western highlands.
It is a 20-minute drive to where the walking track starts. The walk up the peak of Mt Giluwe can take two days at the most. The first day is a walk up to the camping area, and next day is up to the peak.
The lodge is ideally located to prep for the walk and for when returning from the mountain walk. Visitors can relax, do rough water kayaking, bird watching, go caving or relax at the magnificent Lake Ekari. There’s even trout fishing for the avid angler.
Mini, a former mining engineer, said tourism is an untapped industry in the province.
He said the Giluwe areas such as Upper Mendi, Ialibu, Imbongu, Kandep, and Tambul are high tourism potential areas.
Mini said these areas contribute nothing to the gross domestic product (GPD) of the nation largely because of a lack of support and promotion by various government agencies although their locality as a tourism site is very ideal. The places can offer a variety of visitor sites. The abundant rainforest system makes the region an ideal tourism destination.
Mini said venturing into tourism wasn’t easy and he had to struggle, especially with the slowing down of the economy.
“I have the daunting task of completing the project with limited funds available.”
He has also pointed out that tourist security and travel convenience are important.
The company is looking at building lodge facilities in Port Moresby. Mini says the intention is to offer a complete tourism package that relates to different tourism spots in the province. They have mapped out a few hotspots and are working on other potential areas to boost the marketability of their investment.
About one hectare of land has been secured in Port Moresby to build a transit lodgment where overseas clients can be picked up from. This, to be called the Giluwe Ecotours Transit Home, is still very much in the design stage with funding not yet a certainty.