Morobe preservation centre amazes tourists

A GROUP of 100 tourists travelling on the cruise ship Caledonian Sky, visited the Kamiali Wildlife Management Area (KWMA) located in  Lababia Village, Salamaua local level government, in Huon Gulf, Morobe, on Tuesday .
The Kamiali wildlife preservation centre is a tourist attraction and so far since its establishment in 1997, 15 cruise ships, including the Caledonian Sky, have visited the centre.
About 47,000 hectares of land is used for marine and forest preservation.
KWMA offers projects like the leatherback turtle monitoring project, wildlife, research programmes and eco-tourism.
Villagers hosted a welcome ceremony for the tourists and many of the visitors s were moved to tears as the welcome song was sung by the Lababia school children.
The tourists came from as far as Saudi Arabia and Colombia, with most from Britain.
They spent the early hours hiking, bird watching and snorkelling on the reefs. The villagers organised dances and entertainment groups that performed.
Art and crafts created by the villagers were sold to the tourists.
“The place is beautiful, clean, neat and tidy and the children are well behaved,” Jane, visitor from London, said.
“The wildlife here is amazing. We love it the way it is; it is natural at its best.
“It is natural and we love it the way it is. The more it is upgraded the more human interference there is and it becomes artificial”.
Governor Kelly Naru helped the village by contributing K10,000 for the village host its welcome ceremony for its tourists.
Toka Gure, Naru’s administration clerk, was at the village to witness the welcome ceremony hosted by the village.
The cruise ship arrived at the village on Monday night via Tami Island, in Siassi, and left on Tuesday afternoon following its cruise for Tufi and Milne Bay.