Wabag’s Ribito Hotel expands

TOURISM

By DANIEL KUMBON
ONCE upon a time Wabag Hotel near the old airstrip was the only accommodation available for visitors to Enga.
That was in the early 60s and 70s before independence in September 1975 and immediately after that
But by 1980, Malya Hostel was established by the provincial government when Don Kapi was Interim Premier and when the full elections came Daneley Tindiwi took over.
But one colonial kiap or patrol officer at the time John Gordon-Kirkby saw the great tourism potential of the province.
He encouraged a local councilor, Peter Piaoen to build a lodge in his village at Kaiap which is situated on the central ridge which divides Wabag and Kompian district. It is the same ridge through which gold prospectors – the Leahy brothers travelled on but were forced back from Tole village in 1934.
Four years later Taylor and Black passed through this same route on their famous Hagen Sepik patrol of 1938-39.

A special attraction to the central ridge still held sway for a certain kiap who worked in Wabag just before independence.
The kiap wasJohn Gordon-Kirkby who saw the potential for tourism activity along this ridge with the spectacular views with the Lai and Ambum rivers flowing on either side.
“The Enga landscape was mostly fresh and luxuriously green with red scars of human activity. The distant blue mountain ranges capped with ever changing moody skiesm”, is how John described the landscape many years later from where he lives now.
Gordon-Kirkby saw that the Goroka and Hagen shows were a huge tourist draw card and Enga had the potential to benefit from the tourist influx.
And the Laiagam Orchid Centre had international exposure in the writings of André Millar and others.
John said visitors from afar had to be accommodated in Mt Hagen and fly in to Wabag. And the Wabag Hotel which was the only suitable accommodation at the time for travellers had limited capacity and was very expensive.
So in 1977, he encouraged an energetic young man, Peter Piaoen to build a lodge in his village. John was captivated by the magical splendor of the Enga landscape seen from Kaiap at nearly 3,000 meters above sea level.
“A no-frills rest-house with basic facilities for orchid enthusiasts seemed a good idea,” Gordon-Kirkby said from Melbourne recently.
Indeed the idea was good and profitable. Tourists poured in from all over the world to Kaiap Orchid Lodge as soon as it was completed in 1979. They came to see the orchid garden, enjoy the fresh air and experience the typical Engan village setting.
Here are two comments made by tourists about the lodge in an article I published in Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine Paradise in early 1991.
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways! Beautiful setting, excellent accommodation, lovely people and what a shower,” are the words entered in the visitor’s book by one Peter Crossett of Geelong Australia.
In the same year, an American couple, Jim and Kathy of Tucson Arizona wrote: “A little bit of heaven! Spectacular views, wonderful people and great food.”
It was officially opened by Roy Evara on March 11, 1979.
But just when Kaiap Orchid Lodge was enjoying success and popularity as a major tourist destination, it unfortunately shut down operations due to many social problems. Peter Piaoen packed up and went to his wife’s place on the coast in Milne Bay.
But another energetic young man and a wantok of Peter Piaoen also from Kaiap village is drawing similar comments from tourists and important visitors to a modern hotel facility he operates in the heart of Wabag town.
He is Councillor Paul Kurai who owns the fast-expanding Ribito Hotel. But the banks did not want to give him the K6.5million loan he requested for because of escalating law and order problems.
And he finally convinced the National Development Bank to loan him the required amount to establish it in 2006.
“I told them, trust Paul Kurai. He will get it done,” he said. After it was completed, they came back and said it is like Stanely Hotel or Grand Papua in Port Moresby.
Now he is comfortably paying the loan at about K96,000 a month with steady income.
In a new arrangement, he has asked the NDB for a further funding of K650,000 to build a five-storey new wing which will have fully contained executive rooms at every level complete with a, massage parlor, gymnasium and conference facilities to accommodate up to 500 participants.
There is a standby generator and solar panels installed on the roof to provide uninterrupted power supply.
Arceo Magmanlec, the hotel and restaurant manager says these new executive rooms would add to the existing 29 rooms bringing the total to 43 fully furnished modern rooms.
“The 29 rooms was not enough especially during busy times like Enga Clutural Show,” Arceo said. “So we have to expand and make more rooms available.”
Magmanlec who has just extended his contract for a further two years says they would continue to build another five-storey wing next year. The Filipino national has been in Wabag for the last five years.
He said it was necessary to expand the hotel and add the extra 15 executive rooms because Ribito Hotel was drawing important customers like the Governor-General, judges, government ministers, foreign dignitaries, top business executives, top statutory bodies, government departmental heads and others who came mostly on business trips.
Two other hotel facilities that provided adequate accommodation for important people which gave steep competition were Malyam Hostel also located in town and Sirunki Resort Hotel near Lake Ivae on the border of Laiagam and Wabag.
There are over a dozen budget guest houses and lodges that operating in Wabag town and not forgetting others like the world-renowned birdwatchers haven – Kumul Lodge in Wapenamanda and others scattered around the province.
But as stated in the introduction it was never like this.
When Kaiap Orchid Lodge shut down operations in 1997, there weren’t many guest houses or lodges in operation in Enga except Malya Hostel.
But in the same year when Governor Peter Ipatas won the national elections, he immediately formulated a policy to make tourism promotion one of the top priorities of his government.
Governor Ipatas helped many people like late Yasowa Kome to establish Yaskom Resort Hotel at Sirunki beside Lake Ivae.
He approved the issuance of a license to develop a hotel which would also sell liquor and gave him a grant of K100,000.
Kome used this money to develop the facility and it was officially opened on Aug 12, 2011 by Moses Maladina, then Minister for Rural Development and Implementation.
Maladina provided a surprise gift of a further K200,000 grant, this time from the National Government to Yasowa Kome. This gesture changed forever, the perception people had of Sirunki as a forlorn area torn apart by tribal warfare.
Now, it has been operating without incident for the last eight years drawing in many customers who commented favourably about it comparing it to some of the other establishments like Ribito Hotel.
Here is one comment from a EMTV News team that stayed at the Ribito Hotel: “It offers world standard hospitality, facilities the best in Wabag town, hot and cold water, best food and friendly staff. Hats off for the Ribito team.”
And another from Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae who stayed at Ribito: “Wonderful experience in this hotel.”
If countries like Dubai and Fiji thrive on tourism, then Enga is not far behind and keen to tap into the lucrative million-dollar industry.
Governor Ipatas made the right decision as soon as he was elected to promote tourism and hospitality.
And people like Cr Paul Kurai are supporting the provincial government policy which provides incomes and employment opportunities for hundreds of people and above all – brings peace and unity to Enga.

• Daniel Kumbon is a freelance writer.