#  >  > Non Asia Travel Forums >  >  > Pacific Islands Travel Forum >  >  New Ireland Bike Ride, PNG

## kingwilly

A few years ago I rode a bike with a group, starting at Kavieng and we rode down to ?????. Spent about a week in all. Really beautiful, wish I'd had time for the diving as well though, since it is meant to be excellent.

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## kingwilly

an evening stop by a river opening to the ocean



locals were ever so friendly

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## kingwilly

discussing route plans



while the girls wait...

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## kingwilly

our trusty motor mechanic



a hulking wreck along the coast, apparently still in use...

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## kingwilly

On the way down the coast we stopped to visit a woman who feeds eels for tourists. Cathy Hiob, used to be an international air hostess with Air Niugini but decided it would be more fun to look after eels at her village, Laraibina, which is about a 45 minute drive from Kavieng in the New Ireland Province. (actually she told us her mother died, and her tribe was matriarchal, which meant she had to go home to take over! Cathy also operates accommodation for backpackers which mainly caters for the cyclists which frequent New Ireland.
New Ireland Tourism Bureau - Papua New Guinea




AnywAY, we could hand feed her pet eels!

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## kingwilly

TBC 

*3.5 minutes left on the computer battery, and not a plug in sight, sorry. besides off to see Avatar!

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## kingwilly

New Ireland Bike Ride,... 19-12-2009 08:57 PM Chairman Mao blondie.


thanks mate, any more constructive criticism ?

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## Stinky

Nice Thread Willy, looks good,  any more photos?  :Smile:

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## kingwilly



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## kingwilly

some more beach pics...

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## kingwilly

we found a little water hole for a much needed cool break!

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## kingwilly

some more riding, it was damn hot.

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## kingwilly

still messing around in that waterhole.

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## kingwilly

This fella took us fishing one day, i think it was a rest day.





Stunning chain of mountains along the way, new ireland is basically a backbone of mountains...

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## kingwilly

One could always get a lift with the locals when the going got too hard...



glad I rode all the bladdy way....



We made it to Namatanai,

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## Stinky

Looks like a nice trip Willy, do you know if it's changed much over the years?

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## kingwilly

I think a King tide innundated much of the island a year or two back, but other than that I doubt very much anything has changed. You'd probably still be able to find that same fellow and the same truck still going.

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## Stinky

The fisherman is a lumpy looking fellow, how are the local females? any lookers?

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## slackula

> New Ireland Bike Ride,... 19-12-2009 08:57 PM Chairman Mao blondie.   thanks mate, any more constructive criticism ?


A red for a photo thread? Too funny..

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## Propagator

Looks like the fellow on the left is having a 'Chukka'

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## hawkeye

Stoped over for a night in Kaveing once in 1980. At the local hotel we sat and ate crayfish for hours..........memories crayfish and SP, the local beer and a decent one to.
HAWKEYE

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## patsycat

Why is it called New Ireland?  Nice pics - are you the one dangling off the rope?

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## Marmite the Dog

> Why is it called New Ireland?


It probably reminded Cook (or whoever) of Ireland. I guess it was raining at the time. Also, after renaming most of the world, they were probably struggling to come up with new names for places.

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## kingwilly

The                                  first travellers from the old world                                  of Europe to see New Ireland were the Dutch, The                                  first European ship ever to sail around, and name,                                  Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America                                  (earlier ships had sailed through the Straits                                  of Magellan to reach the Pacific since Magellan                                  in 1521) was the Dutch sailing vessel Eendracht.                                  Jacob le Maire, with his pilot Willem Schouten                                  then sailed across the Pacific Ocean and on June                                  24 1616, sighted the Anir/Feni islands and named                                  them St.John's Island, because it was that Saint's                                  day.                                They continued NW along the coast of New Ireland,                                  thinking, such were the difficulties of determining                                  longitude at the time, they were on the north                                  coast of New Guinea island. They carryied with                                  them New Irelands first recorded, and probably                                  reluctant, overseas traveller. He was nicknamed                                  'Moses' by the crew and had failed to be ransomed                                  by his people for food, following an attack on                                  the ship in which three New Irelanders were captured.                                  He went with the ship to Jakarta where it was                                  impounded and no more is known of 'Moses' fate.

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## magpie

Give us the dirt KW. Who fucked who?

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## kingwilly

> Give us the dirt KW. Who fucked who?


eh ???

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## billy the kid

Not bad pics KW . you have a lot of memories on film.

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## ossierob

Thanks KW....

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## Chong Boy

Nice photos, great memories.
Spent a month working on New Ireland 3 years ago and it was a great friendly place.
I would happily go back there any time I get the chance!

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## kingwilly

^ what were you doing there? 

And do you know if there is any diving there? I've heard PNG has some really awesome diving.

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## Chong Boy

^ was working for Digicel, building 16 GSM sites from Kavieng right down to Namatanai.
Never got a chance to dive there but people I met said it was fantastic! Lot's of war wrecks - boats and planes.

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