Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# goroka show Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Papua New Guinea
thaigift 04:58 UTC 19 Jan 2010 | hi everyone! i am planning on attending the goroka show this september. i think that i will cross over from indonesia to png via vanimo and then find my way to goroka from there. any iteneraries? i know that costs are high, but what is a good budget? we (my girlfriend and myself) will not have a lot of money so im wondering if USD$40 per person per day is good? any good places to stay in goroka? any info is gratefully appreciated! |
avantikook 06:55 UTC 19 Jan 2010 | We stayed in the Pacific Gardens hotel which was 200 kina a night (about US$75) for the basic rooms. The rooms are small and nothing fancy but the grounds are lovely and the restaurant was good most of the time. One downside is that it is a bit out of town (only 10 minute walk) and you may or may not feel comfortable walking that - you will stand out! | 1
harry2 19:32 UTC 21 Jan 2010 | Papua New Guinea is a great place and the Goroka show is staggering. Whilst you're there, you can also buy yourself a teenage bride see a gun fught, a knife fight, get robbed or even get yourself killed. ie you need to be very carefull on the personal security front. The buses there, and trucks which also carry passengers can be held up. This happened to us. http://freespace.virgin.net/susan.armitage/PNG.htm You can read what happened to us at the link. (Wife is a parrot nut BTW) Your girlfriend must under no circumstances go out alone. Niether of you must go out at night. There are no taxis in Goroka. Take good note of the foriegn office travel advice. There is constant intertribal feuding in PNG, it's wise to get a local guide if wandering about out of town, you may unwittingly crossinto some unsafe area. | 2
donbrisbane 12:47 UTC 30 Jan 2010 | get ready for a big adventure,give yourself lots of time from jayapura in reaching goroka.as nothing is direct connection/lots of improvisastion is required.just getting your png visa in jayapura can be time consuming(4days)the png consul in jayapura is now located at entrop...if you can get a png visa before you arrive it will save u money/time and drop your frustration level!as vanimo is not connected to wewak by road,and wewak is not connected to madang by road,airflights are essential...my tip is air new guinea flight out of vanimo to madang,then pmv(public motor vehicle) up to goroka,you might want to do a google search on recent pmv bus crash which killed 38 people in the area u are going!just letting you know so you know what you in for!!your daily costs may well blow out over your budget?my accom tips are in jayapura....dafonsoro hotel in central town area($35usd)/in vanimo try silung lodge close to airport($70usd)and pacific gardens is nice in goroka,and close to showgrounds($75usd)in madang i like the cwa guest house(town centre)$55usd./////png is not a cheap place to get around due to lack of roads./lack of competition.vanimo/jayapura are fine to walk around at night but it can be very volatile in highlands(goroka)particularly during show time.good luck,any qs send me a note for further.d | 3