eco-village Garowe

Situated within the Witu Island Group, 65 km off the coast of West New Britain province, lie this traditional little home island of ours and our extended families. Garowe is the largest Island, which together with Narega, Mundua (location of Ningau plantation), Unea and the tiny Vambu Islands make up the Witu Island Group.

A twice-a-week local passenger & cargo ferry leaving West New Britain Island’s wharf at Kimbe and arrives at Meto Bay in Witu, the boat jetty on the southern side of Garowe Island, after a 13 hour or an overnight journey. Alternatively, a local Banana boat, a small fiberglass boat with an outboard-engine can take passengers in 4 to 6 hours. Banana boats usually depart more frequently than the ferry, when they have sufficient passengers, or people can organize one ad-hoc, with a couple of others who are waiting to get there. Tourists who organize a visit to our Island with us, can have their boat trips to and from the Island, and snorkeling and diving trips arranged by us.

Here, the time appear to stand still! It will take you back in time, when humans lived close to the nature and in harmony. Away from hustle and bustle of civilization, we grow our own food in our home gardens or catch them in the nature that surrounds us: may that be the vast oceans or the lush tropical jungles that surround us, we share the resources sustainably.

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We welcome you to come and share our day-to-day life with us, while visiting PNG.

You can experience our daily life firsthand, by accompanying local villagers in their daily tasks.
You can go fishing with us: netting or angling with a locally made fishing rod, lazing off in the lagoon, or for the more adventurous, try spear fishing or diving…

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… or, accompany our villagers in to the forest, to gather food. We gather wild plants, mushrooms, bees honey and also hunt for smaller animals such as Cus-Cus & Birds. Pigs are reserved for our feasts.

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A day in the home gardens with a family, planting, harvesting or doing the chores depending on the season is a great way to explore the simple lifestyle of a village on a tiny pacific island.
The young boys and girls and the kids are your best guides around the island.

If you are around, during one of our numerous village festivals, you will experience dancers in traditional costumes.

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Or… Male visitors can sit with our village men in the “Haus Tembaran” or “Haus Boi” in the evening, drinking tea over a discussion of days happenings. Every village in PNG has a Haus Tembaran, where entry is restricted to men only; or boys who are initiated. It is the central meeting point for men, often one of the most ornate buildings in a village.

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Eco-friendly, cottages built with local material, similar to the houses of the local villagers are available for our guests. You can chose to stay in a cottage overlooking the sea, next to the beach or in a cottage further interior of the Island, within a village setting.

The capital Port Moresby is the main entry point to Papua New Guinea. Daily flights from Australia (Brisbane & Sydney), Singapore and Philippines connect PNG to the outside world.

The fastest route to our little Garowe Island is from Port Moresby or any of other main centres within PNG, by flight to Hoskins Airport in Kimbe, capital of the East New Britain province. Air New Guinea and PNG Air operate flights within PNG. From Kimbe, you can take the overnight cargo-boat ride to Garowe. Else you can take a local Banana Boat, a small fiberglass boat with an outboard-engine, that can take passengers in 4 to 6 hours. Banana boats usually depart more frequently than the ferry, when they have sufficient passengers, or people can organize one ad-hoc, with a couple of others who are waiting to get there.
Tourists who organize a visit to our Island with us, can have their boat trips to-and-from the Island, and snorkeling and diving trips arranged by us.

Please let us know ahead of time, we will arrange your boat ride to our village. Depending on your time of arrival, you may have to spend overnight in Kimbe to catch the boat following morning.

For the more adventurous, who will be travelling overland from East New Britain, you can arrive by combination of transports, as there are no direct road links to other provinces. If you are coming from Kokopo, part of the trip can be made by public transport, and then take a small banana-boat, an outboard-engine boat to Kimbe. The trip will take a full day of travel.