Kokopo

Kokopo took over as the centre of East New Britain after Rabaul was buried by the 1994 eruptions, and it sits along Blanche Bay on the Gazelle Peninsula with the volcanoes of the Rabaul caldera visible across the water. The market is large and busy, selling produce from the fertile volcanic ground of the peninsula along with fish and shell money, the tabu still used in Tolai exchange. The Kokopo War and Cultural Museum holds Tolai material and relics from the war years alongside German colonial-period items, since this was the administrative centre of German New Guinea, whose traces remain at Herbertshöhe. Diving and the Duke of York islands are reached from here.

What you actually see

• The market - the produce, fish and shell money trading.
• The museum - the Tolai, colonial and wartime collections.
• The volcano view - Tavurvur and the caldera across Blanche Bay.
• The German-period traces - the remains of the colonial administration.

When to go

May to October for the drier weather and calmest water; the Mask Festival in July brings Tolai and Baining performers to the area. Volcanic activity at Tavurvur affects ash fall in the area.

Honest expectations

The town is functional rather than attractive. Ashfall from the volcanoes affects the area periodically. Movement is by arranged transport. Facilities are limited outside a few hotels.

Nearby

Rabaul lies northwest around the bay; the Duke of York islands are offshore.