Bulolo

Bulolo is a city in Morobe province in Papua New Guinea.

Understand

Bulolo was once an important gold dredging centre. Eight large dredges were built and used in the Bulolo River, and several of these dredges can still be seen abandoned today, slowly being reclaimed by the jungle. The major industry is now forestry and there are large plantings of Klinki pine (Norfolk Island pine) trees. It is in an area with a vast number of butterflies and other insects.

Get in

Bulolo is connected by road to Papua New Guinea's second largest city, Lae. PMVs (Public Motor Vehicles) ply the route.

There are three flights a week from the capital Port Moresby to Bulolo on PNG Air.

See

• The Gold Dredges. Every part of the eight 2000-tonne dredges was airlifted into the Bulolo area using a German-made Junkers aircraft. They stopped being used in June 1965, after having turned over a total of 7.4mn cubic metres. One of the dredges was cut up to make bridges, two were shipped to South America. The others, in various conditions, can still be seen.

Do

• Play Golf. Bulolo's nine-hole course is Papua New Guinea's oldest, first opened in 1947.

Eat

• Country Club Restaurant. (updated Nov 2021)
• 1 Bulolo Bakery. (updated Nov 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Pine Lodge (near the Baptist Church), ☏ +675 474 5220, fax: +675 474 5284. Not a particularly popular place, but is at the doorstep of the stunning mountains of New Guinea. First constructed during the Gold Rush this hotel still retains a certain colonial charm. Just 17 rooms. 

Apart from Pine Lodge, the nearest accommodation options can be found in Lae.

Go next

• Aseki and Watama. Close to 100km from Bulolo, heading southwest, are the villages of Aseki and Watama. These are famous for their "smoked" bodies. The burial ritual of the Anga people involved, and occasionally still involves, smoking the dead and leaving the bodies in a wood or bamboo cage in burial caves or on a mountain ridge. On the banks of the Snake River, closer to Lae, are limestone caves that were used as open-air burial grounds. Skeletal remains can still be seen.
• Wau (Papua New Guinea)