Papua New Guinea (PNG) lies entirely within the tropics, just south of the Equator and 160km to the north of Australia. The country encompasses the eastern part of New Guinea island – the second largest island in the world – plus some 600 other islands, atolls and coral reefs. These comprise the New Guinea Islands Region.
PNG is mostly mountains with coastal lowlands and rolling foothills. The highest point is Mount Wilhelm at 4,509 metres. There is active volcanism and the country is subject to frequent earth tremors and sometimes earthquakes and mud slides. More dangerous for the environment is the risk of deforestration of the rainforest as a result of growing commercial demand for tropical timber.
New Britain is the largest of PNG’s islands, lying to the east and north of New Guinea island. New Britain is one of a chain of volcanic, oceanic islands that have never been connected to the mainland and so have flora and fauna developed independently of the rest of Papua New Guinea. These islands form the Bismarck Archipelago which is somewhat semi-circular in shape and partly encloses the Bismarck Sea. The Archipelago is part of the Melanesian arc systems that were generated through the interaction of the Australian and Pacific plates.
West New Britain (WNB) covers a total land area of over 20,000 square kilometres. The interior is very rugged with a mountainous spine covered in lush rainforest, rising to a maximum height of 2185m in the Nakanai Mountains. Extinct and active volcanoes, geyser fields, boiling mud pools, and volcanic lakes are found across WNB. There are also 125 islands, many rainforest-covered, 869 kilometres of coastline and 137,000 hectares of shallow reefs.
The coastal areas are relatively flat and there are numerous rivers running from the central mountains to the Bismarck and Solomon Seas.
While large areas of the Province were once covered with dense lowland rainforest, the increase in commercial agriculture and logging activities has led to a increase in cleared areas mainly along the northern coast where you will find coconut and palm-oil plantations. The province has many small villages, plus some new areas of housing for workers who have moved from their home village to find work.
The main towns are Kimbe, the provincial capital, Hoskins, where the airport is located and Bialla.
All of PNG is tropical experiencing the northwest monsoon from December to March and the southeast monsoon from May to October. New Britain is very close to the equator and is hot all year round, with temperatures ranging from 24 to 31° C (75 to 90° F). Humidity is high at all times. Annual precipitation is extremely high at about 3,800 mm or 150 inches. The dry season lasts from May to November, associated with the south-east monsoon, although heavy tropical rains can occur throughout the year.
