KiwiExpat beginners guide to Port Moresby 2015 edition – part 1

  1. Port Moresby’s International Airport is called Jackson’s, and so is the domestic Airport. This is abbreviated to POM, which is also what we call Port Moresby to other people from Port Moresby. Eg: “When are you going back to Pom?“
  2. Port Moresby is also called Moresby or Mosbi, as well as Pom. Often the names get interchanged whilst talking (just to confuse you). Eg: “Hey, how’s life in Port Moresby?”, “Oh man, Moresby a bit crazy at the moment”, “No shit?”, “Yeah – when you coming back to Pom?”, “Ahhh – dunno bro, all my Mosbi wantoks want me to come back – but not sure when”….
  3. Port Moresby is spread out along an old main route called the Hubert Murray Highway. This is the old way old of “Town” (the modern way and most used is via the Poreporena Freeway (Spring Garden Road)).
  4. The CBD location beside Paga Hill is called Town, and the old Hubert Murray route is used for naming locations along this route
    1. Town
    2. 2 Mile (Badili Area)
    3. 3 Mile – Although this is actually called Murray Barracks
    4. 4 Mile (Boroko) – but normally refers to the 4 Mile PMV (Bus) Stop
    5. 5 Mile – 5 Mile roundabout (has a Mobil Service Station) – beside Jack Pidik Park
    6. 6 Mile – T intersection, left takes you to Jackson’s Airport – right takes you down the Magi Highway
    7. 7 mile – Jacksons’s Airport
    8. 8 mile – ATS settlement, Malolo Estate
    9. 9 mile – 9 mile settlement, right hand turn off to Sogeri
    10. 14 mile – Pacific Adventist University (PAU), Adventure Park, Orchid Gardens
    11. 16 mile – Hugo Canning factory (Ox and Palm)
    12. 17 mile – Bluff Inn
    13. Sogeri
    14. Turn right for Crystal Rapids
    15. Veer left for Koitaki
  5. The main suburbs/area’s are:
    1. Town
    2. Ela Beach/Ela Makana
    3. Touaguba
    4. Konedobu (Kone)
    5. Hanuabada
    6. Hohola
    7. Koki
    8. Badili
    9. Gabutu
    10. Korobosea
    11. Gordons
    12. Waigani
    13. Ensisi
    14. Erima
    15. Gerehu
  6. Suburbs/area’s you may not want to visit without a local are:
    1. June Valley
    2. Morata
    3. Sabama
    4. Erima
    5. Gerehu past stage 3
    6. Gordon’s Market
    7. Koki Market area
  7. Where can you get a Coffee? There are lots of places, however my favorites are:
    1. My Place 🙂 (we only drink PNG coffee – yum!)
    2. Other people’s places – especially when they like PNG coffee too 😉
    3. Duffy’s
    4. Edge Café
    5. Fusion Restaurant
    6. Airways Hotel
    7. Brumby’s at Vision City (when the machine is working)
    8. Royal Papua Yacht Club
    9. Espresso Café – Deliotte Tower (only cause I work upstairs)
    10. Boncafe – Deliotte Tower (Only cause I work upstairs, they open at 7:30am, and we get to see their pet rats that run around behind them…)
  8. So, you are now hungry – here’s my favourite eateries
    1. Fusion Restaurant – Wonton Noodle Soup
    2. Duffy’s – for their beef pie’s
    3. The Edge Café – The steak sandwich or Egg’s Benedict
    4. The Imperial – Salty Fish Rice
    5. Asia Aroma’s – Salt & Pepper Squid
    6. Stone Grill or Tapa’s at The Yachty – RPYC
    7. Friday night Fish n Chips at Sail’s Café – RPYC
    8. Sail’s Café – Egg’s Benedict
    9. Ten Japanese Restaurant – It’s all good, but try the special buffet lunch
    10. The Aviat – Burger and Chips. But standard lunch menu is a good pub lunch
    11. Koitaki – for local beef
    12. Bluff Inn – for a burger and chips
    13. Airways – Buffet Lunch
    14. Ela Beach Hotel – Pizza
    15. Foodstation – Pizza and Fish n Chips
    16. Ang’s – Best duck in town
    17. Sunset Lodge Lea Lea – BYO food to cook on the wood fired BBQ
    18. Big Rooster – for Fried Chicken (which I don’t eat BTW) and the best chips in PNG
    19. Tasty Bite – for steaks and Mexican… kidding Indian 😉
  9. And if you really have to eat at home, then you need some groceries
    1. Waterfront Supermarket (is 10 to 15% more expensive, but it’s nice, so we go there 🙂 )
    2. Boroko Foodworld at Gordons – still the best damn sausages anywhere… and I mean anywhere!! Was the place to go a few years ago until the new supermarkets opened
    3. RH Hypermart in Vision City – I really like their Ham, and quite often are a lot cheaper than anywhere else, they also have a Brumby’s bakery onsite
    4. SVS Harbourcity – used to be our old supermarket, now it just looks old… pretty grotty place, but you can find things here that you can’t anywhere else. Might be because they have less clientele now
    5. Waigani Central Stop and Shop (or Stab and Grab for a bit of fun) – has some of the best range of cheese around.
    6. RH Hypermart opposite Brian Bell – grotty grotty grotty, hold your fecken wallets…. Actually not a bad place 😉 you can get items here that no one else stocks
    7. SVS 2 Mile – has possibly the best stock of spices around
    8. SVS Koki – used to be (a long time ago) part of the Anderson’s Chain. Been there, not worth going back
    9. The Shed at PAU Markets – my favourite place for fresh fruit and vege, only open Sunday morning at 14 mile, make sure you spread some cash around the outside market as well – some of the locals grow the best pumpkin you have had in your life!   Even my kids eat it – and kids never eat pumpkin, they are normally forcefed…
    10. Malaro Markets – no wallets, old clothes, go with a local the first time 🙂 best market in Pom. Although you can get fresh fish at Koki Market, or on the side of the road – this is the best place to come.
    11. Side of the road – some of the best fruit and vege is found on the side of the road by a bunch of street sellers, people like Anna Banana and Peter bring fruit down from Sogeri and sell it at strategic places around the city (like the school when it’s pickup time). You can haggle a little with them (please don’t be too harsh), and if you buy banana’s, make sure they are green – they are the bestest!
    12. Sogeri – if you drive up to Sogeri in Pineapple season, buy some! If you have never had “real” pineapple (or banana’s for that matter) before – then you are in for a treat.

 

Part 2 to come…..

10 thoughts on “KiwiExpat beginners guide to Port Moresby 2015 edition – part 1

  1. I was a big reader of your blog before we moved to POM, now that we’re here (and have been for 7 months, also working in Deloitte!) I have this week found myself writing a list just like this for all the volunteers who move to town – I may even add a few of your tips! because it does take a while to find all these good spots.
    But I am saddened not to see Fu Gui’s on your list of favourite places to eat – not only for the Chinese, but also the amazing gelati. No amount of Gala will compare.

    Otherwise I think you’ve pretty much nailed it!

    • Thanks Hannah, yes I did miss a couple of nice places, including Fu Gui :).

      Happy to know I kind of nailed it otherwise :). Sometimes it’s actually really hard to think of the things you do, or the places you go – just because it is such a normal way of life. Any new visitor into the country will be completely overwhelmed by the choices, when they have been generally misinformed to expect little.

  2. Pingback: Reblog: KiwiExpat beginners guide to Port Moresby 2015 Edition | Wokabaut

  3. Nice to read that Mosbi is still a good place to stay. I loved my time there for seven years. Left in1991. Armed hold ups were getting rather prevalent then. Does the theatre group still operate at Waigani, I helped with some of their shows.

    • Hi Dorothy, yes the theatre is alive and well here in Mosbi 🙂 The carjackings aren’t so prevalent now, although we have just had a couple of them over the past few weeks so people are being extra careful… Glad you enjoyed my blog 🙂

  4. This list is great! And thanks for the explanation on the different miles numbers. I’ve been two years here in Pom and still couldn’t understand how it works until I read this post! 🙂 Regarding coffee, I like also Shaker’s in VC. There’s another Shaker’s next to Credit Corp at the Japanese embassy building.

    Greetings from level 8.

  5. Thanks for all the great info on here.
    The wife and I are heading out June 1st to POM and super excited.
    We had our multiple vaccination shots this week, and they advised continuously taking malaria medication for our 3 year stay, as well as providing 3 different options for malaria pills to use (of varying cost of course!).
    Do you have any recommendations on malaria pills to take for a long time – is there any local opinion, or do you guys take malaria medication??

    I get conflicting information from the sources i have looked into.

    Appreciated, thanks 🙂

    • Hi Matthew,

      Personally – we don’t take anti-malarials and in my opinion the person advising you to take a 3 year course is not looking at the alternatives. We just spray with AeroGuard, wear long sleeve clothing and pants when necessary. If you get malaria, you are in a country that actually knows how to treat it 🙂 . I have taken anti-malaria medication (before PNG) and it personally screwed with my brain, gave me wicked nightmares – and wasn’t worth it.

      The biggest issue we have up here at the moment is Dengue. There is no anti-Dengue medication and you get Dengue from daytime mozzies (Malaria is night time). Again, spray prevention is the best option and ensuring your compound has no standing water etc etc for the little buggers to breed in.

      Good luck on the move, Aaron

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