Rabaul, on New Britain Island, used to be one of the pearls of the Pacific. Despite frequent volcanic activity, the German colonisers, and later the Japanese invaders, had turned the town into one of the largest and one of the most attractive towns in Papua New Guinea. This reality changed rather abruptly in 1994 when the volcano Tuvurvur exploded, with little warning, completely destroying Rabaul. The town was covered in several meters of ash, and in the weeks after the eruption, the roofs of Rabaul's buildings caved in one by one... I have lived in Port Moresby for 6 months now, since January. A long weekend in Rabaul was my first trip outside of Central Province and the National Capital District. It took way too long for me to get out. Despite really enjoying my life
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