RABUL, PAPUA, NEW GUINEA

Rabul is another lush tropical island full of dense jungle & rain forests. It was also the most powerful Japanese base in the Southwest Pacific during WWII. At it's peak, it included 5 airfields, a submarine & seaplane base and a huge naval anchorage with support facilities. At it's peak the garrison numbered 200,000 personnel. It was from this harbor that the famed "Tokyo Express" raced to re-supply Guadalcanal and other Japanese bases in the Solomon Islands.

Admiral Halsey announced he would turn it to rubble. In order to escape, the Japanese moved underground honeycombing the hills around Rabaul with hundreds of kilometers of tunnels including hospitals & barracks.

In 1994 one of several volcanoes surrounding the island erupted burying much of Rabul under 6 feet of ash. They are still active. The Melanesian people are dark skinned with fuzzy short hair and are very friendly. They were so isolated from Western influence that the first wheel ever seen was the propeller of an aircraft. They chew beetle nuts (ala Bloody Mary)which turn their teeth, gums and lips bright red and rots their teeth. It was really something to see. I was as foreign to them as they were to me. I brought candy from the ship and gave it to the kids. Every one of them said thank you and smiled. They were really sweet.


This was the first time we were close to an active volcano...it was awesome! I must have taken 100 pictures of it spewing ash. The top of the ship & the pool were covered with it - us too. We got a van with our friends and drove the island going through the tunnels and stopping at the various local markets and, of course, photographing the volcano. Extremely interesting island.