Matupit Island

New Britain


The 1994 eruption should have destroyed little Matupit Island but the prevailing winds brought Tavurvur’s load over Rabaul and left this connected island almost unscathed thanks, villagers say, to the local dukduks. The thousand-strong village community still chooses to reside right beside the belching monster. You can hire a canoeist to get you around to see Tavurvur’s southern slopes, which have giant lava flows. The megapode-egg hunters are here, burrowing almost 2m into the black sand to retrieve the eggs.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby New Britain attractions

1. Japanese Aircraft Wrecks

1.22 MILES

In the same area at Matupit Island, there’s quite a smattering of Japanese aircraft wreckage scattered among the palm trees and now semi-buried in earth,…

2. Beehives

1.46 MILES

The two rocky pinnacles rising from the centre of Simpson Harbour are called the Beehives and are said to be the hard core of the original old volcano…

3. Hot Springs

1.58 MILES

These hot springs are an impressive sight amid an eerie landscape where locals cook and devour their megapode eggs.

5. New Guinea Club & Rabaul Museum

2.66 MILES

Established in 1933, the New Guinea Club was a businessmen’s club with strict guidelines for membership, although that didn't prevent a young Errol Flynn…

6. Admiral Yamamoto’s Bunker

2.69 MILES

There are Japanese tunnels and caverns in the hillsides around Rabaul, though nearby to the Rabaul Museum is Admiral Yamamoto’s Bunker. It is rather…

7. Japanese Peace Memorial

2.71 MILES

The Japanese Peace Memorial, the main Japanese memorial in the Pacific, is dignified and testament to the forgiveness of the local people. There’s another…

8. Catholic Church

3.13 MILES

The barn-like St Francis Xavier's Co-Cathedral was built in 1965 replacing the much more attractive original building, which was destroyed in WWII.

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
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      "url": "papua-new-guinea/around-rabaul/attractions/matupit-island/a/poi-sig/1416735/1337356",
      "destination": "New-Britain",
      "continent": "Australia-&-Pacific",
      "country": "Papua-New-Guinea",
      "region": "New-Britain",
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