"The Capital of Milne Bay" a Alotau Travel Page by mcwelshy

Alotau is the isolated capital of Milne Bay Province (MBP). The township itself has a population of about 2000 people. The people live a basic, but plentiful existence. Only about 5% of people are 'employed', with most living in villages or one of the many clusters of inslands to the east.

The locals are pathologically friendly, and unlike other areas in PNG, the whole city is very safe to walk at night (although it's PITCH BLACK out of town if there's cloud cover).

The Milne Bay area was a key battle site in WW2, and the site of the advancing Japanese army's first land defeat of the war, at the hands of the Australian forces.

There are wonderful diving sites and war relic tours, but Alotau is still not yet a 'touristy' place. There is no public transport, the tourist info centre is hard to find, and there are no street signs.