Papua New Guinea ~ East New Britain Province - Kokopo - National Mask Festival ~

... PNG beauty nr2💙... mysterious masked dancer with impressive hat... this island province is the location of the annual National Mask & Warwagira Festival... together with their amazing costumes, groups from all across the islands gather in the coastal town of Kokopo to showcase their elaborate ancestral and spirit masks whilst performing ritual dances, each style forging the unique cultural identity of a tribe.... a hypnotic ritual... the National Mask Festival has been carried out annually in July since 1995 to promote the unique Mask cultures ... and the festival lasts for 3-4 days...Thanks a million dear David!! 【ツ】It must have been a fantastic experience to catch a glimp of their amazing culture and its friendly people (I loved your photos of this festival)!

Photograph courtesy of National Cultural Commision  From backside postcard:
"Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province. It was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of volcanic eruption, sending ash thousands of metres into the air and the subsequent rain of ash caused 80 of the buildings in Rabaul to collapse. After the eruption the capital was moved to Kokopo, about 20km away."
East New Britain is a province of Papua New Guinea, consisting of the north-eastern part of the island of New Britain and the Duke of York Islands. The capital of the province is Kokopo, not far from the old capital of Rabaul. The people of East New Britain are culturally diversified, with rich and unique traditions.

Stamps:


Birding Butterfly
(Issued ????)

Birds - Joint Issue with India
(Issued 31-12-2017)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA ~ Bougainville Islands - Buka ~

... First of two amazing surprises sent by world traveler🌏 David... and once more coming from a really exotic destination... Bougainville Islands are a jewel in the South Seas with an ancient culture very connected to a spiritual earth that nurtures them... there’s huge potential for ecotourism, trekking, diving, surfing, caving, kayaking, birdwatching and fishing, but there’s little in the way of infrastructure and organized activities (for now)...  wherever you go in this province, you’re unlikely to cross paths with other travellers... with cofffee *scented* stamp to commemorate the country's coffee industry...  Thanks so much David!! ♥(ˆ⌣ˆԅ) → http://postcardsandtravel.blogspot.com/

©Design: Reinsco-Nordlys Designs
Buka Island, island of Papua New Guinea in the Solomon Sea sitiuated in the southwestern Pacific Ocean is one of the northern Solomon Islands. With Bougainville and several island groups, it forms the autonomous region of Bougainville.

Buka island is the smaller of the two main islands and is located just north of Bougainville island. Buka and Bougainville islands are separated by a small passage 200m wide with extremely fast-flowing waters.

It is a relatively flat island, only 52 km long and 18 km at its widest point. While small, Buka island has a numerous must-visit places.

Stamp:

Coffee Stamp
(Issued 21-05-2018)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA ~ 2015 XV Pacific Games - Port Moresby ~

... Great postcard of an event totally unknown to me... the Pacific Games is a multi-sport event... it resembles the Olympics but built on a rather small platform... established to create a bond between people of the countries of the Pacific region through sporting exchange... without any distinctions as to race, religion or politics... and promoting sports amongst their peoples... Thanks a lot Pieter!!【ツ】

Photo: Nathaha Guise "Sir John Guise Stadium main area - Sheetlet Postage stamps"
The 2015 Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 was held in Port Moresby (capital of the island country), from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby.

The idea of holding the Pacific Games originated with Dr A. Sahu Khan in 1959. It was adopted and led to to a meeting of nine Territories, held in Noumea in March 1961, which awarded Fiji the honour of hosting the very first Game in 1963.

Stamps:

Dancers - Definitive stamps
(Issued 2015)

Tuna Fishery
(Issued 29-10-2016

Papua New Guinea ~ Sol Nomane - Simu Province ~

...My first fantastic postcard from this totally unknown country to me シ... great view of local women... one of the least explored countries in the world due to its dense rainforest, and there are many undiscovered species...  this stunning tropical wonderland is home to the largest area of intact rainforest outside of the Amazon... Thanks a million Hannah, Athaliah James from JamSal Postcards & Photography for hosting a lottery on Facebook!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"Women in Sol Nomane, Simbu Province with harvest from their gardens for the day"
New Guinea is the world's second-largest island in the South West Pacific Ocean. Papua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern part the island, it is an archipelago made of more than 600 other islands, atolls and coral reefs and 800 indigenous languages.
PNG is part of a great arc of mountains stretching from Asia, through Indonesia and into the South Pacific with capital  Port Moresby.

In the heart of the Papua New Guinea highlands lies Simbu (also known as Chimbu) a name which was given to the province by Australian explorers who first discovered the new land in the early 1930’s. Simbu is the second most populated province in Papua New Guinea.


Stamps:

Dangerous snakes
(Issued 13-09-2006)

Tropical Fruits
(Issued 02-01-2007)