The Labu Lakes across the Markham Valley are home to crocodiles while the beaches on the ocean side around Maus Buang and Labu Tali are breeding sites for the leatherback turtle, weighing up to 500kg and measuring up to two metres in length. Daily Air Niugini flights connect Lae with most major centres, while second and third level airlines fly regularly from smaller towns. As the Port of Lae services both international and coastal shipping it is possible to reach most northern coastal centres by boat. Port Moresby, the nation's capital and the main entry point for international visitors does not present an immediate picture of an ideal tropical paradise. During the winter months it is dry, dusty and brown.
Summer is wet, humid and overgrown.
It is a place of stark contrast. Ramshackle huts sit alongside glistening glass towers, dusty plains turn corners to expose a glittering harbour and fearsome frowns turn to welcome smiles. It is on the southern coast of the country and surrounds part of Fairfax Harbour. Port Moresby was named by Captain John Moresby in 1873. The following year a mission station was established at the village of Hanuabada, a traditional Papuan village and home to the Motuan people.