Just facing the Nation’s capital, the coastal village of Poreporena is the largest of the Motu Tribe. Clusters of houses on stilts are like a shyphen between the PNG land and the Coral sea.
Just at a fishing rod throw from the city center. Located north west of downtown Port Moresby, Poreporena village is one of the closest suburb of the capital of Papua New Guinea and one of the most charming.
Named HB, Hanuabada or Poreporena, the coastal village facing Port Moresby preserves a mysterious atmosphere of floating houses.
In Motu, Poreporena means « the big white sand » or the giant beach. It includes in fact, Elevala and Hanuabada, two neigbouring villages and Motu communities. Probably because the last one is easier to prononce, this name became more populare and now people simply designate the whole village Hanuabada or just « HB ». Mean « Great Village », the place preserves a mysterious atmosphere of confines land. Even just few minutes from the highest building of the city and it’s busy center, the village is an in-between territory where landmarks are drowning in the waves. A swarm of raft houses stranded far from the world. From the June hill, Poreporena seems to be flotting on the ocean… where the Motuans come from.
The Motuans are believed to be descendants of Polynesian people who are thought to have arrived in Papua New Guinea more than two thousand years ago. Settled on the coast across the Port Moresby area, they build their villages on stilts over the water to keep them far from the heat and close to the ocean and near fish ressources. In the past, the original houses were made of wood and thatch but they had been destroyed by fire during WWII and rebuilt by Australians with modern materials from corrugated iron and fibrocement on wooden pylons. Even with its prefabricated look, the village keeps a very traditionnal atmosphere and has retained many traditional Motu customs. Poreporena is considered as the oldest and largest of the stilt-villages around the city like Koki, Papa Lea-lea, Tatana… Like in any villages, life there is very simple but its postcard decor gives a special charm to Poreporena. The place even keep another secret : it offers the best view of and over the city with a vantage poin over the Poreporena freeway.
Pratical information
• A local guide is needed to visit Poreporena.
• In Motu, Hanuabada means « the great village » and Elevala « the village of Era ».
