We were chafing at the bit to be some of the first to get onto dry land. Not because we were seasick or sick of being aboard after two days, just because we were craving travel experiences and knew, with the nature of cruise stopovers we would have precious little time ashore.

By happy chance our stopover coincided with the annual Canoe and Kundu Festival and we set off quickly for the 3km walk into town from the ship's berth. We passed family groups with children in their Sunday Best skipping backwards and forwards urging the adults to hurry up.The many war canoes were just dots in the distance but became clearer and more vibrant the closer we came. Soon we could hear the incessant beating of war drums and then closer still, the happy laughter and excited shouting of a long awaited annual event. Closer still, and we breathed the aroma of roasted pork and charcoal yams, and suddenly we were there at the entrance.

Canoes and kundus (drums) are a significant part of the lives of the people of PNG. and the colours and patterns reflect the tribe and the area the canoe comes from.These 'war canoes' are crafted from special timber under strict customs to derive the best results and ensure their tribe's victory. For numerous participants it has taken up to three weeks just to get to this annual festival, from some of the remotest island communities in the world today.

We gained a vantage point by standing on an upturned boat on the shore near to where the teams were beaching their canoe's after a race. Compact, shiny and taut ebony muscles glistened with sweat and salt as they heaved the canoe up and then collapsed exhausted and spent on the beach. Meanwhile another heat was away and our eyes and ears were drawn to the two racing canoes in the bay.The men roared a chant in sync with the pull of the oars as they whisked through the water. Suddenly we could see one of the canoes was settling lower in the water and although the warriors were pulling hard on the oars, they were slipping behind their competitor until eventually the canoe listed and spilled the oarsmen into the water. A huge yell went up from the crowd that turned into laughter and the dislodged and now disqualified team, sheepishly swam to shore towing their canoe.

Behind us the crowd had grown even stronger and we turned to see that the traditional dancing groups were moving into place to begin their dance heats. We also noticed that there we very few Westerners even though a cruise boat full of them could have been here - if they had wanted to be. In our experience a lot of cruisers don't give two hoots about the destinations! We moved up closer to the dancers.

A monsoonal downpour drummed along with the Kundus as the rather frenetic foot stamping, swaying style dancing commenced. A sea of coloured umbrellas opened around us. We didn't have any protection until a gentle tap on the shoulder had me turning to see a smiling local girl of about 25 who gestured she was going to share her umbrella with us if we moved in closer. Later as the rain continued she pointed to a hut on stilts where the Master of Ceremonies was spruiking from and, even though a rope was across the stairs, she opened this and motioned for us to go up into the shelter. The kindness of strangers - always a reward of travelling!

After watching some more dancing and canoe races, we crossed the road to the local supermarket, and enjoyed looking at what was for sale. There were lots of signs pointing out when something was imported from Australia giving the impression that it was much better.

The rain eased and we hiked back to the ship where we were to meet our pre-booked afternoon tour of the WW2 historical sites. Normally we would not pay the exorbitant price charged for shore tours, but felt a little unsure with PNG as to if we would be able to organise sightseeing ourselves. Big mistake. Yes we could have organised it for a fraction of the price and in this instance it wasn't even a particularly good tour. We did however get to see Wahuhuba, the site of the Japanese first landing on the mainland, the site of the fiercest fighting at KB Mission and to spend time at both the Turnbull War Memorial site at Kainko and the shore side monument built in 2002 by The Australian War Graves Commission in memory of those who fought.

The most interesting of these was the Turnbull War Memorial at the original No.3 airstrip. It honours Australia's Squadron Leader, Peter St George Turnbull, who was killed during the Battle of Milne Bay. Milne Bay was vital to the course of the Pacific War and was fought between the Australian Army units and Japanese invading forces from August 25 to September 7, 1942.

Much of Milne Bay bears the scars of the war, with many war relics being overgrown with vegetation eroded or buried in the depths of the ocean with many wrecks being inaccessible.

Back on the lofty heights of our cruise ship after the tour, we were able to see some of the canoes heading home from the days festivities way below and even though we were so high up, we still could hear the chanting and the drums rising up. Perfect end to an adventurous day.

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