Matupit Island New Britain

The 1994 eruption should have destroyed little Matupit Island but the prevailing winds brought Tavurvur’s load over Rabaul and left this connected island almost unscathed thanks, villagers say, to the local dukduks. The thousand-strong village community still chooses to reside right beside the belching monster. You can hire a canoeist to get you around to see Tavurvur’s southern slopes, which have giant lava flows. The megapode-egg hunters are here, burrowing almost 2m into the black sand to retrieve the eggs.