Sissano Lagoon

SISSANO Lagoon on Aitape's west coast in the Sandaun Province of Papua New Guinea is a fertile source of sea food for the coastal villages of Warapu, Arope and Sissano.

The area has long historical links with South-East Asia.

Historically, when people started to migrate from Asia, the Pinapro, a huge tribe comprising four clans, moved in. These four clans are nowadays Pou, Barapu, Ramo and Sumo, which is located at the pedestal of the Torricelli Range.

These four villages, as living evidence, continue to have a common spoken vernacular.

They migrated under the leadership of two powerful men: The first, Choro, could intercede with the gods on behalf of the people. The other, Chapais, would be the destroyer if sacrifices offered were not up to the expected requirement.

The mouth of the Sissano Lagoon and the village of Sissano were the hardest hit areas during the PNG tsunami of 1998. Evidence of flow depths of 10 metres were found on both sides of the lagoon mouth. Also, near the village of Sissano, flow depths of over 5 meters were found at a distance of 400 meters inland. In this area it was difficult to measure an exact runup value beacuse it was clear that the wave flowed completely over the sand spit separating the ocean from the lagoon.

Local cruises operate year round from Australia, Fiji and Tahiti. The Australia/New Zealand cruises sail between October and March as do the Trans Pacific/World sectors. New Guinea has an equatorial climate, so is very hot with rainy seasons.

General Information:

Language: Barupu, English, Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin
Currency: PGK Kina
Time Zone: UTC/GMT +11 hours
Dial Code: +675