Our bungalow at Ulumani Treetops Lodge was set amongst lush rainforest and had fantastic views
Staying at Ulumani Treetops Lodge: A True Eco Retreat
With its creature comforts, expansive views over Milne Bay, and rainforest-shrouded location, Ulumani Treetops Lodge is a true eco-retreat, as Chris Shorrock explains.
Where is Ulumani Treetops Lodge?
Ulumani Treetops Lodge is perched on a rainforest-cloaked hillside above the village of Wagawaga. On the southern shore of Papua New Guinea’s (PNG’s) Milne Bay, Wagawaga is almost directly across from Alotau, the capital of Milne Bay Province.
The view across Milne Bay from Ulumani Treetops Lodge
How to get to Ulumani Treetops Lodge
PMVs (public motor vehicles) run from the bus station in Alotau to Wagawaga, where Warren, the lodge’s owner, can pick you up. During our visit, however, there had been some issues with raskols robbing buses on this route. As such, Warren advised us to take a dinghy across the bay.
To get to Ulumani Treetops Lodge, take a public dinghy from the Market Jetty in Alotau
Dinghies from Alotau depart from the jetty near the market in the afternoon. They return in the early morning from Wagawaga. The crossing takes roughly 45 minutes. If you contact Warren in advance, he can arrange a seat on a dinghy. He can then pick you up from the shore in his 4×4 to take you up the hill to the lodge (otherwise, it’s a 30-minute slog in the tropical heat).
Warren, the owner of the lodge, can pick guests up from the shore in Wagawaga
Ulumani Treetops Lodge is a nature-lover’s dream
Its proximity to Alotau means the area around Wagawaga has experienced much more deforestation than other, more outlying, areas of Milne Bay Province. Warren remembers seeing the first logging trucks arriving as a child, and he later set up Ulumani Treetops Lodge “to show you can make money by keeping the forest”.
The lodge sits a short drive above the village, just inside the virgin rainforest. It’s a world away from the plantations below, which are shielded from view by a screen of forest giants. Due to its elevated position on the steep hillside, our bungalow had expansive views across the forest canopy to Milne Bay, Alotau and the hills beyond.
Ulumani Treetops Lodge sits on a rainforest-cloaked hillside
Stay in comfort at Ulumani Treetops Lodge
The bungalow oozes charm and is built in a traditional style. The ceilings and walls are woven from forest materials, and it has a beautifully polished wooden floor. The main room has two beds, one double and one single, and a kitchenette with a fridge. Unlike most rural accommodations in Milne Bay Province, Ulumani has modern facilities, and the separate bathroom has a hot shower and flushing toilet.
Our bungalow at Ulumani Treetops Lodge was built in a traditional style
While the inside of the bungalow is beautiful, step through the double doors (all doors and windows have mosquito screens) onto the two-sided verandah, and the view really comes into its own. With lounge chairs and a table for outdoor dining, this is the perfect place to while away a few languid tropical days. Surrounded by the sounds of the forest, you’re guaranteed to see passing flocks of hornbills, lorikeets and the brilliantly-coloured eclectus parrots.
The verandah at the lodge is a perfect spot to relax and spot the native wildlife
Ulumani Treetops Lodge has a well equipped kitchenette for self-catering
Warren can provide meals at the traditional longhouse below the bungalow, and he has a bar here with delightfully cold SP lager. The bungalow’s kitchenette is also well kitted out for self-catering, and we did a mixture of self-catering (bring any food supplies across from Alotau with you) and meals at the longhouse.
We spent 560 kina per person for two nights’ accommodation, including evening meals, lunches, activities and a few beers.
What to do at Ulumani Treetops Lodge
When you’re not sitting on the verandah soaking up the sights and sounds of the forest, get out and explore the surrounding rainforest and ocean. Warren can arrange jungle hikes to local waterfalls, snorkelling in the bay and bird-watching excursions to view the famous birds-of-paradise, amongst other things. With only a two-night stay, we opted for snorkelling and bird-of-paradise spotting.
We enjoyed having breakfast on the verandah at Ulumani Treetops Lodge
A stay at Ulumani Treetops Lodge helps to protect the forest
It’s a 30-minute drive (at the crack of dawn – they’re early risers) through mixed forest, gardens and plantations to the nearest display site for the colourful Raggiana birds-of-paradise. Here, the local landowner has rejected the offers of logging companies, instead making a living from tourists coming to view the birds.
The display site sits in a tall tree, less than 100 metres from the road and easily accessible no matter your fitness level. During our visit, the males had “lost their feathers”, but we still managed to spot two males and hear their otherworldly calls. Peak performance time is between September and November when the tree is full of displaying males “like colourful decorations”. However, be prepared for massive swarms of mosquitoes; it’s not a place to linger for long!
A bird's-eye view of Ulumani Treetops Lodge
Ulumani Treetops Lodge has some of the best snorkelling in Milne Bay
For the snorkelling, it’s a 30-minute walk back down to the shore in Wagawaga, where a Second World War-era shipwreck lies just below the surface. It takes roughly five minutes to swim out to this submerged hulk, sloping down into the deep.
Surrounded by flashing shoals of reef fish, the ship’s deck is carpeted in a kaleidoscope of corals and punctured by loading shafts where you can peer down into the gloomy bowels of the craft. This ship had the best selection of corals we saw in PNG, having also snorkelled at Samarai Island, Tawali Dive Resort, and Sewa Bay, Normanby Island.
The waters of Milne Bay are teeming with life; we saw a pod of dolphins en route to Ulumani Treetops Lodge, and the snorkelling in Wagawaga was fantastic
Ulumani Treetops Lodge is a rural stay with a difference
Most accommodation in rural Milne Bay Province falls into one of two categories; basic village stay or high-end resort. Ulumani Treetops Lodge effortlessly combines the best of both while supporting local grassroots conservation efforts to protect the forest.
If you want to experience rural PNG without slumming it and simultaneously help protect a slice of tropical rainforest, then Ulumani Treetops Lodge is the place for you!
We have lots more practical suggestions for travel in Papua New Guinea HERE.
Visited: January 2023