Port Moresby Nature Park Offers New Attractions

With the 2012 festive season now a distant memory, many residents and visitors to the Port Moresby are seeking avenues to keep holidaying children occupied before the school year commences.

The Port Moresby Nature Park, located in what was formerly called the National Botanical Gardens is increasingly becoming the preferred destination for parents and children to while away the remainder of their holidays.

Park General Manager, Ms Melissa McGeorge said in a press statement that the Nature Park has experienced a huge surge in visitors in recent months.

Ms McGeorge believes that the spike in visitor numbers can be attributed to the Park’s various attractions.

“There has been a real increase in visitors to the park over the last three months which we attribute to our regular introduction of new attractions and continued improvements and upgrades.”

Ms McGeorge also attributes the growth to people understanding that the Park offers new and different experiences from its predecessor, the old Botanical Gardens that unfortunately did not always have a good reputation.

As the countries only combined botanical and zoological Parks & Gardens the site aims to promote both PNG’s diverse and unique plants and animals.

Many visitors have commented that they were pleasantly surprised with all the changes and how green and well maintained the gardens are.

Visitor Mrs Catherine Bona of Tokarara recently bought her family out to the Park and when asked what her family thought of the day she said, “A lot of changes have taken place at the Park compared to our last visit in 2011 when it was the Botanical Gardens.”

“It has been good for me to show my children the animals and plants of my village.  I think other families not able to take their kids back to the village can visit the Park to show their kids some sense of what plants and animals are found back home,” she said.

The Port Moresby Nature Park is open to the public and entry fees range from a low K1.30 for children under 12 years of age to K5 for adults. The Park is a non-profitable Trust Entity and is an initiative of Governor Powes Parkop and NCDC.