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Revision as of 02:31, 7 July 2005
The town of Tabubil is a small settlement of around 10,000 people, situated amongst dense jungle on a plateau, beside a steep escarpment leading down to the Ok Tedi river, in the Star Mountains of the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The township is incredibly remote, and is only accessible from the world outside the province via air, with a 1500m dirt/gravel airstrip, or barge along the Fly River which has a water level too low for shipping many months of the year. There are only two unsealed highways out of the town, one terminating at Ok Tedi mine, 20km to the northwest, and the other terminating at the river port of Kiunga, 100km to the south.
The town was established, and exists mainly to serve the former gold mine of Ok Tedi which is currently mining copper, under a joint initiative between the PNG government, and Australian mining giant, BHP.
Tabubil is known unofficially as one of the wettest places on earth, with residents claiming an annual rainfall of up to 8 metres. The unique weather conditions have caused much adaptation in the local jungle flora and fauna, causing Tabubil to be particularly interesting to the scientific community.
Tabubil is served by a hotel, a hospital, a police station and courthouse, fire station, two primary schools, two supermarkets, a bakery, chemist, two banks, and a hardware store. Various other local businesses create an extremely westernised culture within this remote town. The local Hairdresser is called Curl up and Dye, and the local fast food outlet is known as Gobble and Go. The mine has sponsored various clubs around town, including the Golf Club, the Hash House Harriers, and the Gazebo club. For non drinking related recreation there is an indoor squash court, indoor cricket centre, tennis courts, a public pool, rugby fields, a gym, and many jungle tracks which may or may not be safe to walk along.
Tabubil is powered by a Hydro-electric station at Ok Menga, capable of producing 10 megawatts of electricity, and has a backup Diesel power generating plant.
Although many people in Tabubil own computers, internet is very rare. There is, however, a wide selection of cable TV stations available, from Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, PNG, and the USA. There is a local TV station called OTV. They release a news bulletin every few years.
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