Japanese Caves
Before visiting Rabaul, I doubted that the written claims that there were hundereds of kilometers of tunnels built during the war. After a day of walking some of them, I now fully agree with this figure! With the help of some local kids, I walked kilometers of tunnels.

Tunnel Construction
The packed volcanic ash makes excavation easy. This seaside cliff face was loose enough to come apart with a hard touch. They have been empty since the war.

Local Guides
It was not long before a group of local children came out to see me, and offered to show me some of the tunnel systems near their village. We walked into one of the many gully systems of dried stream beds that lead inland. As we walked, they pointed upward to tunnel entrances that were invisible to me. The impressive part was this was just one of many gullies in this area alone.

Determined Defenders
I was imediatly struck by the fact that the Japanese defenders here were determined to escape the bombings of Rabaul, and in the event of a landing, would have been impossible to route without sever casualities. Although there were no guns pointed at us, it produced an erry feeling to know that an unknow number of tunnels and troops would have been positioned above and around us.

Tunnel Entrances
This photograph show a conceiled entrance. Aside from being small, and hard to spot, one also had to scale a steep ravine side to access it. Some of the entrances were sealed by landslides or erosion. They told me that the caves had many different entrances, and that the ravine we were standing on was full of tunnels.

Difficult Terrain
My guides were all barefoot and easily navigated the jungle terrain. They insisted on carrying my camera bag for me. I on the otherhand sliped many times, and was quickly exhausted. Here, we are about to enter into one of the tunnels.

Inside Tunnels | Rabaul | Main Page