One of the most interesting places to visit. It is rich in history, oozes a "back in the day" atmosphere, and can nowadays best be described as a Cowboy town. Its not a pretty town, and it would certainly be tough making a living here. Tribal fights -often over land disputes, sparked by gold lease claims- are a regular occurence. It is hard to believe that Wau in the 30's had the world's busiest airstrip, due to intensive gold mining activities. Today, Wau and Bulolo still are gold mining towns. For the locals, small scale alluvial gold mining is a main source of income with land disputes and environmental issues as collateral damage. Apart from its rich history in gold mining, Wau is the site of the country's first coffee plantations. To-date coffee remains an important source of income.