Flag Hotel Bird Of Paradise Goroka

... it. Peter said the road might not be that good – but sure, we’d give it a try. So we turned down a very grassy, muddy track, past a very round pond of stagnant water, which Peter explained was a bomb hole (“Cool!” I said, then immediately wondered what I could possibly think was cool about it), through some places where we had to drive fast to avoid getting stuck … to a place where we definitely became stuck in the mud.

We all (except Kyla, who was ...

... got even slicker, and we were soon soaked. Eventually, we reached an overhang, where the soil was totally dry. This is where the ancestors of the villagers first lived when they migrated from the valley below. We had a decent view – despite the fog and rain – from the point of the valley. We also were met by small kids, dressed in moss, holding bones, depicting their ancestors. They stayed, without moving or smiling, like mannequins in a Natural History diorama … ...

Up early – seemed harder to wake up to an alarm at 6am than it is to wake to the roosters. Maybe the difference is went to sleep at 9pm in the villages; maybe I just didn't sleep as hard. Any case, breakfast in the hotel, then we went to meet Shelly who took us to the airport. A longer line than what we’ve seen previously, but still not too bad. Through to the waiting room by 7:40am or so. And our flight to Goroka was on time, and fine (if overcast).

Arriving ...

... tijd heb doorgebracht. Eten doe je ook in het hotel aangezien restaurants buiten de hotels niet bestaan. De enige andere optie is de Kai-bar, een soort PNG variant op een snackbar. Aangezien in deze streek bijna niets verbouwd wordt komt ook alles uit blik.

Uiteindelijk is het ons de volgende dag via zijn vrouw, die toevallig in het hotel werkt, gelukt om nog een afspraak te regelen voor onze vogeltrip. Schijnbaar was de man niet op de hoogte ...

... while you are trying to have a good look at the vulterine parrots that are up in the trees. We tried to spot a southern crowned Pigeon but unfortunately unsuccesful but luckily we saw one on one of our river trips. The main attractions here are the birds of paradise (BOP). Now this is a little easier as these birds have specific trees where at certain times they do a display. That is if the female birds are interested. So we got to see the 12 Wire BOP in the ...

... coastal roads were built. The Raikos
with its mine site at Basimo is served by these ships, as are all the
places where roads have not reached. There is always a crowd around
the ferry offices when a sailing time is due. Timekeeping is erratic.
People with their baggage wait patiently until loading has been completed
and then they squash on board. There is plenty of demand for the ferries
and the business is good as long as the price of diesel ...

... is early mass, church communion time. Mistress attending with 500 students and add ons from the village. They pray and sing and listen, then line up for communion. The pup, intrigued, follows and lines up too. Very orderly with no pushing, pup in line, waiting properly.  At the head of the line there is a hesitation in front of the priest. Mistress receives her bread and turns and goes. Pup waits, tail wagging expectantly. When nothing comes it sits, puzzled ...

Salut à tous, je viens d'arriver à Jayapura du côté indonésien en West Papua. J'ai enfin internet où je peux vous écrire donc pas la peine d'envoyer le GIGN, déclencher le plan hors sec ou d'affoler l'ambassade de France en Papouasie...En tout cas merci à ceux qui se sont inquiétés. Ouais, y en a quelques un. Je vais vous envoyer plusieurs emails car plein de choses à raconter : - Faut savoir l'ordre de priorité dans la vie ...

Again I arrive without having contacted the place I was planning on staying, phone lines were down I was told at the travel agency. No problem, the airport is right in town. A local school teacher saw me looking a bit lost and offered to walk me to the guesthouse I was planning on staying. Next day I wandered around town. There was a museum to check out. This town is in the Eastern Highland Province. While coastal areas of PNG had contact with Europeans in the ...

Whilst in Madang we frequented the RSL Club as it seemed to be the only place there! Meeting the locals was quite a rarety as there didn't seem to be too many. However, one very regular 'customer' was a very tall chap with a military air and a small dog who would nip his legs if he thought his 'master' had had too much to drink! This guy turned out to be a remnant of the War! Left behind (or had he ...