Jais Aben Resort Madang

... We went to visit the sulfur caves – very odd but beautiful. In the limestone wall is a grotto, with perfect vines and colourful plants framing it. (You can see why it was used in a Robinson Crusoe movie.) Out of the grotto flows a stream of water that is very high in sulfur content. Minerals leave deposits on all the rocks, turning the stream a silver-blue colour. One part of the stream is split between sulfurated and non-sulfurated water: fish live in the clear part ...

... br><br>Then we climbed into the Land Cruiser, putting our bags in the front of the back and sitting on three of the four benches. We made a quick stop to pick up a new driver: Mickey would come along as a additional guide.<br><br>We drove for about half an hour on the main highway, then turned off onto a secondary road. About 20 minutes later, we turned off onto a dirt &#8230; well, mud&#8230; track. The track was deeply rutted, with large pools of standing water. Even with the ...

... vroeg aankomen zodat we onze aansluiting net zouden kunnen halen. Er van uitgaande dat de andere vlucht ook vertraging had (en dat hebben ze hier bijna altijd). Om een lang verhaal kort te maken, we hebben het gehaald!! Maar dan ook maar net. Om kwart voor acht landde het vliegtuig in Port Moresby en een klein uur later zaten we weer in de lucht richting Kiunga . <br><br>In Kiunga hadden we een vogeltrip gepland en daar ook afspraken over gemaakt. Op het ...

... pick us up but after waiting for some time we realized that we would have to take action ourselves. The public phone was not working for years already, but some friendly people at the airport let me use their mobile phone so I could call around and see if we could get in touch with Samuel. First story was that he is still in Fiji! But when we arrived at the Kiunga Guesthouse we were told by his wife that he was on a trip and would be back that night. So the next ...

... into the deep water wharves. Containers <br>come in and out. There deck cargoes from all over the Pacific and the <br>ships carry registry labels from as far away as Hongkong, Singapore, <br>Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Manila and Tokyo. To name a few. Sometimes there <br>are so many that they have to drop anchor out in the sheltered reaches <br>by the barrier island and wait for spaces to be freed up for unloading. <br>Yesterday there were 5 waiting. They were joined by a ...

... whole crowd roaring with laughter at a sing-sing, when after several groups of traditional dancers dressed up in feathers and swirling grasses, the 'Snake Dancers' arrive dressed in grey paint and ashes. They mime out the snake hunting and being hunted, and the crowds laughter rolls on and on as the parody is played out with sliding , then high lifting steps, elaborate shoulder lifts and bum wriggles at strategic intervals to further entertain the near hysterical ...

... I suppose! In marked contrast the week before and after left the other end of the scale to be admired for its simplicity and the fact that you have to be humble and share with the local wildlife. Place before the flat was no water, very little power, very hot, very sticky, and a kerosene stove to cook on. We got by and it was just like camping....Then the week after the flat was water after awhile, power all day til nine, really dirty, and a total mess so we ended ...

... are smallsmall, and there are also helicopter flights run by the bible translators who have compounds in some pretty isolated areas. Air flights are pretty expensive as they have a monopoly , and there is an established routine of checking your flights again and again as they can change, or you can be bumped by double bookings or government usage. We are twitching about our flight down to Moresby for the Cairns connection. After that there are ...

... the little speed boat which we definitely would not have got across on at all. As you may see from photos if they end up in the right place Pam did have a lovely journey because she got the chance to cuddle a baby ! Some of the people on the boat know us now as we go back and forth, so there is conversation and baby hugging to share. There is a bit of a decadent admission however...while at Karkar this week we went out for dinner twice! Luxury as we got two invites, one ...

... we stayed over night which meant we didn't have to get a lift back to the flat in which we are staying this week. The down side of being in PNG is that it is not considered safe to walk around at night and there is no taxi or bus sevice so if you don't have your own transport you are stuck. Most of the time this is not a problem as we are with friends who will give us a lift but last night we wanted a meal for two, very romantic. Well you need your own space ...