alijtaylor
Contributor
My intention to visit PNG started with the diving but once I had that sorted I added some land travel. I travelled by a combination of air, private vehicle, PMV and on foot. PMVs, the local public transport are cheap, crowded and pretty much like public transport in other third world counties, they leave when they are full and your neighbour may be cradling a chicken or a machete.
Cultural shows started in the 1950s as a way of bringing different langauge groups together for peaceful purposes and as a celebration of cultural diversity. I attended the 50th Goroka show, which was held over Independence weekend in mid September (dates may change for 2007). There were perhaps 400 Europeans inside the show grounds, a mixture of expatriates and tourists, and several thousand locals. Tens of thousands of locals watched from outside the grounds. Because so many of the local population are outside the cash economy they could not even afford the $US1.50 that locals were charged for entry (foreigners paid approx $US35 a day for entry).
Ninety-eight different cultural groups were competing in a range of classes. It was an awesome spectacle the body art is sophisticated and innumerable birds of paradise had died for this (most of them a long time ago). In addition to feathers, possum and tree kangaroo fur, pigs tusks, shells and gourds were used to pierce and protect various body parts. The performances struck the outsider as somewhat haphazard and random but there was no restriction on our ability to wander around and take photographs. The performers were universally friendly and never requested money for photos.
At the end of the show there was a bit of stone throwing outside the ground and as the gates were opened and tens of thousands of locals from outside poured in, it felt like the scene trembled on the edge of disorder. Hotel minibusses were however already inside the ground and I never felt concerned for my safety.
Climbing Mt Wilhelm was my next objective. It is 4509m but you can walk rather than climb, to the top. I joined a group of 5 with that intention.
We each had our own guide which maximised our chance of reaching the top as you could go at your own speed and if one had to return it did not cut the trip short for anyone else. The first day was an easy 3-hour walk largely through forest, to the bottom lake where there were a couple of basic huts. The best chance of good views from the top is dawn before the cloud comes in so we set out for the summit, under a starry sky, at 1am the next morning.
The first three hours of my six-hour ascent were the hardest, slippery clay and unrelentingly upwards. Once we got beyond the saddle above the second lake and began to work our way upward across a granite base it became easier until the final scramble over rock to the summit. While it was good to be there the summit never emerged from cloud and so my guide and I didnt stay long and rapidly descended out of the cloud to where the views were fantastic.
After a day in recovery back at the end of the road into the mountain I set out with a porter and guide to walk down to Brahmin.
The three-day walk was an insight into village and rural life. We stayed one night with the elementary school teacher in Sinpoas (Snowpass) Village and met a hunter who had just killed a beautiful tree kangaroo with a stone. His family would eat the meat and the fur would go into traditional costumes. Tree kangaroo are an endangered species but at least he was using traditional technology to hunt with.
PNG gardens are fantastic, often built on near-vertical slopes they are the mainstay of the rural population who seldom have access to wages. From the end of the walk where I stayed in the Catholic Mission at Brahmin, I caught a ride to Madang. Madang is a very nice town where you could have a beach holiday. I did a two dive day trip - one dive was onto a B25 bomber from the war where you could sit in the pilot's seat and twiddle the controls.
In summary I would thoroughly recommend PNG as a land based destination - security is an issue but good advice is available from the locals. My report on diving, from FeBrina is here.
If anyone wants further details feel free to PM me.
Alison
Cultural shows started in the 1950s as a way of bringing different langauge groups together for peaceful purposes and as a celebration of cultural diversity. I attended the 50th Goroka show, which was held over Independence weekend in mid September (dates may change for 2007). There were perhaps 400 Europeans inside the show grounds, a mixture of expatriates and tourists, and several thousand locals. Tens of thousands of locals watched from outside the grounds. Because so many of the local population are outside the cash economy they could not even afford the $US1.50 that locals were charged for entry (foreigners paid approx $US35 a day for entry).
Ninety-eight different cultural groups were competing in a range of classes. It was an awesome spectacle the body art is sophisticated and innumerable birds of paradise had died for this (most of them a long time ago). In addition to feathers, possum and tree kangaroo fur, pigs tusks, shells and gourds were used to pierce and protect various body parts. The performances struck the outsider as somewhat haphazard and random but there was no restriction on our ability to wander around and take photographs. The performers were universally friendly and never requested money for photos.
At the end of the show there was a bit of stone throwing outside the ground and as the gates were opened and tens of thousands of locals from outside poured in, it felt like the scene trembled on the edge of disorder. Hotel minibusses were however already inside the ground and I never felt concerned for my safety.
Climbing Mt Wilhelm was my next objective. It is 4509m but you can walk rather than climb, to the top. I joined a group of 5 with that intention.
We each had our own guide which maximised our chance of reaching the top as you could go at your own speed and if one had to return it did not cut the trip short for anyone else. The first day was an easy 3-hour walk largely through forest, to the bottom lake where there were a couple of basic huts. The best chance of good views from the top is dawn before the cloud comes in so we set out for the summit, under a starry sky, at 1am the next morning.
The first three hours of my six-hour ascent were the hardest, slippery clay and unrelentingly upwards. Once we got beyond the saddle above the second lake and began to work our way upward across a granite base it became easier until the final scramble over rock to the summit. While it was good to be there the summit never emerged from cloud and so my guide and I didnt stay long and rapidly descended out of the cloud to where the views were fantastic.
After a day in recovery back at the end of the road into the mountain I set out with a porter and guide to walk down to Brahmin.
The three-day walk was an insight into village and rural life. We stayed one night with the elementary school teacher in Sinpoas (Snowpass) Village and met a hunter who had just killed a beautiful tree kangaroo with a stone. His family would eat the meat and the fur would go into traditional costumes. Tree kangaroo are an endangered species but at least he was using traditional technology to hunt with.
PNG gardens are fantastic, often built on near-vertical slopes they are the mainstay of the rural population who seldom have access to wages. From the end of the walk where I stayed in the Catholic Mission at Brahmin, I caught a ride to Madang. Madang is a very nice town where you could have a beach holiday. I did a two dive day trip - one dive was onto a B25 bomber from the war where you could sit in the pilot's seat and twiddle the controls.
In summary I would thoroughly recommend PNG as a land based destination - security is an issue but good advice is available from the locals. My report on diving, from FeBrina is here.
If anyone wants further details feel free to PM me.
Alison
