Situated on the eastern half of New Guinea, and lying 150 km north of Australia, exotic Papua New Guinea (also known as " PNG") is one of the least explored countries on the planet and one of the last frontiers for adventure travellers. Its tropical rainforests and coral beaches are un-spoilt and the people are friendly.
Its population of 5 million is spread out across the country
- with often vast distances between villages and towns which are separated by huge mountain ranges and deep valleys.
Papua New Guinea is made up of many tribes and the culture
based strongly on the extended family. Families work together
in the villages and safeguard each others well being. Land
is at the centre of the people's values as it provides their
livelihood: Papua New Guineans are known as some of the greatest
gardeners in the world. The tribes can be divided into 2
main groups: Coastal and Highland. There are immediate and
obvious physical differences to those in the know.
The historical Kokoda Track was used by the Japanese forces during WWII in an attempt to invade the capital of Port Moresby through the back door. The plan was to land on the north coast in the Gona-Buna area, travel south to Kokoda, and then march up and over the central range to Port Moresby. Today this spectaclusar Track runs between Owers' Corner in Central Province and Kokoda in Oro Province and - depending travellers' fitness levels - takes between 6 to 11 days to traverse. The average trekker will typically walk about 50 hours from beginning to end but extra time should be allowed to explore World War II battlefields and experience local village life along the way.
1. Trek the Kokoda Track
2. Learn new dance steps at a Highland "singsing"
3. Witness tribal celebrations at the Goroka Show
4. Cycle the tropical Yungas Region
5. Chew betel nut
6. Drink the juice of a green coconut
7. Eat freshly slaughtered pig at a village celebration
8. Learning to prepare a mumu (underground oven)
9. Watch the sunset or sunrise over Alola village or Isurava Battlefield 10. Shop for penis gourds
When to go: Papua New Guinea has one of the most variable climates on earth, which can make travel planning difficult. The wet season runs roughly from December to March and the dry season lasts from May to October. April and November are unpredictable - June to September are cooler, drier and overall a better time to visit Papua New Guinea. It’s also well worth scheduling your trip around a festival or event. As for the Kokoda Track, most trekking companies operate between March and October, but the coolest, driest - therefore the best months to trek - are from May to September.
What to wear: The cities are free and easy in their dress and thinking.
Western dress is most acceptable for men but a woman should
dress conservatively. The traditional dress is a laplap (wrap around skirt) and meri blouse (voluminous top)
for women.
Getting there: Most people can enter Papua New Guinea with nothing more than a passport with six months' validity, an onward ticket and enough money to support themselves. The vast majority of visitors to Papua New Guinea arrive by plane. The national airline is Air Niugini and it’s the only carrier that operates scheduled services to and from Papua New Guinea. Air Niugini flies to Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney in Australia - plus Narita, Manila, Singapore and Honiara. The main airport - Jackson's Airport - is located in Port Moresby and is the only international airport in the country.
Getting around: Papua New Guinea is probably more reliant on air transport than any other country on earth. The population is scattered, and often isolated in mountain valleys and on tiny islands so flying is sometimes the only option available. Approximately 2,000 airstrips have been cut out of the bush or onto hill tops and coral islands over the past 80 years. Buses travel on the Highlands Highway and in the towns
but are often overloaded and not so well maintained. Taxis are available
at Port Moresby Airport but make sure you negotiate
a price first, or pick up a hotel bus and go to one of the
expensive hotels for the night.
Traveller Matt Young begins his journey from the capital of Papua New Guinea - Port Moresby - where he boards a flight to Kokoda.
Matt's trek along the 96km long Kokoda Track starts from Kokoda. The Track lies deep in the jungle and has been used by the locals as a transport route for centuries. It was also the setting of one of the most important campaigns fought by Australia during World World II.
From Kokoda he heads south, retracing the steps of the Japanese in their attempt to invade Port Moresby.
Along the way, Matt visits the Isurava Memorial and meets a few locals - notably Uncle Lami who takes him to see a Japanese ammunition dump, and Mr. Ndiki, one of the few surviving "Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels" who helped evacuate Australian soldiers during the war.
His journey ends at Brigade Hill, the site of one of the deadliest WWII battlesites in Papua New Guinea.
Language:
- Melanesian Pidgin
- English
- Motu
- 820+ indigenous languages
Population:
- 5,931,769
Don't forget to pack:
- Valid travel insurance
- Antimalarial tablets, a mosquito net
- A snorkel and mask
- Poncho for weather protection
- Good pair of hiking boots
- A small torch for late night toilet expeditions
- A bottle of sweet chilli sauce to spice up the village diet
- Patience!
Fruit and vegetables are widely available, cheap and excellent.
Most street markets have banana, pineapple and pawpaw
fruits and common vegetables are sweet potato and taro. Traditionally food is steamed
in a hole into which red hot stones have been placed. The
food is wrapped in banana leaves, covered with leaves
and soil and left to cook. This is quite a vegetarian friendly
country where many vegetables are cooked in coconut milk.
Protein meat is expensive and outside ex-pat hangouts rare,
although pig is used on special occasions such as weddings
and funerals.
People also sell betelnut (buai), a narcotic nut, which can be
found for sale everywhere. Having taken it from its green
skin it's chewed; as it becomes pulpy a special plant (dagga)
is dipped in slaked lime (often made from pounded coral)
and the whole lot is chewed together. It produces huge amounts
of saliva that is brilliant red and has to be spat out. The
effects are drug-like stimulation: your head spins, you feel
lethargic and start to sweat. It's an acquired habit that
can cause throat cancer but good to try once!
In the swampy areas of Papua New Guinea the staple food is Saksak (sago) - in the Highlands local people eat Kaukau which is very similar to taro, yams and plantains. Along the coast you can expect to sample some excellent seafood. Local arabica coffee is mostly grown in the Papua New Guinea Highlands and is really excellent. As for beer, the South Pacific Brewery produces 2 very good brews: SP Lager is the everyday drink and the deluxe version is South Pacific Export Lager.
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