Hooch

I guess the worst thing about being in PNG is having to go to work for five days a week. I had obviously got used to my retirement activities, and returning to a 9-5 (actually 8-4) routine is not welcome especially in such a beautiful place!

It does make weekends more important though and last weekend I went with a chap I had met in one of the seaside villages and his boys (the boys and girls are kept very apart, the boys in their own detached house – as in Margaret Mead’s book) by boat to explore three islands just off the coast.  The first, small and deserted though owned by my guide’s brother who comes for the coconuts and fruit from time to time.  Almost impenetrable jungle and with golden, sandy beaches unlike those on the mainland where the sand comes from the volcanic rocks up in the hills.  The other two islands were inhabited though not intensively and some garden plots had been hacked out of the jungle for bananas, maize and yams then with linking paths through the trees  to the neighbours – most of whom had gone to their church on the mainland, it being Sunday. Some teenage boys had been left behind and were singing loudly (but it didn’t sound like hymns) so I introduced myself and was invited to sample their yarra – an illict home made brew which proved to be really quite attractive like a very strong cider, not surprising maybe since it is made from any available fruits from the jungle.  The outboard motor breaks down between islands but a rescue is organised by mobile phone so I don’t get to test my vso lifejacket this time.

Back on the mainland its been a week of law and order stories. The top man in the Province, the Governor said it would be a good idea if the otherwise unemployed youths who do our street cleaning also caned any young people they come across who should be in school. The crown prosecutor sent him a public letter pointing out that hitting people in the street or inciting such action was actually illegal (probably a good thing that the volunteer advisor in the prosecutor’s office is heading back to the States shortly).  On the coast road north of the town a group of Australian volunteers were held up, robbed of everything and the girls gang-raped. Within days a minibus on the same road was held up, the driver tried to get through but was shot and died, his passengers then robbed of all their possessions. Finally at sea just along the coast a small boat was held up by 4 gunmen stealing all the goods, boat and its outboard motor, forcing the owner and passengers to swim ashore – one person drowned.   A local MP is appalled and believes that the tourist industry could be affected.  Anyway it seems that deaths and even physical harm are truly very rare, and if you are a bloke then all you will lose are your possessions

– anyway so much for now, something more cheerful next time!

 

jungle desert Isle

 brew it yourself island

 boat boys

 off to church

 

House in the woods

 my colleagues (Wanwoks) have a sense of humour

Paradise Island

A Saturday trip to Kranket Island, two miles north of the town and the start of a chain of islands along the coral reef running 20 or 30 miles northwards.  One of the staff from my residential compound comes with me as a guide and un-needed bodyguard and we catch one of the small outboard powered boats that continuously ply between Madang and nearby islands

The Island is beautiful with both traditional and modern metal clad houses set in manicured lawns and shaded by many trees making my umbrella superfluous. No vehicles, no litter, no shops or industry. Electricity was brought here a few years ago by a cable laid under the deep shipping channel and I wonder how the cost of that would have compared to use of photo-voltaics. Water is from a mixture of wells and rain water butts, usually 2000 litres.  Everyone is very friendly and only one dog barks at us, and he is quickly brought to heel by his owner. Brightly coloured dugout fishing canoes are evident and children swim in sandy inlets.

Back in town I find that the Island has doubled in population during the last ten years, many being local people of the same clan who own land in Madang or simply commute to work and shop in town. Environmental health staff from my office visited the island earlier this year to recommend safety practices for the wells after a suspected cholera case and complaints about the often brackish taste of the water. The preferred solution is a mains supply from the mainland although the rainwater source seems satisfactory and how expensive is sea water conversion nowadays?

Near to the flashy new Chinese mining headquarters is a Chinese restaurant called the ‘Hong Bao’ which loosely translates into English as “Brown Envelope” – methinks someone is being satirical!

 Island canoe

 Kranket Island

 More Kranket Island

 Security post at my housing compound

 Cholera isolation section at the hospital

Wild things

At home a cloud of microscopic ants appear at the sign of any food (even wrapped sandwiches) so I am keeping everything in the happily large fridge.  The geckos seem to live on fresh air, are harmless but never stay still long enough to photograph.

Mosquitoes are not as common as one might expect – perhaps they are waiting for the rainy season which is apparently delayed this year but at night I’m quite secure under the netting over the bed.

Out in the bush there are a couple of small poisonous snakes, an adder like ours and a smaller one both of which move fast to get out of your way so I’m told and a modest sized python – fairly rare and one that most humans can easily unwrap if attacked.  Animalwise there are just two to be cautios about – the saltwater crockodile in the marshes near the sea and the cassorary – a bad tempered cross between a chicken and an ostrich.

The rascals, as the large knife wielding thugs are known don’t usually kill people, they any want your money, camera, watches etc. but in the event of a road accident damaging anyone then your life is in serious danger so not to stop – just drive to nearest police station for safety

In the office everyone is much taken by my family photograph, particularly Robin whose beard mkes him look like one of the wild men from the highlands, the town manager even asked for his email address (so be warned!)

 

the Mayor, Mike Kamu

 

the Gogol river

 

Country road

 

unpaid recycling team at our new rubbish dump