Wanderings from the last frontier:Papua New Guinea
It had been a year since I took a longish break away from work into the wild and several places came to my mind..
I have always been fascinated by tribes and nature and one of them has been the birds of paradise . I got thinking of BOP(Birds of Paradise) over the years ,after some of the articles I had read and documentaries I had watched from Sir David Attenborough's vast collection.
The first reaction is of surprise and disbelief when you say you want to travel to PNG(Papua New Guinea) that too solo. A search on internet will surely dissuade any sane person, leave aside a solo woman wanting to head out there. Another thing was the expense involved. I was surprised to see how expensive it would be to get there. Thus, started some research on how to go there what places to visit and talking to my mum and sister about it.After all the work was done had to get in touch with few companies who would take me trekking into the deep forests of PNG in search of some of the birds.
PNG is the second largest island in the world and is prey to volcanic activity, earthquakes and tidal waves.
It’s also very diverse with over 700 native languages spoken and more than 80% of PNG people live in rural areas with few or no facilities of modern life.
These tribes in the isolated mountainous interior have little contact with one another, let alone with the outside world, and live within a non-monetarised economy dependent on subsistence agriculture.
Places visited in PNG:Port Morseby->Kiuanga->Kumul->Mount Hagen->Port Moresby->Goroka->Port Moresby
Bangalore-Singapore-Port Moresby
Visa:I looked up and found e-visa was available for Indians , the first step to get there .
Getting there:Next was finding ways to get to Port Moresby the capital of PNG. There were two best ways 1>Via Australia (Another visa needed) 2>Via Singapore(Can be done if one has a US visa or a transit visa).
I took the easier way via Singapore .
Port Moreseby
Port Morseby,is the capital of this island country and very famous for its poor rascals who reside in the outskirts of the city and known for creating crime and violence.These people migrate into the city from remote villages that has hardly seen any visitor or modern facility and lured by the city life ,big houses ,gadgets and comforts but when they get there are mostly unemployed and take to crime.
I reached Port Moreseby in the wee hours of the morning (4am) and was greeted by a new but very small airport terminal and couple of counters for immigration. Thankfully after about half hour was cleared based on the e-visa and was greeted by a lady from the hotel that I had booked.She seemed very friendly and reached a small and quiet hotel -Raintree lodge. Had a real early breakfast and was told the rooms would be cleaned up after people checkout later in the morning after 10am. The lady at the reception however managed to get me another room just to rest after the long flight there.
I rested for awhile there before shifting to the allocated room. I was awaiting some more travellers from across the world to join in for Birding the next ten days or so .
The hotel had some amazing food on order and met up with the Birding guide and the 5 other people who would be by friends into the quest for the Birds of Paradise and more. All above 70 and from Canada,UK and Australia. They were a bit surprised again to find a single woman that too from India in PNG😆
We woke up at 4am the next morning and headed to Varirata National Park in the outskirts of town for the first sight of some exquisite birds of PNG .It was windy and cold and we walked into the thick forests there but sighted some birds but not easy to photograph. Some pics from there
We then headed to PAU and found few more birds till evening.
Heading back from there one could see Rascals wandering around outside the city and also beetles being sold everywhere and everyone consuming it. One also noticed most houses including our hotel had high barbed wires across the walls for protection and security at very place (thanks to all the crime around).
Port Moreseby-Tabibul-Kiuanga
Port Moreseby is truly one of the remotest corners of the world with hardly any road infrastructure and very dense forests and hence getting to every other part was best done via flights but expect an ancient 20 seater flight with loud noise and bumpy ride and in some cases poor safety records.
The view from the flight was just amazing though, just dense green forests everywhere and after we reaching Kiuanga , a small airport and no roads we checked into a small lodge.. Lunch and then geared up another walk into forests for BOP .
After a lot of walking we did end up seeing Raginna BOP and Greater BOP .
Next day was another early morning start at 4am in dark for a boat ride onto the Fly and Eliva River.
As we all got ready and waited in pitch dark , the driver of the van was missing and after a lot of phone calls and looking around, the boatman and someone else took us to the banks of the river... It was just slush and mud and even with my waterproof boots, I had to push through knee deep thick mud..
The boat was a basic one running on diesel/kersone and all of us got in and started toward the Fly river . We did catch a very distant view of the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise through the telescope and no hope to get it on even a 600mm camera but nevertheless it was beautiful.. On the boat to another landing we saw few more birds.We did see the narrow boat that the locals used carved out a single bark of wood being used along the river and we go into the Eliva river after abit.. We then had a mud and leeched filled tough uphill trek there in search of rare birds but luck was hard .. After several hours of leech bites and walking we got back to some packed lunch and then again back on the boat. The long ride back on the boat in pitch dark wasn't for the faint of heart since there was mangroves and one wrong move would have toppled the boat with no help or phone network around .
KIUANGA to MT HAGEN to KUMUL
One more early morning start in search of birds but it was mainly swallows and then a rush to the airport since the flights in PNG can leave even several hours early or not even take off .. Thankfully we had reached the Airport(which was just a tin roof) and found our flight was going to takeoff an hour early to Mount Hagen. There is obviously no security etc at such a small airport if one could call it or just an airstrip. The view from the small aircraft was just amazing ,just green forests and mountains everywhere . Mount hagen is it an elevation and really pretty. We landed at Mt Hagen and proceeded on mostly non existent roads to Kumul.
Last few days had been just non stop walking from 430am to 6pm with not as many birds as one would expected but I was told Kumul could be different and I was hoping and praying it would turn out to be.. The temperature had also fallen to about 5degrees or so and quite cold and the lodge in the middle of nowhere had some amazing home cooked food and then birds. I was able to see quite a few BOPs(Lesser BOP,Blue BOP,Sicklebills,Superb BOP etc) and other birds for the first time.
Kumul to MT Hagen
Another early morning start the next day in search of King of Saxony BOP and Blue BOP onto Toga. We climbed up a steep mountain in the dark and as the sun came out and we waited we got lucky to see the Blue BOP.
We then took the van and moved to Mt Hagen at a luxurious and beautiful location -Rondon Ridge. Mt Hagen is one of the area near the biggest gold and copper mines in the world and for sure one could see huge trucks around everywhere and road constructions on. I heard that the Australian and Chinese companies have taken over and just getting all of it out .
We stayed at Mt Hagen for two days and undertook some extremely muddy and steep hikes at 9000ft and in some parts with Sticks for help. It was tough to say the least and was a good workout but my knees did get impacted after this..
We again saw few BOPs here but not photo worthy but through telescope.With Mt Hagen my birding part of the trip ended and I was heading on my own to find out more about the tribes of PNG.
Mt Hagen-Port Morseby-Goroka
After some flight delays I landed at Goroka and checked into a hotel. The next two days i walked around the sports ground where various tribes of PNG gather for the annual sing sing on their Independence day. It was a site to witness. Amazing colors and people.
Goroka-PNG-Singapore-Bangalore
And thus ended my visit to the last frontier and I headed back home and back to my desk at work.
I have always been fascinated by tribes and nature and one of them has been the birds of paradise . I got thinking of BOP(Birds of Paradise) over the years ,after some of the articles I had read and documentaries I had watched from Sir David Attenborough's vast collection.
The first reaction is of surprise and disbelief when you say you want to travel to PNG(Papua New Guinea) that too solo. A search on internet will surely dissuade any sane person, leave aside a solo woman wanting to head out there. Another thing was the expense involved. I was surprised to see how expensive it would be to get there. Thus, started some research on how to go there what places to visit and talking to my mum and sister about it.After all the work was done had to get in touch with few companies who would take me trekking into the deep forests of PNG in search of some of the birds.
PNG is the second largest island in the world and is prey to volcanic activity, earthquakes and tidal waves.
It’s also very diverse with over 700 native languages spoken and more than 80% of PNG people live in rural areas with few or no facilities of modern life.
These tribes in the isolated mountainous interior have little contact with one another, let alone with the outside world, and live within a non-monetarised economy dependent on subsistence agriculture.
Places visited in PNG:Port Morseby->Kiuanga->Kumul->Mount Hagen->Port Moresby->Goroka->Port Moresby
Bangalore-Singapore-Port Moresby
Visa:I looked up and found e-visa was available for Indians , the first step to get there .
Getting there:Next was finding ways to get to Port Moresby the capital of PNG. There were two best ways 1>Via Australia (Another visa needed) 2>Via Singapore(Can be done if one has a US visa or a transit visa).
I took the easier way via Singapore .
Port Moreseby
Port Morseby,is the capital of this island country and very famous for its poor rascals who reside in the outskirts of the city and known for creating crime and violence.These people migrate into the city from remote villages that has hardly seen any visitor or modern facility and lured by the city life ,big houses ,gadgets and comforts but when they get there are mostly unemployed and take to crime.
I reached Port Moreseby in the wee hours of the morning (4am) and was greeted by a new but very small airport terminal and couple of counters for immigration. Thankfully after about half hour was cleared based on the e-visa and was greeted by a lady from the hotel that I had booked.She seemed very friendly and reached a small and quiet hotel -Raintree lodge. Had a real early breakfast and was told the rooms would be cleaned up after people checkout later in the morning after 10am. The lady at the reception however managed to get me another room just to rest after the long flight there.
I rested for awhile there before shifting to the allocated room. I was awaiting some more travellers from across the world to join in for Birding the next ten days or so .
The hotel had some amazing food on order and met up with the Birding guide and the 5 other people who would be by friends into the quest for the Birds of Paradise and more. All above 70 and from Canada,UK and Australia. They were a bit surprised again to find a single woman that too from India in PNG😆
We woke up at 4am the next morning and headed to Varirata National Park in the outskirts of town for the first sight of some exquisite birds of PNG .It was windy and cold and we walked into the thick forests there but sighted some birds but not easy to photograph. Some pics from there
We then headed to PAU and found few more birds till evening.
Heading back from there one could see Rascals wandering around outside the city and also beetles being sold everywhere and everyone consuming it. One also noticed most houses including our hotel had high barbed wires across the walls for protection and security at very place (thanks to all the crime around).
Port Moreseby-Tabibul-Kiuanga
Port Moreseby is truly one of the remotest corners of the world with hardly any road infrastructure and very dense forests and hence getting to every other part was best done via flights but expect an ancient 20 seater flight with loud noise and bumpy ride and in some cases poor safety records.
The view from the flight was just amazing though, just dense green forests everywhere and after we reaching Kiuanga , a small airport and no roads we checked into a small lodge.. Lunch and then geared up another walk into forests for BOP .
After a lot of walking we did end up seeing Raginna BOP and Greater BOP .
Next day was another early morning start at 4am in dark for a boat ride onto the Fly and Eliva River.
As we all got ready and waited in pitch dark , the driver of the van was missing and after a lot of phone calls and looking around, the boatman and someone else took us to the banks of the river... It was just slush and mud and even with my waterproof boots, I had to push through knee deep thick mud..
The boat was a basic one running on diesel/kersone and all of us got in and started toward the Fly river . We did catch a very distant view of the twelve-wired bird-of-paradise through the telescope and no hope to get it on even a 600mm camera but nevertheless it was beautiful.. On the boat to another landing we saw few more birds.We did see the narrow boat that the locals used carved out a single bark of wood being used along the river and we go into the Eliva river after abit.. We then had a mud and leeched filled tough uphill trek there in search of rare birds but luck was hard .. After several hours of leech bites and walking we got back to some packed lunch and then again back on the boat. The long ride back on the boat in pitch dark wasn't for the faint of heart since there was mangroves and one wrong move would have toppled the boat with no help or phone network around .
KIUANGA to MT HAGEN to KUMUL
One more early morning start in search of birds but it was mainly swallows and then a rush to the airport since the flights in PNG can leave even several hours early or not even take off .. Thankfully we had reached the Airport(which was just a tin roof) and found our flight was going to takeoff an hour early to Mount Hagen. There is obviously no security etc at such a small airport if one could call it or just an airstrip. The view from the small aircraft was just amazing ,just green forests and mountains everywhere . Mount hagen is it an elevation and really pretty. We landed at Mt Hagen and proceeded on mostly non existent roads to Kumul.
Last few days had been just non stop walking from 430am to 6pm with not as many birds as one would expected but I was told Kumul could be different and I was hoping and praying it would turn out to be.. The temperature had also fallen to about 5degrees or so and quite cold and the lodge in the middle of nowhere had some amazing home cooked food and then birds. I was able to see quite a few BOPs(Lesser BOP,Blue BOP,Sicklebills,Superb BOP etc) and other birds for the first time.
Kumul to MT Hagen
Another early morning start the next day in search of King of Saxony BOP and Blue BOP onto Toga. We climbed up a steep mountain in the dark and as the sun came out and we waited we got lucky to see the Blue BOP.
We then took the van and moved to Mt Hagen at a luxurious and beautiful location -Rondon Ridge. Mt Hagen is one of the area near the biggest gold and copper mines in the world and for sure one could see huge trucks around everywhere and road constructions on. I heard that the Australian and Chinese companies have taken over and just getting all of it out .
We stayed at Mt Hagen for two days and undertook some extremely muddy and steep hikes at 9000ft and in some parts with Sticks for help. It was tough to say the least and was a good workout but my knees did get impacted after this..
We again saw few BOPs here but not photo worthy but through telescope.With Mt Hagen my birding part of the trip ended and I was heading on my own to find out more about the tribes of PNG.
Mt Hagen-Port Morseby-Goroka
After some flight delays I landed at Goroka and checked into a hotel. The next two days i walked around the sports ground where various tribes of PNG gather for the annual sing sing on their Independence day. It was a site to witness. Amazing colors and people.
Goroka-PNG-Singapore-Bangalore
And thus ended my visit to the last frontier and I headed back home and back to my desk at work.
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