Welsh Davids Travel Blog: 26 to 30 November - Goroka and the Highlands Highway (Papua New Guinea)

I went up to Goroka by PMV (a public motor vehicle), a bus really. These are not always in a good condition and are often driven dangerously. Going to and from Goroka the drivers were quite good especially stopping when I wanted to take photographs. I was driven to Madang in a PNG Power (Elcom) vehicle which made things much easier. From dirt roads as we knew them the roads have since been sealed but still have lots of potholes or parts washed away, a hazard in the country as a whole. On the Highland Highways section between Yonki and Goroka the local village youths would pretend to be filling in the potholes and demand a 'toll' of K5 (about $2.50) for doing so. As many had bush knives and looked threatening it was prudent to pay the toll. I did complain at the fourth 'toll' telling them that I had already paid their friends in previous villages so they dropped the price to K2 ($1.25) and when I went to pay with a K5 note that I had ready he realised that I had conned him. He laughed at what I had done and took the K5 then gave me change. The 'toll' is normally collected on a Friday or Saturday morning so it seems and no vehicle is immune. After collecting perhaps $500 the youths then go and buy beer for the weekend binge It seems that the police are unable to stop the extortion for as soon as they chase one group away another starts somewhere else or the original group will return once the police have gone away. As there are hundreds of kilometres of road it is difficult to police this practice.

Because of the sealing of the highway people have moved into the area next to the road and built houses and gardens where once was only grass and bush. Most of the roadside between Kainantu and Goroka has been built on since I left Yonki.