31 October to 5 November - Madang Islands (Papua New Guinea)

A stormy afternoon

One afternoon I noticed a boat ferrying people out to the islands so I just asked where it went, how long it took and how much the ferry cost. I had a ride on the one that took one hour to reach an island but not on the one which took eight hours to get to a further island. Once I reached the island I asked permission to walk round and was told that it would be aright.  I was given water to drink while walking and was accompanied by adults and children for most of the walk. They helped by keeping the local dogs away from me.

An island village

Local transport

Local transport

An island view

An island village

An island beach

Island people

Canoe making

Canoe making

Village school

31 October to 5 November - Madang (Papua New Guinea)

I spent most of 1980 in Madang while installing two diesel generating sets in the power station. When I saw them on this visit both were out of commission and looked as if they will never be operational again. Madang  itself is a filthy place and looked as if the town area had not been cleaned in a long time. The roads in the centre of the town were no longer sealed and the shopping areas could have done with a coat of paint. A very depressing place, except once out of the centre of the town the scenery was as good as it always was with lush grass, huge trees and a beautiful coastline.

The last river to ford before arriving in Madang

Our old house in Madang

Madang hospital where daughter Sally and friend Suzi were born

Madang  shopping area

The Power Station

The broken machines

Away from the centre of town

Seen from a coast walk

An old gun

Looking from the coast to the outer islands

Highlanders selling baskets

The Coastwatchers Memorial

Madang Resort Pool

Smugglers Hotel Pool

Tree kangaroo

Raggianna Bird of Paradise

Kokomo or Hornbill

Tufted pigeon

An orchid

The old cemetery which was in a very sorry state

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.

The PMV

With passengers

House building along the highway

A view from the highway

A village house

A rest stop (transport cafe)

Goroka Township

Goroka Township

Billums for sale in Goroka

Goroka Market

Goroka Market and potatoes

Goroka Market

Goroka Market with mainly tomatoes

Looking down the Kassam Pass to the Markam and Ramu Valleys

25 to 31 October - Yonki, Yonki Dam and the Ramu Power Station (Papua New Guinea)

During the years 1974 to 1990 Mary and I lived in Papua New Guinea and this part of my travel was to visit places where we had lived. One place was Yonki in the Eastern Highlands where, when we arrived in the country, a new hydro-electric power station was being built and it was here we spent the first six years. (In 1977 our daughter, Jane, was taken to Yonki when ten days old having been born in Auckland and in 1980 our second daughter, Sally, was born in Madang). The dam was built after after we left the country and to see the dams was one reason why I wanted to visit the country again. The living area is called the Yonki Township through which flows the Ramu  River. The power station is the Ramu Power Station and all being in the Ramu Valley.

Yonki Dam

Our old house in Yonki

Looking towards the Yonki Dam from the veranda of our old house

The garden of our old house

Yonki Township from the old entrance gate

The Ramu Power Station

The dam wall on top of which is the Highlands Highway