June 11 2007

Wrote this on (my) June 11 - last night. Off to the field tomorrow. Last of the information superhighway for me for a while....

More of the same in Lae. Today we did a variety of tasks from working on a publication that Toby and I will be editing together from half way across the globe to sorting out the first aid kits. We tried to buy remaining items but it being the Queen’s birthday, a lot is shut down.

One of the guys who works for us is missing in action. Toby isn’t worried as this guy is a bit flakey when he isn’t in the field. He was supposed to be here Saturday and still no word. He better show tomorrow because we are leaving on Wednesday! A new guy, Mellie, is coming from Goroka and had to delay his arrival until tomorrow to finish up a few things. So that means we have been left to finish up a bunch of the duties that we were thinking they could help with. Tomorrow will probably be crazy last minute stuff and trying to get to stores once they open – so I probably won’t write again until we return.

Last night I saw my first flying foxes (fruit bats). They are huge! It rained so hard last night that it woke me up over the generator and the air conditioner. Right now is the rainy season in Lae and the dry season in Port Moresby. It seems that it is always the rainy season in the highlands unfortunately. I have a wet two weeks ahead of me.

I’m really looking forward to the field. The plane ride I’m not so sure about. I know it will be gorgeous. Being in the middle of no where for two weeks does not bother me, but the small plane and grass landing strip to get there is my main concern at this point. But they don’t fly in bad weather – so it will be fine.

We will be in Yawan village for about 2 days once we arrive. We have a research “house” there (bamboo and thatch hut). We will sort out all of the stuff into smaller sacks and hire all of the carriers from various villages. The same hunters and trackers are usually hired each season, but since we won’t start collaring the tree kangaroos right away they probably won’t come up to the field site until the rest of the folks from the US and Australia arrive on the 18th. It is a 2 day hike up to the field site, called Wasaunon, so we’ll probably be there on Saturday. Then we have until the following Wednesday to set up camp, hang out, read books, look for echidnas and tree kangaroos and use my new 5 pound flora of alpine plants in PNG from 1980 to figure out the plants up there before every. Oh and improve (read: start to learn) my Tok Pisin skills. So far I can understand words but not sentences. Many of the words are quite obvious (when you say them out loud), such as:
Lukim – see/saw
Nogat – no/I don’t have
Manmeri – people (they call all women “meri” – I’m sure I’ll get funny looks when I tell them my sister’s name is “woman” J)
Kwiktaim – soon
Husat – who
Nem bilong mi – my name

June 11th is also another anniversary besides the Queen’s birthday. Wonder if Dad would have expected his youngest to be working in Papua New Guinea. He certainly wouldn’t like the planes!!

First day in Lae

This computer isn't letting me post photos. I'll try again tonight....

Yesterday we met with the Department of Environment and Conservation. We’ll see what will happen with the Conservation Area. Seems very unlikely that this will go down before elections, but it is on the right track. All necessary parties are on board. We are still optimistic but now focusing on the upcoming field work.

After the meeting we got to the airport really early because we had to change our tickets and possibly pay for extra baggage. We had over 100 kgs total and each person is allowed 16! Yikes. I’m so happy to not be traveling with these gigantor bags anymore. We looked pretty absurd saying “oh we are just going trekking”. In the end they didn’t charge us for the extra bag which was nice. Sad to say, but being white gets you a lot around here.

We took a flight that went through the Highlands – Mt Hagan – to get to Lae. Toby got me excited for 4-foot tall people as the highlanders look very different from the coastal folks, but aside from a couple of hats on some “old geezers” nothing too different. It was great to see the area as we flew in. The people have gardens everywhere. Imagine driving along Hwy 80 in the CA hills and seeing little patches of garden way up on the brown hills way above a housing development. That is what Port Moresby is like. The highlands also have gardens everywhere but they are much bigger than those in the city. The rivers and mountains were gorgeous from the air and the sun was setting as we flew down from the highlands to Lae. At the airport, I saw the plane we will be taking to the bush. Wow – super small!!!!

The drive from the airport to Lae was pretty nuts. It was dark by then because our flight was late and it involved 45 minutes on a two lane road (no bigger and no shoulder for sure!) with massive pot holes and oncoming traffic to negotiate not to mention all the people walking along the same road. In the dark it was a bit crazy. As we got closer to the city there were slowly more and more electric lights in the settlements and more and more people walking along the road. Everyone walks everywhere here. Very few bikes. There were also more and more fires as we went along. The predominant smell here is smoke.

Lae is the manufacturing capital of the country. That coupled with the fact that there is a road from the highlands to Lae (not the case for Port Moresby) means more people come down looking for work – and often don’t find it and still hang around. The beach kind of shows the manufacturing history – not a place to swim and only pretty from far away.

Toby’s apartment/office is really nice. It is one of about 8 two-story apartments that is managed by and enclosed in a hotel complex. We had breakfast in the hotel today and we can use the business center and other accommodations as needed. Pretty nice to have my own room and a working kitchen for a bit – oh yeah, AND a washing machine. Today we did some shopping for the field (and for cooking for the next few days), and now we are working at the kitchen table. It is super hot and humid here – I’m not sure if I’m making it up or if I can actually tell that we are closer to the equator here than we were in Port Moresby.

Critters of the day: huge spider hiding in the apartment, giant millipede outside that Toby brought in, birdwing butterfly dead and mounted in the hotel restaurant (biggest butterfly in the world – put your two hands together each one as a wing. For real. Hence the name).

Oh. We also stopped in a DVD/CD store and Eminem was playing. EVERYONE has a special place in their heart for Detroit. I wanted to tell everyone that I was from the same town as the guy on the radio, but I’m not sure what sort of reaction I would have received.

Day on the town in Port Moresby

Church downtown


Kids at the beach downtown





We finally got out and about today. Yesterday entailed changing hotels because they screwed up our reservation and were booked up this week. We are now at a hotel with smaller, cinder block rooms and more roaches but WAY better food – especially on the veggie side of things. We actually had super delicious Indian food at the hotel last night – while a Discovery Channel show on Tree kangaroos – YES tree kangaroos!!! – played in the background.

Today we had lunch with a woman from WWF. For the record, they have much nicer offices than Conservation International. The lunch allowed us to actually walk around a bit. Saw the ocean, saw the blood in the streets. Not really. They all chew betelnut (a palm fruit) as a stimulant which turns bright red and when spit out looks like blood. Lovely. Turns the teeth a nasty color after a while too.

After lunch we went to the Botanic Gardens at the University of PNG. Pretty nice aesthetically but could use some interpretation. There is also an aviary with awesome birds and 4 species of tree kangaroos in cages. My first ones to see in real life! I didn’t photograph the tree roos simply because they were sort of sad specimens. Better pics to come on those.

Tomorrow we have a meeting with the Dept of Environment and Conservation, then flying to Lae. Monday is the Queen’s birthday so we have to catch a flight before they all fill up for the long weekend.

In other exciting news, I realized that my blinding headaches are in fact nothing more than allergies. Great. Just like the days at Point Reyes. So a Claritin later, I’m feeling great!













I actually have more pictures to share but it takes FOREVER to upload them...

Port Moresby

Today was the first real day of being here. Yesterday after we arrived it was pretty much hanging out in the hotel, reading by the pool and falling asleep very early. When we flew in it was gorgeous: reefs off the coast, wetlands around the airport, etc.

Today I got to actually drive around a bit and see Port Moresby. We had a meeting this morning at the Conservation International offices about the Conservation Area that we are trying to establish (and has been in the works for 2 years!). There are still some beaurocratic hurdles to overcome but now we know that the minister can go ahead and declare it if he so chooses. With elections literally around the corner, we hope that he chooses to do so and score the "first conservation area in PNG" while he is still in office. But, not a big surprize - things here take a long time.... so we'll see. We are probably going to stay in Port Moresby until Friday just in case there is anything we can do to speed things along and help out during this window. By the time we come out of the bush, the elections will be underway and nothing will happen until at least August.

We also headed to another meeting about research visas on the other side of town. I really like driving around to see things. This is certainly not a place where you strap on you shoes and go for a stroll to see the sites. There is a lot cement and barbed wire and security fences and people loitering- but also a lot of gorgeous flowering trees and smiling people.

Tomorrow is World Environment Day but we weren't here early enough to plan anything official so we will likely go check out the Botanic Garden which also includes a bunch of tree roos and snakes and birds.... should be neat. My first tree roos!!!! Pictures to share then!

PNG - Almost there

Crossing the international dateline is so weird. 12 hours ago it was Friday and now it is Sunday.
Toby and I are sitting in the Brisbane airport waiting for our flight to Port Moresby. Luckily this airport, unlike LAX, has launched into the 21st Century and has free WiFi to keep us occupied for the next few hours.
Nothing exciting to report just yet. Um... I watched "The Pursuit of Happiness" starring the Fresh Prince. It was pretty good. Also saw my one of my favorite Simpsons episodes - the stonecutters one.

I am feeling like I should be dorking out more to show my enthusiasm by reading PNG guidebooks and listening to tapes on Tok Pisin. Instead I'm reading magazines and posting pointless movie reviews to the blog. Oh well. The excitement is there - for sure. Just hidden under a lack of sleep and a bit of disbelief that I am actually on my way to PNG…


(Map by Lonely Planet) I will be spending the next few days Port Moresby followed by Lae.