My last day in PNG, and I am faced with two choices. Climb
the local volcano or go snorkeling. In retrospect it was a pity I chose the
former (my reasoning was that I could do the latter in the afternoon) because
it means that I will always wonder how wonderful the Kimbe reef might have
been. On the other hand I was highly satisfied with my swim in Kokopó, so I
will call it the peak experience and leave it at that.
I was supposed to be picked up at 6 am, and was given to
understand that being late for the 7 am departure would be considered very bad
manners to my fellow hikers. So I was ready at 5:45 am for pickup. Right. This
is PNG, and punctuality is a notion they are completely unfamiliar with. My
ride came at 6:45 am, and by 7:15 am I was hurrying to meet my group, already
feeling their disapproval was over me. Got there and … nothing! My hiking
partners, Jenny and Tim, are expat Australians working in PNG, and they have
already embraced the concept of PNG time. They were enjoying yet another cup of
morning tea, and making the last minute trips to the bathroom, so it was
probably 7:45 am when we got started.
We were going to climb Mount Gabuanat (aka Mount Welcha),
which was vaguely pointed out to us somewhere in the middle of the equatorial
jungle (Kimbe is about 6 degrees south latitude). Tim Griffith turned out to be
the chatty sort, and I learned he is a litigation attorney practicing in POM,
as well as an author. His book, “Endurance”, is about the ordeal of the
Shackleton expedition to Antarctica, and the two years the crew survived in the
ice-locked ship Endurance. I must see if I can find it at the airport in
POM. Jenny, Tim’s wife, is a consultant for the non-profit organization Save
the Children, which I understand is trying to promote healthy food choices,
particularly among the children. The every day diet is dominated by
carbohydrates (taro, noodles, yams), with a little meat protein and very little
veggies and fruits, so there is a lot of room for improvement. Better
nutrition, and draconian measures to curtail the chewing of betel nut, would do
a lot for the well being of this country.
Our two guides were local boys, who did their best to show
us interesting trees, birds, and bugs. The jungle was alive with birds, among
which I can list a bald eagle (not as massive as the American bald eagle) with
white plumage in the head and a light brown body, horn bills (which make an
ominous whooshing sound when they flap their wings), parrots, cockatoos, and an
immense variety of other birds that make a tremendous racket. Add to that the
chirping of cycads (the giant grasshopper, not the tree) that comes and go
through the jungle, as if they were making the wave. With respect to critters,
they were notorious for their absence, although we saw several large land
snails, two mongo spiders, and one lonely centipede.
It was fun walking through the jungle, until it was not. At
some point I got tired of slipping in the muddy path, climbing, and getting
tangled in creeping vines, so I told the others to keep on going. I figured
that with this luxurious vegetation the famous volcano would be little more
than a jungle-covered mound. I was correct as to the outside, but the crater
had some pools of boiling mud, fumaroles, and encrustations of native sulfur.
It was OK, I had seen it all before, and in exchange I got a long rest and a
nap. On retrospect it was a pretty but very grueling march, and by the time we
got back to the village I was dripping sweat from top to toes. I had sworn I
would not pursue death marches any more! What happened?
My last words of wisdom to fellow adventure travelers coming
to Kimbe. Find your lodging and not even mention tours to your host. Just go to
the central market and take PMV Line 1 to Walindi Plantation Resort. They will
be glad to arrange tours for you. You could also consider staying at the
Walindi Plantation Resort; you would be away from town, but you would not be
missing much, believe me. Their website is www.walindi.com
No comments:
Post a Comment