Real "Paradise" for Nature

The word "Paradise" is often used to express Papua New Guinea, but I think sometimes the meaning of the "Paradise "is misinterpreted.

There is no well-maintained walking track to see "Bird of Paradise". There is no Aquarium to see the underwater world easily without hustle & bustle of carrying tank and odd equipment.

When I am walking in the jungle to see the rare species of birds, sweating and getting dirty, I sometimes question myself, is it a Paradise ??

However, as for the nature, much of the them are protected without being disturbed.

Coral Reefs are intact & healthy, much of the Rainforest remains and become breeding ground for many species of animals, plants & insects.

And when I finally encounter the rare spieces and find out that they enjoy the life without human disturbance, I also feel that, "Yes, this is the Real Paradise on Earth."

So the real meaning of "Paradise" in PNG should be something like that---- Papua New Guinea is one of the last Paradise on earth where human being and nature still live in harmony.

Sudden change of Flight schedule

Air Niugini has announced its New schedule on 23rd Jun, and effective on 02Jul, only less-than -10 days notice, in the middle of tourist season.

It is almost impssoible to connect any destination in the morning because of the late arrival of Internatioanal flights, and the reason is because of the bad weather & morning fog ???

Many tourists have to change their itinerary, tours & hotels with very short notice......

While Air Niugini has its operational reasons (if not political reasons) , more consideration should have given to the international tourists who are affected by a very short notice.

Is there any way to do such a drastic change with ample notice, and maybe early in the year so that peak tourist season - with Summer Holidaymaker from North hemisphere & Winter Holiday Tourist from Down South - are less affected with sudden changes ??

New Schedule 108A can be downloaded from Air Niugini website.

http://www.airniugini.com.pg/pxmisc/SCH108A.pdf

Weed in Papua New Guinea

When we order flower, beautiful and rare orchids are used in many occasions.

One day, I asked "Why do you use such an expensive flower ?"

The answer was "Oh, they are many of them in here, so for us, they are no difference from weeds." While Orchids are sold as expensive exotic flowers in many countries, they are sometimes regarded as "weeds" here in Papua New Guinea !!Papua New Guinea has more than 3,000 spices of Orchid, which accounts for more than 60% of all the orchid species in the world.

PAU Birding site - Port Moresby

PAU is one of the Universities in Papua New Guinea run by Adventist Church, but is also known as a Birdwatcher's heaven outside of Port Moresby.

With its peaceful environment, birds enjoy their life without being killed or chased away. There are lots of waterbirds, including endemic species as well as migrant species, all the way from Alaska, on the way to Australia and Antarctica maybe.

Photographed are common species, Pied Heron, Purple Swamphen & Wandering Ducks.

Other species frequent in the area are Comb-Crested Jacana, Spotted Whistling Duck, Pacific Black Duck, Rufous Night Heron, Egrets & Cormorants, Masked Lapwing, Sacred Kingfisher, etc...

My favorite is giant Papuan Frog Mouth, most of the time camoflouged and sleep on one of the trees.

Never too old to..

On my last visit to Porebada village outside of Port Moresby, we have made a surprise visit to Bubu (Grandmother) Morea. After the visit, we have realized that the tape has been damaged and we have decided to visit her again in the afternoon.

Maybe she was not happy in the morning because she was not prepared to be in the film.

On our second visit in the afternoon, she had a shower and changed to a new meri-brouse to be on a film. Look at the nice smile ! Yes, you are never too old to look for a new ..... ?

Craft Market

Ela Beach Craft Market is held on last Saturdays of the months (Feb-Nov). It was originally started for the expatriate residents of Port Moresby using the school yard of the International School. There is no market in Dec & Jan, because many expatriate residents go home for Christmas, and also the school is closed during the period.

There are lots of tribal arts & crafts for sale in a safe environment, where tourists/expatiate residents negotiate for a better deal with the local seller.

Traditional Sing Sing performance is regularly organized.

This is one of the Port Moresby's best tourist attractions, and if you happen to be here on last Saturday of the month, it is worth visiting.

Tribal Festival Season to come soon

Tribal Festival Season is starting soon in Papua New Guinea; the major ones are

Mask Festival (July), Mt Hagen show (August), Goroka Show (September), Morobe Show (October) and Kundu & Kanu Festivals (November).

Off course there are other festivals in the country which are less promoted than the above major ones. This does not mean that they are less interesting, but they may not be promoted because the show dates are unreliable, or due to communication difficulty, they are not known to the outside world, etc... The culture is still intact in Papua New Guinea but has been changing bit by bit. Some traditions are dying away and you may not see some of the traditions next year.

If you have not booked this year's festival, there are several Festival tours still open for booking.

Please check with your nearest travel agent for detail.

Here is just an example of many, many tribal performances you can watch Live in Papua New Guinea:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LGY72oWKpU