Papua New Guinea Map

 

 

      Map of the Pacific

latest picture: August 27, 2010

• click a picture to see details

01  Brightly painted boats line the

picturesque harbor shore of Alotau

in the Milne Bay Province, situated

at the Southeastern shore of the

island of New Guinea

 02  The Australian War Memorial to

commemorate the Battle in Alotau in

the Milne Bay, which the Australians

fought with the help of the locals

against the Japanese in World War II

03  It is always busy around

Alotau’s supermarket. It’s also

the place to exchange gossip

04  The market stalls opposite the

supermarket at the palm-fringed sea

shore with the colorful umbrellas that

protect the sellers against sun and

rain add to the charming village image

 05  The young fruit vendor in

Alotau’s fruit and vegetable market

holds the bunch of banana

while Liliana grabs 1 Kina

(=US$ 0.40) out of her pocket

06  A big part of the produce sold in

the open Alotau market is betel nut.

There are whole lines of them lied out

on the ground. Chewing these stimulating

nuts is a part of PNG’s culture

07  The tame hornbill is one of

the two birds belonging to the small

sanctuary of the Napatana-Lodge

in Alotau. It iscurious and likes to

be close to people;its favorite

place being the bar …..

 08  ..... its feathered neighbor, the

parrot, steels pieces of papaya

from the hornbill’s food bowl

09  Emil is admiring one of the giant

clams (Tridacninae) that adorn

the well kept garden of Alotau’s

Napatana-Lodge

10  Through a wet forest path,

we hike together with Grace and

Toto from the “Ulumani - Treetops

Rainforest Lodge” to the village of

Wagawaga, situated across Milne

Bay, 35 miles South of Alotau

 11  A lonely outrigger canoe rests

on the bank of the peaceful

Wagawaga Bay

12  The modest school buildings

of Wagawaga village sit on a

privileged spot under a

huge and shady tree

13  The church of Wagawaga

matches the simplicity of the

village houses

 14  In harmony with the nature:

Simple bush material house in

Wagawaga in a tropical

surrounding

15  In Warren Dipole’s village – the

owner of the “Ulumani - Treetops

Rainforest Lodge“ – life is peaceful.

Surrounded by pure nature, his

family would never ever want

to move to the busy city

16  Emil enjoys his breakfast at the

“Ulumani - Treetops Rainforest Lodge“

 17  Stephanie, Warren’s seven

year old niece, appears in

traditional village outfit at the

“Ulumani - Treetops Rainforest

Lodge“ and entertains us with

a cute dance performance.

The big black dot on her

cheeks symbolizes a spider net

18  Emil on the balcony of our

cottage at the “Ulumani - Treetops

Rainforest Lodge“, surrounded by

trees and flowers. The chirping of

birds is the only ‘sound’ in this

oasis of peace

Encounters with nature:

19  A butterfly sucking the

nectar of a flower …..

20  ..... Betel nuts that are chewed

practically by everybody in PNG .....

21  ….. a toad on its night excursion

22  A young mother washing her

clothes at the village’s “laundry”

of Wagawaga

 23  Smoke seeps through the

grass roof of a bush kitchen.

There is no chimney

24  The father in front of the super-

market in Alotau is proud when we

take a photograph of his baby girl

25  Air Niuguini with the logo of the

bird of paradise on its tail takes off

at the exotic Alotau airport

 26  There is no newspaper kiosk

at the airport of Port Moresby, the

capital. A woman sells the daily

papers on the floor outside

27  During our flight from Port

Moresby to Mount Hagen in the

Highlands, we get a glimpse of

the inaccessibility of this region

28  A scene like in Africa: Mother,

son and a pig in front of a thatched

hut in Nem, a tiny village on the

outskirts of Mt. Hagen …..

 29  ..... the mother is resting at

the entrance to her home with its

woven walls made of pit-pit

grass (miscanthus floridulus) …..

30  ..... family members sit around

a fire place in their “hut” and

cook sweet potatoes, the main

diet of the Highlanders

31  A traditionally dressed couple

sits side by side. Occasionally, they

rub their heads together. It shows

the ceremony of courtship …..

 32  ..... does it come to an agreement,

the bride price still has to be approved.

Do the clan members of the man accept

the deal the woman immediately leaves

her clan and joins the one of her

husband. This shows the ceremony

of handing over the bride price

33  A little cemetery: The graves

of the deceased have a roof to

protect them from wind and weather

34  A bush hut in Pogla in the

outskirts of Mt. Hagen, hidden

in the luxurious tropical vegetation

 35  This woman from Pogla

with her bunch of shell necklaces

and her skirt of leaves transfers

us into another world.

“Topless“ is normal here

36  “Mudmen” – warrior covered with

grey mud and wearing a horrifying mask –

approach the enemy that took their land.

Believing to see ghosts, those run away terrified.

A scene replayed in Pogla. The “original”

mudmen originate from Asaro near Goroka

37  “Mudmen“, equipped with arrows,

approach the camp fire of their enemy …..

 38  ..... who would not run away

at this terrifying appearance .....

39  ..... a “Mudman“

seizes Liliana!

40  In the village of Tokua, the

witch doctor is conjuring away the

spirits. Despite of Christianity,

animism still plays an important role

 41  In Tokua, the „Moka“-Ceremony

is put on stage for us. It is celebrated

to solve problems and reconcile warring

tribes and takes place around the fire in

a house Tambaran, a spirit house …..

42  ….. ending the

“Moka”-Ceremony

43  The charismatic “Bigman“, the

village chief, poses for a picture. He

wears a long band with bamboo rods

around his neck. Each one represents

ten pigs that he had given away

 44  The village chief and a village

elder in a conversation with Emil

45  One of the performers in Tokua wears

an impressive headdress with Cassowary

feathers (it belongs to the Emu family)

46  PNG is a coffee growing country.

When the beans are red, they are picked

and laid out to dry for five days in the sun

 47  A modest hut in the Western

Highlands near Mount Hagen –

a typical Highlands sight

48  The “Highlanders” flock from all

directions when they spot a Westerner. They

are very curious, but also very interested

49  The clear view on our flight from

Mount Hagen in the highlands to Lae

on the coast show us the remoteness

and ruggedness of the region …..

 50  ..... there is not much sign of

life, only a track zigzagging

through the mountains …..

51  ….. down in the valley, the

Markham River flows

through fertile land

52  In the port of Lae: Emil in a

discussion with Joanne, the customs

officer, while Dotty and Alfred of

“East-West Transport”

are assisting us …..

 53  ….. finally our LandCruiser is

out of its 19th cage. Emil is putting

away our spare wheel on the roof rack.

It’s laid before the right front wheel

before the car gets lashed down …..

54  ..... We made it! Our LandCruiser

is parked at the Lae Yacht-Club while

we celebrate the entry into our l67th

country with a big burger

and an ice cold beer

Visit of the “Rainforest Habitat“, 6miles outside of Lae – an area of about 1 sq mile of reconstructed rainforest

55  A Victoria Crowned Pigeon

(Goura victoria) – weighing up to

5.5 lb – nesting on a tree …..

 56  ..... Liliana admires the beautiful

bird of paradise (Raggiana Bird),

the symbol of PNG …..

57  ..... and one of the many

white butterflies fluttering around

58  A park ranger shows us a tame

green tree python (Morelia viridis) …..

 59  ….. a cute tree kangaroo

(Dendrolagus) with a two

months old baby in its poach

60  A lovely experience: Outside the

“Rainforest Habitat”, a local stops us and

joyfully presents us with an exotic bouquet of

flowers that he picked in his garden for us

More websites from Papua New Guinea:

 

• Pictures from the second part of our Papua New Guinea trip of the Mount Hagen Cultural Show August 13th, to 15th, 2010
• Pictures from the third part of our Papua New Guinea trip from Lae – Madang – Goroka
• Pictures from the fourth part of our Papua New Guinea trip of the Goroka Cultural Show September 17th, to 19th, 2010
• Pictures from the fifth part of our Papua New Guinea trip from Goroka – Mt. Hagen – Kumul Pass – Mt. Hagen – Goroka – Lae

Articles in newspapers about us in Papua New Guinea:

Article: "26-year journey around the world", Daily Newspaper "The National" - August 20, 2010

Article: "Travelling the world none-stop for 26 years", Daily Newspaper "The National" - October 21, 2010