Papua New Guinea Photos
PNG Travel Pictures
Huli warriors doing a traditional war dance at the annual Sing Sing festival in Mount Hagen, PNG Highlands.
Main Attractions | Rascals and Razorbarb | Weather | Visas | PNG Money
Photos: Mt Hagen Culture Show (sing-sing) | Trobriand Islands | Sepik River | Diving | Huli Wigmen
Papua
New Guinea Travel Guide | Oceania
Map | Papua
New Guinea Map
Papua
New Guinea is a fascinating, brilliantly colourful
country that is home to thick green landscapes, birds of paradise and a fistful of bizarre and unique
cultures such as the Huli wigmen in the Highlands, Sepik River Crocodile
cultists and sensual Trobriand islanders offshore.
These tribal people dress to kill (sometimes literally) and welcome
PNG travellers taking photos - after all if you had spent several
years in wig school or hours getting made up with war paint you'd
want someone to capture your style too!
PNG's Sepik River is a very different experience to the Huli Highlands, with no fearsomely decorated warriors, just plenty of lazy river cruising, Crocodile Cults and very artistic but disturbing masks.
PNG Money
Some variations on cash money in Papua New Guinea include both real and false dog's teeth (the latter were made in Germany), birds of paradise feathers and Kina shells, but not in the photo are yams, engraved banana leaves or live pigs.
Bottom centre in the photo is Kina paper money used by tourists and by locals much of the time.
For special occasions such as marriage dowries, funerals or other ceremonies more exotic offerings may be made such as a feather from a Bird of Paradise (top centre), carved bowls (top left), dog's teeth necklaces (right side) and various shells including the most expensive, the Kina shell (golden yellow at centre).
Another very different but still exotic culture lives on in the Trobriand Islands, just offshore. And this is one of their toilets.
Port Morseby.
We begin our tour of PNG by arriving in the unnattractive and decidely non-exotic capital of Port Morseby where concrete and razor-barb rule the roost, though comfortable hotels are available at a price. Let's get out of here and head for the hills!
Rascals
and Razorbarb
Security, or lack of it, is one reason why there are relatively
few tourists in Papua New Guinea, whereas across the border in
Indonesia they are overrun by big spenders (well, not exactly...over the border in West Papua is the Baliem Valley that is extremely primitive and relatively untouristed). Mental images of
large, muscular men wielding little axes can be discouraging.
Some think the problem has arisen from a combination of over-education
and inebriation. Young men are educated to have high expectations,
become dissatisfied with the simple rustic life and leave their
villages - and tribal law - for towns. But there in place of
a pot of gold they find gangs of lost souls in the same jobless
boat, and cans of golden brew for consolation. Thus a rascal is
born.
The
problem is acute in two or three large towns, with the scattered
capital of Port Moresby as number one on the hit list, leading to the
popularity of security guards, dogs and razorbarb, an endless, coiled razor blade
that looks sensational when entwined with and perfumed by the omnipresent hibiscus or frangipani blossoms.
Budget
travellers are a rare sight in PNG because locals rarely out out so inexpensive hotels and restaurants are few and
far between and not particularly safe. The only really secure
way to travel PNG is tourist class. Excellent, secure hotels can be
found in all locations of interest, and more importantly excellent, knowledgeable guides.
So go lukluk,
yu klia gut wantok?
Weather
The best
time to travel in Papua New Guinea is May-October.
Worst: December-April (the wet season).
Visas
Tourist visas for up to 60 days travel can be granted at airports and sea ports but passports must be valid for at least 6 months.
Main attractions in PNG
• attending the Goroka or Mt Hagen Cuture Shows (sing-sings).
• hiking in the Western Highlands, with modest treks in the Wahgi Valley, a lovely lush region of roaring rivers, rainforest and fields of local crops. More serious hikers might want to tackle either the 4500 metre summit of Mt Wilhelm or the famously tough 96 km Kokoda Trail, a kind of pilgrimage route for Australians as their army fought the Japanese here in WWII. Kokoda is not to be taken lightly as people do die on it regularly from exhaustion or accidents. Rain may be torrential and mosquitoes unrelenting. April to September is the best season for hiking.
• bird watching:
various small mammals and 185 species of birds including birds of paradise in the Baiyer River Sanctuary, Western Highlands 55kms (34 miles) north of Mt Hagen.
• orchid hunting.
• cruising the Sepik River and visiting
unusual tribal groups other than the Hulis.
• travelling offshore to the Trobriand Islands for another cultural eye-opener.
• scuba diving.
PNG Photos: Highland Females | Trobriand Islands | Sepik River | Diving | Huli Wigmen
Papua
New Guinea Travel Guide | Oceania
Map | Papua
New Guinea Map
Bugbog Pages
|
