PNG: The sequel

Hey Again,

This is the second post about my PNG trip. This is about the second island we spent time on: New Ireland. This time we stayed at a place that is basically several bungalows that are run by some Americans who have been living in PNG for about 20 years, the Clarks. It is a couple and one of their sons and his native wife who live there. The father is actually originally form Delta, UT. They are church members, so we were even able to have Sunday services with them. They love the country and are heavily involved in helping the government improve on how tourism is run. So, it was a great place to stay. They also cooked great food. It ranged from several fruits I've never seen to American dishes to chocolate cake made from fresh coco beans.


The place, called Rubio, also had a great location. They are set up right a the beach with a coral reef just offshore. One of the days we were there I got to go snorkeling right there. That was fun. New Ireland is an island made from old coral reef uplift and not from volcanoes, so everything is limestone. Rocks on top of the mountains are actually old chunks of coral.


















This is a Sea Arch on the Clark's property:









Again we spent most of our time out in the jungle. There were several places near by that we went. This is a place with 2 large Kauri trees that have a river that emerges seemingly from the roots (due to the porous limestone). That spurred local legend to say these are the parents of all trees. The other photo is of another Kauri tree's roots.









We also got to see this flatbed truck with a boat on the back that has sat in the jungle for almost 35 years. It was left behind by an Australian plantation owner who thought the natives would uprise and kill all the foreigners when PNG received it's independence. So before that happened he took is family and left everything behind. Nobody has touched it since and besides this truck is a house, workers shed, and even a bulldozer that has since gone off a cliff due to erosion.

This is from the day we spent on top of the mountain to catch bugs.







When it was time to leave we had to drive back to the city Kavieng. It is a 3 hour drive from Rubio and basically the only city of any real size on the island. This is some children we saw that waved at us, for the people love to wave at everyone. One of the boys has blond hair that is a genetic trait common on this island.









This was one of several platters that constituted our dinner on our last night on New Ireland. Yum.







Before going home we had a few days in Port Moresby again. But this time we got to go around the city. We also did some souvenir shopping at a place that brings in art from villages all over the country. PNG is interesting in that its borders encompass over 850 language groups. So the art you can buy is very diverse.









We also visited the Parliament building and walked around the grounds. The man in this picture is Michael Bruder. He is a local who acted as our guide. He is a very well connected person and has a lot of family on New Britain where we first collected. He is also a member of the church and showed us several of the buildings in Port Moresby. There is even a stake in the city and branches around the country.