NUIGINI ------- BUNA ... KOKODA TRAIL ... GOROKA SHOW

[Deleted member 29185]

Her reply:

Ah yes, I sort of thought later that may have been the case! I thought I'd seen those shirts!

Video showing some pretty happy lads with fresh kill trussed and slung on the branch. I'd take wild pig over bandicoot, but I hope they were both well cooked

I didn't try the bandicoot. The pig was slow cooked all afternoon (amazing how fast the boys were on the track when there was a pig at the end as the prize) and was pretty darn good!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

The final leg of this trek was the bus ride back to POM via Bomana war cemetery/memorial. The road winds down from Owers Corner and Rouna hydroelectric power stations (4 in all and absolutely great facilities. I've shown many trainees through Rouna 4 and it is an experience that cannot be found in Australia and New Zealand ... I've tried and terrorism concerns have wrecked that opportunity) to the Port Moresby outskirts and Bomana.



Some very happy and relieved people!




The road (to the right) winding down past twin falls just below Rouna 4.




Bomana war cemetery is a perfectly manicured memorial of many of our war dead. Wandering silently amongst the headstones is a very, very sobering experience. On one hand, it is peaceful and enjoyable ... and on the other hand, incredibly sad. I am pleased that such an effort is put into keeping this place in the pristine condition it is and it's a credit to the Australian Government and the PNG staff that are tasked with the upkeep and security.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

We allowed a couple of days for R&R in POM on our return. That was a great few days of doing very little. We did all decide to have a meal for everyone to celebrate the completion of the famous Kokoda Trek and as we were staying at Holiday Inn, we chose the Holiday Inn buffet. What a fabulous idea! K70 (roughly AU$30) per head, all you can eat! I bet they didn't bank on the Buna boy's appetite! They basically cleaned the hotel out of food! I bet we won't be invited back in a hurry, but what a great evening we had and I'd like to thank HI for their attentive service that night. They were under enormous pressure, but they managed to keep up and keep a smile (though I'm sure they're probably still in shock).

As part of the R&R the ladies had massages and had their hair and nails done ... all the important things, they tell me! I managed to have a shave.



As it was coming up to PNG's 42nd Independence Day, they got in the spirit with the nail polish!




Our youngest daughter joined us in POM, for the Goroka side trip and before long, the R&R was over and it was time to head off to the highlands. Our team had reduced a tad as the others had work commitments to attend to!



Lucky for us, one of my Gorokan wantoks, Johnson and his wife Lulu, met us at the Bird of Paradise hotel and offered to show us around. That turned out to be unreal, as we did not just receive the local commentary but he also led the way. The show crowd was unreal ... it was huge, and without Johnson, we'd have spent all day trying to find the gate!



We were packed in like sardines in a can and we always seemed to be swimming against the tide!



And the crowd was certainly not your run of the mill usual show goers!!

After finally finding the VIP gate (a VIP is anyone who's prepared to pay a bit more and for the privilege, gets a full morning in amongst the dancers before the general public is let in at lunch time) and going through the usual PNG rigmarole of arguing about how much and how long and what passes, we were finally ushered into the show grounds to what was promising to be the show of our lives!



And it wasn't too long before that proved to be a pretty accurate description!



I love this pic! Tradition meets ... well, Coca-Cola!

 

[QF WP]

Have all these dancers walked in from the towns/highlands for the event? Awesome traditional headdresses and weapons.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Have all these dancers walked in from the towns/highlands for the event? Awesome traditional headdresses and weapons.

Some walk, some by bus, some by truck! The day was also quite hot (by Goroka standards) so this attire and body coatings would have been quite hot.

Traditional dress in the highlands is not everyday wear (normal western clothing has taken that place), but traditional dress is certainly reasonably commonplace. Any function (bride price, pig markets, compensation ceremony etc) still commonly sees this dress in normal use.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Another tradition meets technology (and not even new technology) is the below pic. My daughter had an instantamatic camera (new rage apparently, of old technology) and the Huli's were amazed. They loved it and were asking for more and standing there waving their photo's about to get them to develop quicker. She ended up running out of film but that was a real hoot and they got to take some of their own pictures home, rather than the tourists getting them all!





There was a was an absolute visual feast at this show ... sensory overload even!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

 

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[Deleted member 29185]

Last two are a little cheeky, so use discretion when/if you watch the embeded video!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

And that's the trip report! It was a wonderful holiday, albeit hard at times and I'd recommend it wholeheartedly! I hope you enjoyed the story.

One last photo is of our track master Roy.

Holiday Inn had some coconuts available and my daughter wanted one, so in true Buna style, Roy just whips out a bowie knife and three taps has the lid nicely lifted ... in an international hotel! Imagine what would happen in Australia if someone just whipped out a bloody big knife around the pool bar!

In POM, no one even glanced sideways!!!!

 

[OZDUCK]

Amazingly colourful & fascinating photos. They were obviously proud of their traditional dress and very happy to be photographed.

Thanks again for the TR.

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Amazingly colourful & fascinating photos. They were obviously proud of their traditional dress and very happy to be photographed.

In PNG, where material possessions are not usually great, personal presentation at ceremonial occasions is a status thing to a degree and quite important. The fact that someone want's to take their photo is generally seen as a genuine compliment. Of course, it is always polite to ask first and I always do ... and I've never been refused. Mostly they love it! The hardest thing I found, was to try to capture them doing whatever it was that attracted me to them. They normally want to pose and it's difficult to get across that you want them acting naturally, as if the camera was not there.

 

[QF WP]

Are those guys in full head to toe outfits in post #70 - the ones that look like yeti's?? Wow that must have been hot.

Amazing to think that all those colours are sources from local plants.

Yes, most people would have a fit if they saw that knife - even carrying one inside an HI in Australia would cause a ruckus.

Fantastic TR @swanning_it , I've enjoyed it immensely (I think you can see from the likes)

 

[kpc]

Amazing photos!

 

[Deleted member 29185]

Are those guys in full head to toe outfits in post #70 - the ones that look like yeti's?? Wow that must have been hot.

Hi QF WP ... I asked Johnson about this question. To start with, yes they are men and I'm guessing it was hot and I'm told the story behind this is from Eastern Highlands province and they are the tree people. They consider their clan to have descended from trees and apparently live in the trees. That's about all I can tell you as these traditions could just about be a lifetime study. There are lots of traditions and they are certainly intriguing. It's one of the things I love about PNG. Cultures in countries around the world are so often based on one or two central themes, whereas here, cultures are many (hundreds) and they are actively practiced, are very diverse and are absolutely enthralling. I often wonder what Australian culture is. Stubbies, thongs, a meat pie and an Esky, practiced at the footy, cricket or on Australia Day?? It's an interesting thought.

 

[RooFlyer]

Tremendous TR - many thanks!

 

[tuapekastar]

Wow! Just discovered this TR (though I knew there would be one), binge-read it, and what a sensational report it is swanning_it! Equally, what a fabulous trip it must have been, even with all the uphills. I'm as green as the jungle with envy - my window of opportunity to do this is closing rather than opening, but still a few years left, and this TR has definitely confirmed to me that I wish to do it (though I already did want to) - just got to sort bits of the body out. Well done both on the trek and the report and thanks for posting it.

 

[love_the_life]

Thanks for the great TR swanning-it. Have loved reading it.