January

We've been back in Lae two weeks now and in two more weeks we reach the half way mark of our assignments.  Hard to believe!

Just as the work place was decorated for Anniversary of Independence, so was it decorated for Christmas.  Receptionist Anna has her Christmas seasonal wear!  I did my bit for Christmas Spirit with a red and green paper chain that said Happy Christmas.  HR Manager Lina organised a small end of year morning tea with pizza and cake (it was Jasmine's birthday).  Steve and I have been coopted into the HR Team - we don't seem to fit anywhere else. 

 

Then it was home to Australia for two weeks R&R.  We opted for a night in Port Moresby on the way to Brisbane rather than risking missing connecting flights - Airniugini is not known for its reliability! - and all went well.  The EV we had hired for the two weeks on the Sunshine Coast was ready and easy to drive.  Also very cheap to fuel.  It was lovely to see so much family - my sister and brother-in-law met us on the Gold Coast along with their two grandchildren for a catch up before Christmas, then our three plus one grandchild arrived on Christmas Day.  They were all exhausted from working right up to Christmas Eve so we had a relaxed time reading, eating and sleeping.

       

Christmas Lunch - still working on the Selfie!

The boys only stayed three nights but we had the girls for a week.  We had a trip up to Eumundi Market (plenty of earrings!) and a day in Montvillle and Maleny.  The girls had a day at  Australia Zoo.

Last time I was on the Sunshine Coast for Christmas there was a cyclone!  This is us at Auntie Lil and Uncle Don's house in Montville Christmas 1963. 

Montville - in the 60s this was the General Store with a very grumpy owner.

Also it was lovely to see Steve's cousin and her husband.  They had lived in PNG when Col worked for the PMG in the late 70s.  I think Jan was very brave coming here with four children, the youngest just weeks old!  It was interesting to talk about what is still the same and what is so different.

Mostly we enjoyed the freedom of being able to walk and drive wherever we wanted!  And we enjoyed being in the bush and at the beach.

Liz and me at the beach

 

A beautiful coastal banksia - don't know which species

I love the buttressed roots of many rainforest trees - I so wish we could get out into the forest here in PNG!

Orchid at D'Aguillar NP

As promised, a story about fruit and vegetables.

This is the story as we heard it from locals.  Between Christmas and New Year trouble with raskols at the 9 Mile Market increased.  They have been coming in with automatic weapons and threatening stall holders to steal money and goods.  Police were called but when the officers came some stall holders hid the raskols from the police because the raskols were "our people".  and of course violence erupted.  People were killed, the stalls were destroyed - knocked over by vehicles and then burned.  Now the market area - about a hectare - has been totally cleared.  We have heard it will reopen soon but nothing yet.  This morning as we drove past there was quite a big crowd just hanging around and a few stalls set up on the track at the back that leads to the illegal settlement village up in the forest where the market community mostly live.  

So for now we get our fruit and veg at Main Market which is crowded and bustling on a Saturday morning but stall holders are always cheerful and friendly, and I try to buy from many stalls to spread the Kina around.  Main Market itself is just a temporary arrangement, the former Lae Central Market having burned down a year or so ago.  The Australian government and the New Zealand government have committed funds to build a new one and work has begun, though planning is not quite finished.  

The crayon drawing is the side market at 9 Mile where we used to shop - it runs along the footpath of the Highlands Highway and so was easy to park.  There's always plenty of variety there - though not always everything on the list! 

Today's fruit and veg from Main Market

9 Mile Market on the Highlands Highway

On December 10 we learned how to hand pollinate Dragon Fruit and barely 4 weeks later mine was ready to eat.  It was very red!  And delicious just chilled and sliced.

Pollinated Dec 10

Harvested January 9

Eaten January 12

 The work continues, extra slowly at the moment with so many people still on leave.  I am waiting for feedback on most of the documents I have prepared - revised training manuals and training workshops.  There is a certain amount of frustration - I don't want to push too far ahead if I then find out it isn't what is needed.  But that's the life of an Australian Volunteer!

We're looking forward to an Australia Day BBQ hosted by the Consul-General Lae next weekend and then we'll be almost into February.

Always happy to get comments and feedback, Jenny

International Volunteers Day

 

The last two weeks have been busy!  Our longer than expected trip to West New Britain meant that planning for International Volunteers Day was rushed.  Invitations were supposed to have been issued before we left but that didn't happen.  There is so much stuff around protocol and the right way of doing things that I just don't get! In the end invitees only had 3 days notice!  Luckily all the other Australian Volunteers in Lae knew the event was happening and had planned to attend with representatives from their partner organisations.  Representatives from the Consulate-General Lae for the Australian High Commission had been pre-warned too so were present.  Each section at NARI HQ and the NARI Research Centre across the road sent representatives so we had a lovely crowd of around 40 and two hours to fill before lunch.  

We started right on time with a prayer.  The most senior NARI officer around at the time - the strategic advisor - welcomed everyone.  I spoke about the volunteer experience.  All the volunteers and their partners had the chance to speak, and the C-G's rep spoke too.  That was half the program! 

It's not a celebration without balloons and bunting and we had both.  The bunting was hand made.  Each participant at the event had to write something in praise of volunteering on a little coloured paper flag and they were attached to crepe paper streamers.  It did look festive!

Steve ran a 20 question multiple choice quiz.  The questions were about the Australian Volunteer Program over its 60+ year history, the special Australia - Papua New Guinea relationship and Rugby League.  Tables of 5-6 people had to come up with answers by consensus.  They were very competitive!  The winning table had 16 correct answers.  The lowest was 12 correct answers so everyone passed!

The last activity was cooperative poster making activity, again on the positives of volunteering, not just the AV program but in all spheres of life.  Groups worked hard and earned their lunch.  The buffet provided by the NARI Western Region Guest House was the best I've had in PNG!

AusVols and C-G Lae

All up it was a great event - well worth all the effort and stress that went into it.

This last week at work I have been preparing staff training materials on "soft skills" - time management, communication, problem solving & co - while Steve works on training materials for the vocational skills the scientists need.  We are both learning a lot ourselves.  Next year (next month!) it will be full steam ahead with training days hopefully all up and down the country!

Saturdays we always do the weekly shop at one of the supermarkets in town.  Mostly they have all we need though for the last two months no Saladas, no Ryvitas and no Cruskits.  They are Steve's lunch staples and he has had to manage with cream crackers which evidently just don't cut it!  Sometimes a little gem appears.  Today it was fresh mushrooms, excellent as this afternoon Steve is making pizzas for expected visitors tonight.  We'd had a discussion on potential toppings.  I still think the choice of Brussels sprouts (Arusha 2019) was inspired.

A bonus today was a Christmas market at Eriku near the supermarket for small and medium enterprise entrepreneurs to sell their wares.  It's my favourite kind of shopping.  My purchases today were (clockwise) a fan from Bougainville, a bilum from West Sepik, a small handbag from Morobe and a bilum from Manus Island.  My collection of bilums is growing.  Not sure yet how I will smuggle it all home.

Next Saturday we fly to Port Moresby then on to Brisbane on Sunday for our two week holiday on the Sunshine Coast. 

Jenny

West New Britain

We arrived home today after nearly a week in West New Britain - the first 4 days planned, the last 2 not so much!  I'll save that saga for the end of the post.

We flew from Lae to a small provincial airport, Hoskins, near Kimbe on the northern coast of West New Britain.  It's about an hour and a half by plane.  We were picked up there for the hour drive to the resort where we were staying.  The road has some Botswana level potholes - large, deep and close together! - but little traffic so mostly avoidable.

The resort was lovely.  Extensive grounds with lush gardens.  The best thing was having the freedom to just walk around.  The pool was  great and the view out to distant volcanos and small coral atolls was there even when the birds weren't.  The owner is a (mostly) retired agricultural scientist so we had lots of chats about agriculture in PNG and the oil palm industry in particular - her field of interest.  The rain season is just starting so we had some heavy rain at various times but it didn't slow us up.

  

There were always fresh flowers everywhere.  Frangipani flowers all year around and the hibiscus is beautiful.  Our bungalow had excellent views out to sea and there were always amazing butterflies to look at.

I had quality time reading and relaxing by the pool but also went snorkelling, circumnavigating an atoll about half an hour out by boat.  The fish were colourful and plentiful, also sea cucumber, sea stars and shells of all shapes and sizes.  The coral is looking a bit sad - bleached by high sea temperatures over the last few years.  My only problem was sea sickness - not on the boat getting there and back, but while snorkelling, because of the swell.  I didn't even know that was a thing.  Anyway, the fish enjoyed my beef burger and chips.

We had an early morning walk through a local village and part way up a small, dormant volcano.  We walked through cocoa orchards and past food gardens in clearings in the forest.  

There were some huge old trees and lots of interesting fungi.  There was a spot where we could see out to the bay through the trees.

 

Naturally we did lots of birding, some of it in the oil palm plantations and adjacent forest.  Steve and the guides found some of the birds he wanted.  The megapode was not at home but we saw the nest holes.  The oil palm industry is a huge employer in WNB.  We saw the nursery where new plants are grown.  The new varieties start producing fruit when they are 9 months old!  Many women are working picking up fruit that is left behind after the main harvest goes through.  These 'Lus frut Maris' are paid by the kilo for what they collect.

We had a great time but had to be back at work on Thursday so packed up to leave Wednesday morning.

Getting home was a saga taking three days instead of 90 minutes and involving lots of time in airport waiting rooms.  Wednesday we were in plenty of time for our flight with PNG Air direct back to Lae.  The check in officer asked had we checked in on line.  Yes, we had, and had electronic boarding passes to prove it.  "Good" he said, telling us the plane was full because schools were just closing for the year and there were plenty of people on the move.  We moved on to the boarding lounge and waited.  

Steve has a Flight Radar app.  We watched our plane approach and almost land, we watched it circle above us, and we watched it fly off towards Lae.  We, and a dozen other very cross passengers, headed back to the check in counter to find out what was going on.  "Weather" we were told, meant it couldn't land.  The more likely explanation was filling our seats with other passengers in Rabaul and no space for us.  We were told to come back at 9 the next morning and we'd be on the shortlist for any unfilled seats on the next day's plane.  The resort driver was still at the airport waiting to see if we'd successfully left before leaving himself.  He took us back to the resort as we did not have AVI permission to stay anywhere else. 

The next morning we were back in plenty of time - the resort got us there at 7:30 - to be told they wouldn't know until 12 noon if there were any 'no shows'.  Midday came and we were told to be patient.  One o'clock and we were told no seats.  An email had come from PNG Air to say we'd been booked on to the next available flight - on Sunday Nov 30!  Not OK!

We'd had a discussion with the Air Nuigini check in officer about flying home via Port Moresby.  Tickets and seats were available she said.  We booked our flights and also booked a night at the Sanctuary Hotel in PM because the return meant an overnight there and an early start on Friday morning.  We were upgraded to waiting in the business lounge which meant a cup of coffee and a sachet of Scotch Finger biscuits.  

Boarding time came, and went.  No plane.  Our friend who sold us the tickets said yes, yes, it's coming; until eventually, no, it's been cancelled!  Steve unbooked the Sanctuary Hotel and I sought permission from AVI to stay at the grandly named Hoskins Airport Resort which is not very grand, certainly not a resort and its greatest crime - Dry! - so no beer or wine to drown our sorrows.  Still, it was fine for just the one night and we were back at the airport at 5 am this morning.  The security team were so used to us that they didn't bother screening our luggage any more - a manual job of poking around in the bags as no X-ray.  The plane in from Port Moresby was late - naturally! - but it was still a relief when it landed.  

Of course we missed our connection to Lae.  We were told at Hoskins that they would email and phone ahead to explain our troubles and I don't know if that happened but at Port Moresby airport a "Protocol Officer" found us as we neared the Customer Service desk (which was mobbed!) and said he would get a woman named Ronny to sort us out.  And she did!  She produced new boarding passes, found our luggage, took us to the front of the queue at check in and made sure we got through into the departure lounge.

Another 3 hours of waiting, hearing 4 flights cancelled and 2 delayed, and our boarding call finally came, over a half hour late but so welcome!  We finally arrived back at Lae airport about 2:30 and were home by half past 3.  Next job is explaining it all to the travel insurance company.  I was totally exhausted  but a swim and a beer at the bar have sparked me up and I am enjoying a magnificent sunset.

We have a busy few weeks ahead.  Will tell you all about our International Volunteers Day event in my next post.

Leave a comment if you can , or email me.  We love to hear from friends and family. Jenny

3 month mark

 

And just like that it is November!

As I said last blog, we don't often get out of the office.  The week before last, the Australian High Commission Consul-General for Lae invited us to go with him to the handover of school furniture, water tanks and a rain collecting structure at a government primary school a few kilometres further down the road from us.  Just a short ceremony and lots of fun.

We were part of the official party so we were 'marched in' by the elementary school (preschool) children. Most of the primary school's children had the day off because the rooms were needed for the Grade 8 exams that were being held on the day.

The head of the elementary school, the head of the primary school and all the parent committee were there as well as representatives from the Province and the District who were partners along with the Australian government in the funding of the project.  Here we all are in front of an Australian High Commission gazebo which was welcome shade!  The leis presented to the official party were frangipani and smelled wonderful.

Ribbons were cut, plaques presented, photos taken and short speeches made.  The school previously had just one small tank.  Now they have four 9,000L tanks and a building with guttering which will be the catchment.  Rain here is plentiful so the tanks should stay full and provide the children with clean drinking water.

Most of the time I am sitting at my desk looking at a computer screen, looking for useful documents and writing training manuals, podcast scripts and long lists of things to do.  The current list is of people to be invited to our International Volunteers Day event on December 5 and their proper titles and email addresses.  Protocol is so important!  

It can be quite tedious but I often find things that amuse me.  Two examples follow.  I don't remember the source of the first but the second was from a style guide for writing journal articles in the South Pacific. 

Some days the most exciting thing that happens is lunch!

The pattern of the week includes the Saturday afternoon job of finishing off the bananas bought the Saturday before (and now quite ripe!) in a cake - this weeks is banana, carrot, ginger and sugar fruit ( a close relative of passionfruit)

Last weekend we finally made it to the Lae Main Market.  We find it easiest to get our fruit and veg at the local market so hadn't bothered with Main Market despite everyone telling us how much better and cheaper and fresher the produce there is.   Steve took this picture of me doing some Christmas shopping - who needs a bilum?

And lastly, I have a new hobby!  Today we went in to the Lae equivalent of Officeworks.  I was looking to see what bunting and balloons they have.  In our budget for the International Volunteers Day event at NARI in December there is a line for decorations and I was looking at the options.  What I found was oil pastels and an art diary.  Can you spot the African Jacana?  I like putting birds in my pictures.  The little watercolour from a few weeks ago has a Palm Cockatoo.

Three weeks until we go to New Britain for an extra long weekend.  No blog until then, unless something exciting happens!  Jenny