Our only non Australian port was Port Morsby in Papua New Guinea which is ranked in the top 5 most dangerous cities in the world and all we heard before getting off the ship was to travel only in large groups, don’t bring jewellery or valuables, don’t wonder around in parks or cemeteries and be aware of your surroundings at all times! So with that send off we headed out, in a convoy of 12 buses to invade a couple of poor fishing villages’ and a small resort. As we drove along the countryside you could tell that this area was used to flooding from both inland rivers and heavy rains and from large tides as well. Here is a typical suburban house on the tidal flats (keep in mind that there are lots of 5 and 6 meter crocs in the water).
As this group of 250 strange looking white people, descended upon the village, they showed us their dance moves in their traditional native costumes. Tourism has been very light here, since 1975 when Papua New Guinea gained their independence from Australia, which, based on the amount of poverty we saw, was a big mistake.
The fishing village was littered with mounds of garbage everywhere; skinny, skinny dogs ran through the streets. Some of the kids had no clothes and many did not have shoes.
Here are the restroom facilities we were invited to use, very practical but definitely on the primitive side.
Only the kids whose parents could afford it went to primary school and learned English and the local Patois . Most of those only stayed until grade 6 and very few make it to high school never mind university. AIDS is rampant and most of the population is illiterate so it is very hard to get the message out about safe sex to the general population. Here is a class we got to see were the kids sit on a gravel floor, in a shack with tins sides, using just a blackboard and pencils and paper and these are the lucky ones!
Jude was very quiet during this excursion and I could see that it really bothered her that we really couldn’t do much for these people to help them. It really is a heartbreaking situation. All of us should be thankful for what we have and focus what really is important in life. The country just announced the start up on a new natural gas mine that is producing at a world record pace but I doubt that much of that money will get past the government officials and trickle down to these poor fishermen. Despite that, everyone smiled and waved as we drove by, the kids were laughing and playing and looked fairly healthy.
The next port was Darwin which is where much of the movie Australia, with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, is set. It is the largest city in the Northern Territory with about 80,000 people and what seemed like 200,000 crocodiles! We hired (not rented) a car and drove out to Litchfield National Park to see a number of waterfalls and swimming pools. The area is quite flat and the roads go up to a 130 Km/hour limit on a two lane highway. Also trundling along at 130 Km/Hr were huge Truck Trains with four trailers, each a 50 footer, tagging along. One of the sites in the area is these gigantic 15 foot high Cathedral Termite Mounds.
We also took the Amazing Jumping Crocodile cruise in this area where you sit in a little tin boat and they entice 5 meter long crocs to jump out of the water to grab a hunk of raw chicken dangling from the end of a pole. It’s amazing that these guys can get so high just using their tails to propel them up out of the water.
This albino faced croc (named Michael Jackson of course) was 5 meters or about 16 feet long and although he couldn’t jump as high as some of the smaller crocs his jaws were huge and you knew if he got a hold of you he wouldn’t be letting go!
They coaxed this fellow onto the land so we could get a better look and he was only a couple of feet away from the ramp onto the front of the boat.
Since Jude got to cuddle the Koala, I volunteered to snuggle with a 6 foot Green Python snake which surprisingly was cool and smooth to touch. Like most of the inhabitants, snakes in Australia are very friendly as it seemed to like wrapping itself around me.
After a hot day in the Australian heat there is nothing like a cool pint of VB (Victoria Bitters) in a local pub to quench your thirst.
Sunsets in this part of the world are just spectacular and ideal way to end some pretty fantastic days.
Here are the restroom facilities we were invited to use, very practical but definitely on the primitive side.
Only the kids whose parents could afford it went to primary school and learned English and the local Patois . Most of those only stayed until grade 6 and very few make it to high school never mind university. AIDS is rampant and most of the population is illiterate so it is very hard to get the message out about safe sex to the general population. Here is a class we got to see were the kids sit on a gravel floor, in a shack with tins sides, using just a blackboard and pencils and paper and these are the lucky ones!
Jude was very quiet during this excursion and I could see that it really bothered her that we really couldn’t do much for these people to help them. It really is a heartbreaking situation. All of us should be thankful for what we have and focus what really is important in life. The country just announced the start up on a new natural gas mine that is producing at a world record pace but I doubt that much of that money will get past the government officials and trickle down to these poor fishermen. Despite that, everyone smiled and waved as we drove by, the kids were laughing and playing and looked fairly healthy.
The next port was Darwin which is where much of the movie Australia, with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, is set. It is the largest city in the Northern Territory with about 80,000 people and what seemed like 200,000 crocodiles! We hired (not rented) a car and drove out to Litchfield National Park to see a number of waterfalls and swimming pools. The area is quite flat and the roads go up to a 130 Km/hour limit on a two lane highway. Also trundling along at 130 Km/Hr were huge Truck Trains with four trailers, each a 50 footer, tagging along. One of the sites in the area is these gigantic 15 foot high Cathedral Termite Mounds.
We also took the Amazing Jumping Crocodile cruise in this area where you sit in a little tin boat and they entice 5 meter long crocs to jump out of the water to grab a hunk of raw chicken dangling from the end of a pole. It’s amazing that these guys can get so high just using their tails to propel them up out of the water.
This albino faced croc (named Michael Jackson of course) was 5 meters or about 16 feet long and although he couldn’t jump as high as some of the smaller crocs his jaws were huge and you knew if he got a hold of you he wouldn’t be letting go!
They coaxed this fellow onto the land so we could get a better look and he was only a couple of feet away from the ramp onto the front of the boat.
Since Jude got to cuddle the Koala, I volunteered to snuggle with a 6 foot Green Python snake which surprisingly was cool and smooth to touch. Like most of the inhabitants, snakes in Australia are very friendly as it seemed to like wrapping itself around me.
After a hot day in the Australian heat there is nothing like a cool pint of VB (Victoria Bitters) in a local pub to quench your thirst.
Sunsets in this part of the world are just spectacular and ideal way to end some pretty fantastic days.
1 comment:
Andy & Judy...we have enjoyed looking at your pictures. The sunset picture in this last round is a "photo winner"! Great shots!
You are experiencing so much on this trip and truly feeling the "flavour" of the towns/villages. How fantastic! I hope that you had a Great Birthday today Jude. I was thinking of you. Happy Birthday..I had a glass of wine in your honour! Love to you and Andy....Trish in Seattle
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