Papua New Guinea Things to Do Tips by grets

Tari is the main town in the area and the principal attarction are the people and their culture. The twon really is just an airstrip and a scattering of other buildings. The bank is now closed because is was robbed too often.

The population of Tari is 900, and thy'd all turned out to see the airplane land.

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Address: In the Southern Highlands Province

After lunch we take the Waterfall Walk with Peter Hobbs, one of the guides in the lodge. The start of the walk is tough, a steep ascent out of the hotel up to the main road. We then turn off the road into the forest where the walking becomes much easier and very pleasurable. Peter makes me a walking stick which improves my feeling of safety as we amble down the track to the river through the gorgeous montane rain forest.

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With the call of the birds, the thick vegetation and the occasional waterfall, the trails are heavenly, a real paradise for nature lovers.

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The vine bridges are created using only natural materials, no nails or ropes here! They are tremendous, typical of this area, very enjoyable and not at all scary.

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In places the tracks are muddy, and there are many slippery log bridges to cross. Some of them are easier than others, with two or three wider logs side by side. A couple even have cross bars on them.

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The guides are very thoughtful and caring when helping us across, but I do give up on one particularly precarious bridge consisting of just one, thin log at a 45° angle. I feel sure that it would not hold my weight, and decide to slide down the very steep and muddy bank on my bottom and wade across the stream. Others do the same. Little children run barefoot over the logs and if there is nothing to it. I do believe that it is easier barefoot than with clumsy walking boots, as the foot would mould itself around the log giving a better grip. I won’t try it though. My mud-slide caused great hilarity amongst the locals – I’m only too pleased to amuse the residents.

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Bridges seemed to become quite a theme for our visit to Papua New Guinea. As well as the precarious foot bridges, our return journey to the sirport was hampered by the fact that tribal warfare had broken out during the night and the road bridges were burned. We ended up taking a long detour, through some very interesting villages!

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The first part of the walk, as usual, is up the dreadfully steep drive way to the main road and further up the highway before turning off into the rainforest. I have a bad cough and my chest feels especially tight today, so I give up half way down to the waterfall. My reasoning is ‘what goes down must come up’! I take my time on the way back, stopping along the path to enjoy this feeling of serenity. I am all alone in a great expanse of ancient virgin rainforest. Just me, the trees and the sound of the birds. What a wonderful liberating feeling, a really humbling experience.

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Today’s walk is different from yesterday’s ramble. Now we are walking in deep war trenches indicating the demarcation between the various clans’ territories. Here and there are war graves, some very recent. I do hope we don’t get caught in the middle of one! Where there are no trenches, we amble along paths on meadows, through thick grass taller than us or giant bamboo. There is not much to see initially, but after a while we get out on more open land with wonderful views out over the valley. When Mary-Jane planned this walk with Harold (the guest relations officer), she took into consideration my bad chest and most of the walking is down-hill. The jungle is quite thick in places, but Mark tells us that not so long ago, this area was home to many villages that were burnt down during the clan wars. We stop for a while in a village, resting in the shade of a tree. The terrain becomes more challenging; this is sheer jungle with undulating land, streams to cross and very muddy paths

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One of the reasons for us coming to Papua New Guinea is to see the Huli Wigmen, and today we have the opportunity. These are young men who have chosen to be removed from the normal society for a period of up to 18 months during which time they grow their hair into elaborate styles. The wigmen are accompanied by a guru whose purpose it is to ease the hair into the right shape as it grows, ensure only the right food is eaten and that the growing ‘wig’ is being raised from the mat at night so as not be ruined by the pressure. Once the hair has grown to the required length and has been shaped accordingly, it is carefully shaved off as one complete wig, and then either sold or hired out for special occasions. The wigmen live outside the main part of the village as it would be considered inauspicious for the growth of the hair for the men to be seen by the ladies of the village. As foreigners, Helen, Leoni and myself are considered honorary men, and therefore don’t count! Without telephones to contact the wigmen, Mark has to shout across the valley for them to meet us at an appropriate place. The Wigmen are very proud and keen to be photographed. We take their address to send the photos on.

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