We flew to Cairns and stayed overnight before being picked up at our hotel by some of the lovely crew members from True North, the ship we would be sailing aboard for our time in PNG. Being on a charter flight meant no nasty queues at Cairns airport, which is always a good thing in my book.
We arrived in Madang and were taken by coach to the boat.
Taking just 36 passengers, with 20 crew to look after us, it really is a gorgeous ship.
Our first stop was Bagabag Island, which is very pretty. Our first adventure was a helicopter flight over KarKar Island, mostly made up of an active volcano.
The villagers on Bagabag Island were simply lovely, and escorted us on a walk along the water's edge. The little kids, some of whom had never seen white people, were having the greatest time ever, it felt. Every village we visited was given a present of books and colouring pencils and footballs or other things, which were always a big hit.
This is a toilet in a typical PNG island village:
Yes, it is a hut built over the water.
1 comment:
How gorgeous! Except perhaps for the "facilities"... which then make me wonder about the water. Eep!
KZK
Post a Comment