Kandep in Enga offers untapped tourism potential

Remote Kandep, Enga, is know for all the wrong reasons.

There's a silver lining to the dark cloud.

It is a beautiful place with untapped tourism potential.

This article appeared in The National Weekender on Friday Oct 5 2018.

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Kavieng looks to Australian Seasonal Workers' Programme

Maverick Kavieng MP Ian Ling-Stuckey is looking at the Australian Seasonal Workers' Programme (SWP) to solve Papua New Guinea's economic woes.

This article appeared in The National Weekender on Friday Sept 28 2018.   

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China's 'little tricks' won't hamper Taiwan in APEC: foreign minister

focustaiwan.tw | October 4, 2018

Taipei, Oct. 4 (CNA) China has been deploying a number of "little tricks" over the past few months to inhibit Taiwan's participation in this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting but to scant effect, Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said Thursday.

In an interview with CNA Thursday, Wu said China has made several attempts to introduce its "one-China" principle, under which it sees Taiwan as part of its territory, into APEC's operating framework.

For example, he said, China has asked that references to Taiwan in APEC documents be changed to "Chinese Taipei," the official title used for Taiwan in APEC.

China has also tried to blocked many of the proposals made by Taiwan in APEC this year, he said, adding that such issues were resolved after Taiwan sought help from like-minded member countries.

Those "little tricks" by China have caused some small twists and turns but will hardly affect Taiwan's overall participation in APEC, Wu said.

In keeping with protocol, the 2018 APEC host country, Papua New Guinea, has sent envoys to Taiwan twice with an invitation to this year's leaders' summit, he said.

Following those invitations, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced Wednesday that Morris Chang (張忠謀), founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), will represent Taiwan at the APEC leaders' summit in Papua New Guinea in November.

Taiwan joined APEC as a full member under the name Chinese Taipei in 1991 and has played an active role in the annual meetings, seeking to enhance interaction with the other 20 member economies, according to the foreign ministry.

Commenting last month on the issue, Matthew J. Matthews, deputy assistant secretary and U.S. senior official for APEC, told CNA that the United States has always been supportive of Taiwan's full membership in APEC and is making sure that status will not be compromised.

Australia to support PNG’s immunisation strategy

Australian High Commission

The Nationwide Polio Campaign was launched by the Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS, Sir Puka Temu on Monday  October 1.

Australian High Commission Minister-Counsellor, Benedict David, attended the launch and was pleased to announce K24 million to combat vaccine preventable diseases in Papua New Guinea.

Australian High Commission Minister-Counsellor Benedict David vaccinates a child following the launch of the Nationwide Polio Campaign in Port Moresby.

He said: “Australia and Papua New Guinea are close friends, and we will always look out for each other in times of need. 

"Under the leadership of Minister Temu and the Department of Health, this additional support will help protect PNG’s children from polio and other childhood illnesses.”

The Government of Papua New Guinea has spearheaded a vaccination campaign to eradicate polio in PNG.

Sir Puka thanked the many health workers and communities who had supported the Government’s efforts to vaccinate every child in the country from this potentially deadly disease.

Minister for Health and HIV/AIDS Sir Puka Temu vaccinates a child following the launch of the Nationwide Polio Campaign in Port Moresby.

Low rates of routine immunisation have led to recent outbreaks of preventable diseases such as polio, measles, and whooping cough.

 In partnership with the World Health Organisation, United Nations Children's Fund and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Australia’s contribution will support the National Department of Health’s emergency polio campaign.

Longer term Australian support will help to increase routine immunisation rates to avoid future outbreaks.

Dr Luo Dapeng, the WHO Representative in PNG, said: “Together, the international community in PNG can help support the Government to ensure a better future for Papua New Guinean children.” 

Dive seasons in Papua New Guinea

by Rebecca Strauss, scubadiverlife.com
September 30, 2018 

Occupying the eastern half of New Guinea, the world’s second largest island after Greenland, Papua New Guinea sits high atop almost every diver’s bucket list.

But in a land that spans 178,000 square miles (461,000 square kilometers), you’ve got to know where to go — and when — to get the most bang for your diving buck.

With no highways spanning the entirety of the country’s rugged terrain, dive resorts in PNG give new meaning to the word “remote,” reachable only by small plane in many cases.

Once you’re there, you’re there — and if it’s the right time of year, you’ll be happily stranded among some of the world’s best dive sites.

Here’s our guide to the dive seasons in Papua New Guinea, focusing on the main areas.

Tawali

A wide peninsula juts out of Papua New Guinea’s southeastern corner, pointing like a finger to Milne Bay, home of Tawali Dive Resort.

To get there, one must fly from the capital city of Port Moresby to Alotau.

From there it’s a 90-minute bus ride through the countryside to small dock, where a boat awaits to make the final 20-minute journey to the resort.

 Milne Bay is most well-known for muck diving, but there are manta-cleaning stations and WWII wrecks on hand as well.

Sitting on the north coast at the tip of the peninsula, Tawali is mostly sheltered from prevailing southeast winds.

 So even if the winds are blowing, visitors can still dive the protected northern sites.

If the air is calm, divers have access to a plethora of sites south and southeast of the resort.

Nonetheless, the very best time to visit this area of PNG is from October through March, when visibility is the best and the skies are relatively calm.

Strong winds in February make getting to most dive sites a challenge.

Tufi

In Oro Province, which makes up most of the peninsula’s northern shore, Tufi Resort perches atop a spectacular green fjord with sweeping views of the water below.

Just as with other PNG resorts, Tufi is quite remote.

 You’ll arrive via small plane from Port Moresby, which lands on a nearby runway, paved by Tufi’s owners to make the resort more accessible.

It’s a short walk or quick car ride to the resort from there.

Although there is diving in the fjords, Tufi’s real draw is the spectacular offshore reefs, five to 10 nautical miles offshore, so remote that many remain unexplored.

 On good-weather days it takes from 15 minutes to over an hour to reach some sites, and steady onshore winds for part of the year make them nearly inaccessible.

The very best time of the year to visit is during wet season, from November to March.

Walindi

Walindi Plantation Resort sits on the shores of Kimbe Bay on New Britain, a PNG satellite island just north of the mainland.

To get here, you’ll fly from Port Moresby to Hoskins Airport, also called Kimbe Airport.

From there it’s a 50-minute drive to the resort.

Kimbe Bay is best known for spectacularly healthy coral gardens and walls, and guests can reach even further-flung destinations onboard the resort’s liveaboard dive boats, the MV FeBrina and MV Oceania, which offer 8- through 10-night itineraries.

The best time of year to visit Walindi is April through June and August through December.

Rabaul

Rabaul, also on New Britain at its northern tip, is best known for fantastic WWII wreck diving.

 Most sites are relatively near shore, with the furthest being about an hour’s boat ride away.

Aside from the wrecks, there’s also a healthy shallow-water reef and wall dives, offering the chance to see passing pelagics.

The best time of the year to visit Rabaul is April through early January when the visibility is best and wind direction cooperates with dive boats.

Lissenung

Tiny Lissenung Island is home to a private resort right off the west coast of New Ireland Island, itself just north of New Britain Island.

Visitors fly from Port Moresby to Kavieng, then it’s a 5-minute ride to the shore and a 20-minute boat ride to the resort, which sits just two degrees south of the equator, making for pretty consistent weather year-round.

The island is only 1300 by 262 feet (400 by 80 m) and the resort sleeps a maximum of 16 guests, so you’re guaranteed seclusion.

There are 36 mapped sites nearby, most well-known for pristine coral, sharks, turtles and macro life.

Lissenung is best from late March through early January. Mid-January to mid-March is wet season and although you can still visit, it can get very windy and wet.

Body found in submerged Air Niugini plane

Tahawar Durrani
Chief Executive Officer
Air Niugini Ltd 

It is with deep sadness I confirm that the body of a male passenger was discovered by divers today (Monday Oct 1) as they conducted a further search of P2-PXE and the surrounding area in the Chuuk Lagoon.

This is the unaccounted passenger from the aircraft.

Our outreach team is in touch with the man’s family and we are making arrangements to repatriate his body.

The circumstances surrounding this accident are now a matter for relevant authorities as they begin their task of investigating the events that led to the incident and the actions which followed.

We are committing all required resources to ascertain the factors that led to this accident.

We express our deepest sympathy to his family.

We are and will continue to provide support to his family in this time of loss.  

Paradise found in Papua New Guinea

Bestowed with stunning natural creations and rich cultural traditions, Papua New Guinea entices visitors like no other
   

Anjaly Thomas
Sep 29 2018
Deccan Herald

Two reasons can take you to Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the Oceania — diving or Kokoda Track. My reason was the latter — a 96-km-long killer track with a reputation of being attempted only by the ‘brave’. Fully aware of the dangers, I plunged into the tropical rainforests of Papua New Guinea, and for 11 days, pushed myself beyond every imaginable limit, and emerged on the other side intact, but determined never to attempt anything like that again.

An aerial view of the islands in Papua New Guinea

So once back in the capital Port Moresby, fondly called Pom Town, I set about understanding why Papua New Guinea was the new tourist hotspot. PNG has over 7,000 different tribes, each with their own language, and Port Moresby is the entry point to the country, ideally located on the coast and perfect for exploration of the rest of the country.

A word of caution. Papua New Guinea is still considered a dangerous place to visit, but the good news is that the tourism industry is slowly growing. Beautiful nature hikes, scuba diving and kayaking are the top attractions in this island nation. Although tourism infrastructure is lacking, you cannot ignore the fact that the country offers incredible sights and activities for those wishing to explore.

My first destination was Bomana War Cemetery (BWC), the resting place of about 3,200 servicemen from World War II, killed in action in Papua and Bougainville. BWC, about 20 km from Port Moresby, is a well-maintained and the only cemetery in the country to contain white marble headstones. Memorial services for Anzac Day are held here on April 25 every year. I knew very little about the importance of Anzac Day, till I walked on the Kokoda Track, which still bears the scars of the fighting between the Japanese and the Allies.

Next on the cards was a visit to Port Moresby Nature Park, a botanical garden and zoological park that is home to hundreds of animals, including kangaroos and reptiles, and it’s the only rainforest track in the city. Particularly fascinating was walking through rows of native plants and orchids. To truly understand the orchid variety, a visit here is a must. There are over 10,000 orchids in the park!

Towards evening, I headed to a local market in Pom Town. It was like walking back in history — there was nothing ‘modern’ about the market — just picturesque stalls selling food, local crafts, paintings, traditional carvings. I returned with wooden masks and meri blouse (traditional dress): loose-fitting, and comfortable but a fashion disaster, and stuffed to my gills on taro and cassava, which my hotel receptionist told me was “the thing to do anyway.” It was she who put the idea of visiting the Parliament House into my head. “You can see the birds later,” she said. With a phone call, she arranged a tour of the Parliament House and the next morning, I found myself with a guide and permission to enter the building.

It is said a passionate guide can make or break your impressions — my guide influenced my opinions favourably. The gardens and orchids are fabulous and so are the flags that represent many different tribes in the country. Fortunately, the Parliament was not in session, so we could easily look into the floor of the Parliament. The grandeur of the building was hard to ignore, but pictures are forbidden, not even discreetly!

The city of Port Moresby is charming in a rather quaint way. Nightlife is decent and a few good restaurants have cropped up in the recent past, a sign that PNG is gearing up to welcoming more tourists in the near future.

It is amazing how much of the country is still unexplored and you often get the feeling that it is a civilisation yet to be discovered. From tropical birds to vibrant colours, cultures and tribal traditions — everything conspires to make you fall in love with the place.