The revival of Garaina

By SAMPSON BONAI

We arrived at remote Garaina on Independence Day 2018.

The closed down Garaina Tea Plantation now standing idle in thick kunai grass with no sign of life.~Pictures by SAMPSON BONAI

People  greeted us when we disembarked from chartered North Coast Aviation Britten Norman Islander aircraft and walked over to the airstrip hangar at Garaina station.

They welcomed us as we carried our bags to the small hangar.

The 20-minute flight from Wau on a fine day gave us an opportunity to glance down from the aircraft to see the mountains separating Waria Valley from Wau.

The towering Owen Stanley Range at Garaina

We flew over the Biangai mountains.

 We could see Lake Trist glittering under the mornng  sun.

Lake Trist as seen from our Britten Norman Islander.

We later flew over the Biaru and Waria mountains before we saw Waria Valley in front of us.

A local man and Grace Memorial Secondary School  principal,  Zukua Koito, who was sitting next to me excitedly pointed out of the window.

We flew over Onora airstrip near the two villages of Sikemu and Kapiso.

Garaina station was in front  of us.

The expatriate pilot steadied the plane as it slowly towards Garaina airstrip and landed safely on the grassy strip.

Locals came rushing to the airstrip and welcomed us in their local Gusamanie language that is widely spoken by the people from Waria Valley.

We grabbed our bags and returned their warm welcome by responding "dzobe".

Wau-based policemen and two local guides arrived and led us along the track towards the LLG headquarters and the soccer fields.

Forty-eight soccer teams participated in the weeklong Waria Valley  Unity Cup Soccer Tournament.

Arihe (men) and Au (women) took out the top accolades and K1000 prizemoney.

Major sponsor and PNG Cocoa Board chief executive officer Boto Gaupu congratulated the winning teams.

PNG Cocoa Board CEO Boto Gaupu (right) with Arihe men's soccer team which took out the 2018 Unity Cup Soccer Tournament

He said next year's event would be even  bigger and better.

"We will launch the Waria Valley cocoa project next year," he said.

"Agriculture Minister Benny Allan and other senior Goverment officers from Waigani will be in Garaina to witness the launching programme."

At Garaina, one other track leads to the primary school, shops, health centre and the closed Department of Agriculture and Livestock office.

Garaina Health Centre which provides  services to the people of Waria Valley

Two shops with Bank South Pacific Eftpos machines, owned by locals and located near the health centre,  continue to provide public servants and local people with basic store goods.

One of the two shops in Garaina that serves public servants and the local people

The goods are flown in by air.

 It's very costly to buy a packet of sugar or rice.

The track then connects further down the road and leads to the local government council area.

The old road that connected Garasa and Bapi villages is now closed and had been turned into bush tracks.

The power line and the generator that used to supply electrocity to the station had also broken down and stands idle.

The people still mention the name of former council manager, John Orebut, who served in Waria in the 1990s.

They described him as the "best council manager of Waria LLG".

The towering Owen Stanley Range right in front us at Garaina runs from Waria all the way to Northern and Milne Bay provinces.

The lawn around the Waria LLG headquarters,  council manager's house, two patrol officers' houses, police barracks area and deteriorating RSL Club house are kept clean at all times.

Waria LLG Manager Pagau Arubidza with his son standing in front of his house at Garaina Station

Waria LLG headquarters lawn is kept clean and the office block is always manned

The cool climate and fertile soil makes Waria Valley one of the best areas to grow cash crops such as coffee, cocoa and tea.

The Garaina tea plantation now covered in tall bushes

The area is an tourist destination.

More guest houses need to be set up at Garaina and surrounding villages.

The local people are very friendly and always look after visitors and government officers passing through their villages with accommodation and food.

Waria Valley will soon transform into one of the biggest cocoa-producing area in Bulolo and Morobe.

A cocoa nursery in Bulolo

More local people will venture into various business activities to sustain their lives when cocoa production begins.

Tourism will be one area the local people can venture into.

They can build guest houses in the villages for tourists visiting their area for trekking, birdwatching and various other activities.

Finally the day arrived for us to return back to Wau.

I packed my bag, said goodbye to my new friends and walked to the airstrip to the rest of our team travelling back to Wau.

"Aipo",  all my new-found Garaina friends.

 See all of you again next year for a bigger and better soccer tournament to coincide with  launching of Waria Valley Cocoa Project.

Husband and wife teachers grateful for new classroom

Australian High Commission
Oct 5 2018

Cornelius and Wari Pondo are the husband and wife team who teach elementary students at Gorari Elementary School along the Kokoda Track.

Cornelius and Wari Pondo

Despite having no formal qualifications, the Pondos were inspired to become teachers to educate and change the lives of children in their village, which is about an hour from Kokoda Station in the Sohe District of Northern Province.

When an opportunity arose in 2012 to attend a teaching course at Mamba, run by the Kokoda Track Foundation, they both jumped at the chance and applied.

After graduating, the couple returned to Gorari and established a classroom made of bush materials to teach elementary school children aged five to eight years old.

Attendance in the bush classrooms has grown substantially over the years, and now the school has over 150 elementary students.

To provide a more comfortable learning environment, the Kokoda Initiative (KI) recently constructed a new double classroom for Gorari Elementary School.

Cornelius and Wari Pondo with their students and the new school facilities.

The KI is a long-standing partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Mrs Pondo said both classrooms were being used for elementary grades at the school.

One room is used for her Prep and Grade 1 classes, while the other is used by the Grade 2 class taught by her husband.

“When the classroom was built for our elementary grades, it really assisted us because previously our students were sitting on bare earth,” said Mrs Pondo.

“With the new classroom, I am able to teach students from morning until afternoon, even when it is raining, and students also have proper desks and chairs.

“Thank you to the Australian Government for these new classrooms, as they are having a great impact on the lives of these students, and will help them to have a brighter future.”

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.