Of all the places I’ve travelled, Papua New Guinea stands out above the rest.
The country’s warm people, exquisite natural landscapes and diversity of vibrant cultures make this place unlike any other. It truly is, as they say, “the land of the unexpected.”
This phrase was mentioned to me by almost everyone I spoke to upon landing in the nation’s capital, Port Moresby, and as I traveled through New Ireland, Mussau Island and Emirau Island. It’s not a phrase coined as part of a tourism-marketing ploy, it’s authentic, spoken from the lips of the locals with pride and warning, equally measured.
I was reminded of this as I journeyed through the crocodile-infested swamplands on foot, scrape marks in the undergrowth where their bodies had slid down off the bank and into the stream, a reminder of their invisible presence. And as I snorkeled pristine reefs and bathed where an underground freshwater river flowed out from a cave to meet the sea. And as a 10 hour journey in rough seas in a 20ft banana boat left me wondering if we’d end up in the ocean, drifting towards the Solomon Islands like others in our captain’s tales. I could go on, and I will, in other posts.
But for now, I’ll say this. Papua New Guinea is a place enhanced in many ways by its isolation. Its raw, unconceivable natural beauty is unmatched in other tropical destinations already well-acquainted with the tourism industry. Perhaps notorious for its many challenges and dangerous history, I saw another side to this place.
It’s green, blue and earthy. Unexpected.