Climbing Mt Hagen

Destination: Mt Hagen (the actual mountain)
Closest town: Mt Hagen
Accommodation: Magic Mountain Nature Lodge
Cost: K200/room/night (we had 3 in our room)
          K20 each breakfast
          K60 each land access fee
          K40/guide (we took 2)
Difficulty: Quite a challenge. No defined path in many places. Very slippery in parts as well as steep. Took us longer than mentioned on website. 10hours return and we only made first summit. 
Contact: Pym +675 7685 8183, paiyatours@dates.net.pg


Birgit and Melina asked me to climb Mt Hagen with them.  The town is actually a little way away from the real mountain.

The girls organised for us to stay at Magic Mountain Nature Lodge.  Pym Mamindi owns the lodge and although he wasn't there he was fabulous.  He phoned us each step along the way to make sure everything was great.  His wife, Elis, came and met us at night and we enjoyed "storying" with her.

At the start of the driveway there is a sign that says you need to use low range 4WD to get up...Yes that is true.  Our car (all wheel drive) couldn't make it up the steep drive.  Melina phoned to find out how far it was to walk the rest of the way.  We were told it was "close to".  We all knew what this meant in PNG - anything from 5 min to 2 hours!  They assured us we could easily walk. We loaded ourselves up with all our things and set off for goodness know how long.  Less than five minutes later we arrived.  So while you need a 4WD to get to the door you can catch a PMV and then walk up the drive.

The Lodge is really nice.  Each bungalow has a bathroom and bedroom. The inside is made of bush materials and it is nice to sit on the verandah and have an afternoon drink.  There is hot water.

We took our own food for dinner which was no problem and ordered breakfast.  The lodge organised for guides to take us on the hike.  They were great and there is no way we could have found our way without them.

There is an amazing deck with breath taking views.  It was ideal to watch the sunset over dinner and sunrise during breakfast.

Nondogul

Destination: Whagi Valley Guesthouse
Closest town: Banz
Accommodation:Whagi Valley Guesthouse
Cost: K80/person/night
Difficulty: Accessible by 4WD, with 40min stepped walk up hill from village to guesthouse.

Contact: Lawrence, mobile +675 7381 2034

A parent from school told me of a scenic drive, the "skyline drive" that had a guesthouse at the end.  It wasn't too far from Hagen.  She didn't have a contact but knew where the owner worked.

A few phone calls later I made contact with Lawrence (mobile +675 7381 2034) whose family owns a lodge at Nondogul.  Lawrence is the manager of Malolo Plantation Lodge.  I haven't been there but have heard good things about it.  Anyway he organised everything for us.

This is a 4WD only adventure, so Susie drove.  What a great job she did.  Susie grew up on a coffee plantation at Banz so I was keen to visit her old stamping ground which was on the way to Nondogul.

When we arrived at the village we were told we had to walk about 40min to the guesthouse.  Would have been handy to know that before we left town.  We would have brought less!  I also would have packed for the possibility of walking in the rain.  Being the afternoon it started to rain and I madly tried to get clothes etc inside of plastic bags.  I have learnt that the "rain hood" on my backpack cannot deal with the heavy PNG rain.

The rain didn't really come down and we arrived in just under 40min dry and pleased with what we found.

The lodge was lovely, the beds comfortable and well presented.  The bathroom was clean with a septic toilet and a shower.  Ok it was a cold shower but they boiled water for use to have a warm wash.  We took our own food and could use the kitchen to prepare it.  So we ate well and slept well.

We were only staying one night so we didn't get a real chance to explore all the area had to offer but I'd visit again.  Staff were nice and lodge was very pleasant.

Lumusa

Lumusa is in the Western Highlands Province in PNG.  Once again this is a bit of a "who you know" destination.  There is not a guesthouse to be found.  But for me I had a few places to stay.  You see this is one of the places I lived as a kid and the home of one of my greatest friends, Heather.

I ventured to Lumusa with my brothers, Steve and Pete and my nephew, Harvey.  We hadn't been back there in about 30 years.

I was hoping that we could stay in a house made of bush materials but the pastor wanted us to stay with him in his house (an ex-mission house).  So we didn't really have a choice of where to stay.  Harvey was also a little disappointed not to stay in the bush material house.

When we went to Lumusa the road wasn't open and we had to walk most of the way from Dalapana in the pouring rain.  We had always planned to walk back.  So two long walks for a little boy.  Harvey was a trooper!  The bigger boys had to work hard though.

If you have a friend that can take you to their village it is a wonderful experience and walking there is definitely the way to go.

The Baptist Union has a few projects in this area, including schools and coffee growing.

Sepik

Queen's Birthday long weekend Birgit and I headed to Wewak to take a trip up the Sepik river.  We stayed with, Christina, who is a volunteer working at the Teacher's College who was very hospitable.  I was disappointed that the weather wasn't hotter although Birgit may have appreciated that.

There are a few places to stay in Wewak but crashing with a "wantok" is always better.

Joseph (mobile +675 7121 4829) was our guide for our adventure.  He picked us up from the airport, dropped us off at Christina's and told us he would pick us up at some unearthly hour in the morning.  True to his word he arrived on time...not PNG time.  He brought along a female relative because we were just two white girls and he wanted us to feel comfortable.  Most impressive.  The beetle nut chewing was not so impressive but he was not driving so I could bear it.

Gilbert was our driver and he was a safe driver.  We had a pleasant drive (quite a few hours) up the to the river.  Joseph brought us some sandwiches and water.  The sandwiches were perhaps a little dodgy but we had brought some of our own food and bought some fruit along the way.

When we arrived at the Sepik river we transferred into a canoe. Although it was a hot day it felt cool as we sped across the water.  Definitely glad I had a long sleeve shirt and plenty of sunscreen.

The river was beautiful and Joseph told us about some environmental issues and culture as we travelled.

Our accommodation for the evening was basic but comfortable.  We took a wash in the river.  Not sure if we were brilliantly clean but we were refreshed.  There was a wooden box "toilet" but it was a little off putting to see that our waste was going into the water below us.  It didn't seem to directly join with the river...I told myself that anyway!  We had a mattress on the floor and mosquito nets to protect us. Also glad for the Bushman's mosquito repellent.

On the way up Joseph asked what we would like to eat, "tin fish, fresh fish or puk puk (crocodile)".  There was no debate.  We both agreed that while on the Sepik, puk puk was a must.  It was a great choice too.  The puk puk stew was delicious!

After a visiting some Haus Tambarans (Spirit Houses) we returned the way we came.  It was a rushed visit but really worthwhile!

For dinner we enjoyed the fresh fish we bough from the lady on the river for 50t each.  Yum.

Rondon Ridge

Rondon Ridge is just out of Mt Hagen.  It is run by Trans Niugini Tours.  The views from the ridge are amazing.  The chef is pretty good too!

I have been there for coffee, lunch and for a weekend (one night).

Getting there can be a bit of a challenge (a great deal of work has been done in 2014 and it is good).  I have walked there and it takes a few hours to walk up there but great for your glutes and hamstrings.  If you drive, you need a 4WD .  This is the main reason I don't visit here more often. (Not any more, the road is good and a 2WD should be ok if road is dry.)

Birgit, Melina and I went to celebrate Melina's birthday.  The room was beautiful and each bed had a small hand carved wooden pig on it.  We were the only ones staying there.  In the afternoon we took a short walk around through the bush.  Then at night we enjoyed sitting on the porch taking in the lights of Mt Hagen while having a sing along.

You need to ring at least the day before and let them know you are coming up for a meal and obviously if you want to stay.  This gives them time to make sure they have food and to open the gate.