16 December 2007
enroute to Kavieng PNG
RABAUL
Rabaul was a memorable stop over for many reasons mainly because this is where we heard the news of the birth of our grandson Joseph Andrew Walker born 8.56am 15 Dec 3.9kg in Townsville. Vashti and baby are doing well. Craig and Caylan (and the grandparents!) are all very excited. I immediately had to go out 'shopping' finding an artefact shop and found the only teddy bear in Rabaul (It's black with a PNG flag!) As Vashti was born in PNG it seems very appropriate!
We continued to explore Rabaul yesterday after hearing the exciting news. After walking in the intense heat into town we had a look at the colourful market. Unfortunately the camera battery died so we made a promise to visit again. The women were dressed in colourful 'Mary' dresses - long flowing with puff sleeves which the Missionaries introduced a while back to cover bare breasts. These dresses are now traditional and seem to be worn by all the women in Rabaul. They do look comfortable but surprisingly are often made from polyester fabric. We even saw one with sparkly sequins. The fruit and vege were beautifully displayed under the permanent market structure or under umbrellas. It was extremely busy in the heat. We caught a PMV (small mini van) to Kokopo. This was fun squashed in with all the locals and only cost 1.50 kina each (60c). It was at least a half hour bouncy drive through lush vegetation and villages by the beach. Beautiful big fish were for sale beside the road suspended on big sticks.
We arrived in Kokopo outside an even busier market than Rabaul. The heat was very intense. Shops and commercial buildings that we have seen in this area are very industrial and dilapidated made of steel usually. The exteriors and interiors are not particularly attractive and the goods are displayed in a very basic manner on wooden trestles, cardboard boxes etc. The lighting is poor and it is often dusty. We wandered down the road towards the water to see what the wind was like outside the bay. As we got closer we spotted a sign not far away saying 'restaurant'. Not wanting to get our hopes up too high we entered the establishment through 2 carved columns. We were pleasantly surprised. A lovely beachy place with matting on the walls and a verandah over looking the sea. We were ushered to a front table and were the only white people. A cold beer and gin and tonic later we were in heaven. The burgers we ordered were very nice and even had the Aussie influence of beetroot. The restaurant started with the letter 'V' and we do highly recommend it to anyone visiting Kokopo! We asked the waitress about internet and she gave us directions. We found the place again a funny little room advertising telecommunications. It was air conditioned and we were given a computer with 'broad band' straight away. We were able to look at weather charts and print one off, check the bank and send a few photos to family. We met a couple of Bougainville guys in there. They were really lovely and were making comments about their black skin - supposedly the blackest skin in the world. They had gorgeous white smiles. (no beetle nut stains)
Everywhere we go everyone is so friendly and pleased we have visited in our yacht. Always lots of handshaking and sharing of information.

Feeling retail therapy withdrawal Linda was determined to find the artefact shop mentioned by one of the women at the yacht club. We walked and walked in the hot sun following the directions to the 'Diabetic Centre'. We found it down a back street. It was a house with a big mural of animals and locals in native dress painted on the fence. The sign said it was open but to knock on the gate if the gate is closed. We knocked and banged and knocked and were ready to give up when a man named Paul with a German accent came out dressed in a towel. He apologised saying one of his staff had 'buggered off'. Paul is helping the local people identify and treat diabetes and has received a medal from the PNG government for his services. He has lived in PNG for 40 years. The artefacts is a side line. We walked into a crowded room filled with carvings and beads and all sorts of lovely hand made things. Linda was in heaven. 900kina later (We had to go back to the ATM to get more money) we now have beautiful carvings and basketry to decorate the boat as well as gifts for loved ones. (including the little black teddy for Joe)

The yacht club in Rabaul deserves a special mention. They have looked after us really well. The members were pleased to have an actual yacht outside using the new jetty just built. (usually has lots of kids using it as a diving board for swimming) Every time we went out we left the oars there and the staff kept an eye on the boat for us. The meals there are very nice and the beers nice and cold. (very cheap too.) A stubbie of SP beer is 5 kina (at the moment 38c to 1 kina) so $1.95. Gin & tonic with whole can of tonic 10.50kina ($4) The meals were 15 kina ($6) Usual pub fare and very tasty. The yacht club was rebuilt after the volcanic eruption where the 'hauswind' was. It's basically a big open building with a high roof with a bar and kitchen at one end. Wooden benches and stools at the bar complete the d�cor.
Outside everything is covered in black volcanic soot. The dinghy and the decks of Valiam were covered in it. Most of the time a haze of cloud with volcanic particles cover the town. However the people both local and long time Aussies love Rabaul and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else. It was interesting hearing first hand how some of these people lived through the major eruption in 1994. There was also another one last year. (I don't remember hearing anything of it on the News in Australia) The 1994 eruption caused damage not because it was particularly big but because of the direction of mudflow and ash. No-one was killed. One woman said when she went back to her house everything below waist level was damaged by the mud. She said only the clothes she didn't like that were stuffed at the top of the wardrobe were saved! Interestingly the Aussies whose houses were damaged didn't really speak much of looting and thieving. I think the media likes to play up these things. There are several world renowned vulcanologists living in Rabaul. There seems to be really little warning for the eruptions and that the other volcano next to Rabaul is about to blow and could be quite big. The one that is smoking at the moment is more of a nuisance and wasn't as big an eruption as the next potential one. Perhaps this is why Kokopo is more of a business centre these days. Many of the expatriate community live there also.
Last night we met some interesting people - local business people and a government politition. (All Australians with residency) I was surprised to learn that there are 4 Australians in Government. The local people like them because 'they don't steal their money'! Everyone made us very welcome and were very interested in our trip so far and how we found PNG. The main drift of the discussion was how much bad press PNG gets. We believe Rabaul is fine for anyone to visit and doesn't pose a threat any more than towns and cities in Australia. We have been welcomed everywhere and everyone is extremely friendly. We feel that we should write an article in yachting magazines to dispel the myths. Even ABC programs (according to our politician friend Peter) exaggerate the problems. The general consensus seems to be that the new government lead by Kevin Rudd will be good for diplomatic relations between PNG and Australia. In fact when we bought the PNG newspaper several articles alluded to that. There was one photo of the new Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd shaking hands with Mr Somare in Bali at the Climate Change conference. The newspaper article stated that diplomatic relations would definitely improve under Australia's labour government. One of the yacht club patrons said that Downer talked to the media too much and didn't seem impressed with what he used to say about PNG. We met another local business fellow Nick (he used to work for the government) who is a sheet metal fabricator and has lived in PNG for 30 years. His children grew up running around with the local children and they all have citizenship. He bought himself a freehold property - a house on an acre on the beach north of Rabaul for $45,000 10 years ago. Nick loves it there. There is of course a downside of living here in regards to medical facilities. Nick's daughter and her fianc� were involved in a serious car accident hitting a tree near Madang and were flown by air ambulance to Cairns. This cost $45,000 (same as his house!) for the 2 fathers to fly their children to medical facilities that could cope with the extensive injuries. The young man is of mixed race with a German father. He is doing well and will probably walk with a limp but his life is saved and he can actually walk. The daughter is now fine. Their wedding has had to be postponed.
We also were aware of being accepted as part of the 'old crowd' when we mentioned living in PNG in 1980-1982. I compared notes with the women managing on a plantation with a baby with no communication but surviving and actually loving it. (no phone, no internet, no TV) Only mail when someone went to Moresby. Nick knew of BNGDC (British New Guinea Dev. Co) the company Bill worked for in those days. He said we had P.O. Box 2 and his organization had P.O Box 1! I do remember writing that address so many times!!! Apparently there's a sawmill at Doa now where we used to live harvesting the rubber trees. I'm sure if Bill went there he would get a job!! In fact I think we would both get work here in PNG even if I was teaching voluntarily. (Perhaps when we get back??!!)
Nick has kindly given us his business address in Kavieng to use his internet. I have promised to send a photo of our yacht outside the Rabaul Yacht club. But the main reason is so that I can view photos of our new grandson! We look forward to Kavieng. It is supposed to be a bit of a holiday place with an abundance of fresh crabs and crayfish - yum!