Papua New Guinea

I leave in 17 days and I am super excited despite not knowing what to expect. From any and everyone I have talked to that has been there before, this trip is life changing. Everyone came back with a slightly changed perspective and each one had uniquely diffferent experiences...but, no one seemed capable to put into words exactly how magnificent it was. They left it at: "You just need to go and see for yourself. It is something that you have to experience to appreciate and the memories you make can only be understood by the friends you go with. It is impossible to come back with the same outlook on life as before you left. "


About Papua New Guinea:

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the rugged tropical island of New Guinea(which it shares with the Indonesian territory of Irian Jaya) as well as numerous smaller islands and atolls in the Pacific. The central part of the island rises into a wide ridge of mountains known as the highlands a territory that is so densely forested and topographically forbidding that the island's local peoples remained isolated from each other for millennia. The coastline is liberally endowed with spectacular coral reefs, giving the country an international reputation for scuba diving. The smaller island groupds of Papua New Guinea include the Bismarck Archipelago, New Britain, New Ireland and the North Solomons. Some of these islands are volcanic, with dramatic mountain ranges, and all are relatively undeveloped.

PnG beach
...and you know how I love my beaches! !!

Nearly 85 percent of the main island is carpeted with tropical rain forest, containing vegetation that is a combination of Asian and Australian species. The country is also home to an impressive variety of exotic birds, including virtually all of the known species of birds of paradise, and it is blessed with more kinds of orchids than any other country.

Papua New Guinea's climate is tropical, as one would expect in a country located just south of the Equator. December to March is the wet season, although occasional rain falls year-round. While Port Moresby, the capital, and other towns on the coast are quite hot in the summer months, temperatures are considerable cooler in the Highlands. July, August, and September are the best months for trekking vacations.

PnG facts:

~Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the second largest island in the world and takes up the eastern half of the island (Indonesia Irian Jaya forms the Western half).

~Over 800 dialects are spoken in PNG, and there are over 600 off- shore islands and atolls. PNG became an independent nation in 1975.

~Homosexuality among men is illegal

~ In 1961, Michael Rockefeller, son of billionaire (and then governor of New York) Nelson Rockefeller, was reported missing. He'd gone on an exploratory mission to Papua New Guinea/Irian Jaya, a place known and documented for its headhunting practice - and was never seen or heard of again.

~Health services are continuing to decline in rural areas of Papua New Guinea as operating costs rise. Each week, 230 young children in Papua New Guinea die from preventable diseases like malnutrition, diarrhoea and malaria.

~PNG has the highest under-5 mortality rate in the Pacific with 1 in 10 children dying before their 5th birthday. Their mothers are also vulnerable. PNG now has the second highest maternal mortality rate in the world, with 1 in 18 rural women dying during pregnancy or childbirth.

~In emergency cases, sick children and pregnant mothers in rural areas must travel hours by boat or road to the nearest health centre or East Sepikfs one hospital. Weather conditions sometimes make this impossible, and many people cannot afford to pay the medical fees.

Cannabalism:

After WWII Papua New Guinea was owned by Australia.
The Fore had no outside contact with the world until a
gold prospector, Ted Eubanks reported the first known
contact with them in 1932. By the early '50's there
were 2 Europeans living among the tribe, a Lutheran
minister and an Australian Government Patrol Officer.
In 1953, Patrol Officer McArthur made the first
official notation of the "shaking disease" among the
Fore which they called "Kuru" - a word meaning
"shivering" or "trembling" in their language

Kuru is by far the most bizarre, most studied - and at
one time - most common human prion disease. It has
been the only human TSE to assume epidemic
proportions. It was found exclusively in the
stone-aged Fore (pronounced For-ay) people in Papua
New Guinea who were infected during the ritual
cannibalism of their dead relatives. As the mourners
of the villages died of Kuru they too were eaten and
in turn the epidemic expanded. Indeed, Robert Klitzman
in his book "The Trembling Mountain - a Personal
Account of Kuru, Cannibals and Mad Cow Disease"
states: "In fact the kuru-stricken body was prized
since the meat was considered leaner."

In some villages, 90%
of the women and 2/3 of the children died of Kuru. It
has claimed 10% of the population of 35,000. If the
same statistic were to hold true for the British
population the death toll could reach an unimaginably
horrendous figure of around 6 million dead from nvCJD.
Today, almost 40 years after the banning of ritual
cannabalism in New Guinea, members of this tribe
continue to die from Kuru now at the rate of about 6-8
cases/year all over age 40 (Alpers personal
communication). So the extremely long incubation
period of Kuru could portend a huge nvCJD epidemic
years from now.

It may seem creepy but I'm really into this kind of stuff. Although, I perfer my meat to come from an animal without opposable thumbs and I would definitely prefer not to be the main course on the dinner menu, I think this stuff is sooo interesting. It's one thing to learn about it in my Anthropology lectures but it's a completely another to go out and Indiana Jones-it all on my own!! (provided I dont get thrown into a creepy snake pit and/or chased by a giant boulder)

Deadly Diseases:

I just know that I am going to contract some deadly disease while I'm over there and when I researched the risks, there is definitely not a shortage for me to choose from:

Malaria is a risk in all areas outside urban Port Moresby.
Dengue fever and other mosquito-borne diseases also occur.

The rate of HIV/AIDS infection in Papua New Guinea is high.

Food-borne, water-borne and other infectious diseases
(including tuberculosis, typhoid and hepatitis) are common.
Swimmers should also be aware that water-borne parasites pose a risk in many of PNG's rivers.
The World Health Organisation has confirmed deaths from avian influenza and outbreaks of avian influenza amongst birds in the region.

I can only hope that out of my 1,000,000,000 mosqito bites that I am already preparing myself to get, ONE of them doesnt infect me with a deadly disease. I will be on my malaria meds and slathered up with repellent....

Honestly right now, I could care less. I am SO EXCITED! The countdown has officially begun!

Cannot wait!