Papua New Guineapersonal experience...I have worked as a guide & lecturer with 3 different expedition companies in New Guinea starting from about 8 years ago. about PNG...Papua New Guinea is the country that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. The western half of the island is part of the country of Indonesia, and was previously known as Irian Jaya, and is now generally known as West Papua. Papua New Guinea was an Australian colony (a colony of a former colony!) until 1975. Therefore there are still many connections between PNG and Australia, particularly Queensland, and including flights. However, it is quite different from Australia. Because of the dynamics between tribal groups and the very different social rules, westerners consider their political system corrupt. For a traveller, general day to day operations take a long while. Despite it's natural wealth (rich soils, high rainfall and valuable minerals), it is a poorly developed country, with limited transport and infrastucture. But, unlike many other developing countries in Asia, it doesn't have the advantage of being cheap to travel around. Therefore, unfortunately, it is an expensive and difficult country to explore independently. One of the factors that has contributed to it's very different social system, (but also makes it an appealing from a cultural tourism point of view), is the long isolation of the region. This makes the country retain it's exotic cultural richness more than most others in the Pacific that have been 'watered' down by increasing western influence and globalization. Even today, there are more languages here than in any other similar size area in the world. Village "Sing-sings", or cultural displays through song and dance, are still common, and vary immensely from one island to another.
Things are moving fast, however. Everyone seems to have mobile phones now; but these have only become ubiquitous in the last 6 or 7 years or so. Fortunately, (if you have the money, that is), there are several 'expedition' cruise style companies exploring Papua New Guinea, including Coral Princess Cruises, Orion expeditions, and True North, and this is a great way of seeing the country. nature and wildlife...From a biological point of view, even though the island is split politically, it is better to think of the island as a whole; so for nature and wildlife, please refer to the page on New Guinea. |
