PNG

A couple of weeks ago I took trip to PNG. 

It was an odd experience. 

It is only an hour and a half flight from Cairns to Port Moresby, but it is like stepping off the plane into Africa. In fact the whole experience was like being in Africa. It is so strange how it can be so close, yet have such a huge difference in development. 

Moresby was exceedingly hot (much like Cairns), but fortunately I was not staying there - so took another one hour flight upto Mount Hagen - the main MAF base. Where PNG is much like Africa (speaking in very broad terms), it is interesting how one MAF programme is much like another! It felt very familiar to stay in a MAF guesthouse (although they call them 'transit houses') and to be on hospitality (although quite weird to be on the receiving end rather than the hosting end. 

PNG is the biggest MAF programme in the world - flying almost as many hours as all the African programmes combined. However they are going through some transition at the moment, and have had a tough year with a shortage of pilots, which has had a significant impact on their ability to meet the needs they face. Next year they are hoping to increase pilot numbers (although it takes a LONG time for pilots to become fully operational due to the riskiness of the terrain). However they will be facing a significant shortage in engineering staff, as both the existing expat engineers will be leaving. Unless they find a replacement for the Chief Engineer they will be in a very sticky spot 😓

I was fortunate enough to be able to jump on a short flight to Mendi - about half an hour round trip. It was nice to be a bit closer to the action again - if only for a short while! Here are a few piccies

All the guys from the compound I was staying on take a MAF bus to and from the hangar. It is about a

15 minute drive, and gave me ample time to ponder the surroundings. Here are some rambly jottings that resulted...

The scrawny dogs nosing through piles of rubbish at the side of the road
The down at heel and the no heels at all
The worn down mothers with their snotty nosed kids
The roads crumbling at the edges and cavernous potholes waiting to swallow you whole
Th ubiquitous corrugated iron
The endless procession of battered minibuses and shiny 4x4s
The crowds of people massed at the road sides waiting for who knows what
The seamless intermingling of English and localese
The endless roll call of recent deaths

The mess, the dirt, the grime and the life

This is Africa

but wait, it's not...

Jingle Bells Aussie style

Sorry we haven't blogged the last few weeks. Just been busy, the camera broke and really so much of what we do is not that interesting. Daniel is away in PNG, so maybe he will have something interesting to say when he comes back.

We have just a week and a half left of school. Summer arrived in force on Wednesday and I gave in and put on the air con. The humidity is very high, so we are all sweating. We spent Tuesday evening at the end of year presentations at school. It was pretty hard going sitting through two hours of presentations in that heat, even though I was outside. 

They seem to do lots of fun things here at the end of term. Caleb is off to a Japanese restaurant with his Japanese class, and there are trips to the cinema, bowling, the barrier reef and sports things, art things and hiking.

No traditional Christmas meals here, it is all BBQs. The MAF Christmas party is a BBQ with a trip to a water park. This year I think I must have eaten a record number of sausages.

Just so you get the picture, here are the words to the Australian version of Jingle bells:

Dashing through the bush

In a rusty Holden ute

Kicking up the dust
Esky in the boot
Kelpie by my side
Singing Christmas songs
It’s summertime and I am in
My singlet, shorts and thongs


CHORUS
OH! Jingle bells
Jingle bells
Jingle all the way!
Christmas in Australia
On a scorching summer’s day
HEY!
Jingle bells
Jingle bells
Christmas-time is beaut
Oh what fun it is to ride
In a rusty Holden ute!


Engine’s getting hot
Dodge the kangaroos
Swaggie climbs aboard
He is welcome, too
All the family's there
Sitting by the pool
Christmas Day the Aussie way
By the B-B-Que!


Come the afternoon
Grandpa has a doze
The kids and Uncle Bruce
Are swimming in their clothes
The time comes round to go
We take a family snap
Then pack the car
And all shoot through
Before the washing-up



Just in case you don't speak Australian, a Holden is a make of car, ute is short for utility vehicle (i.e. pickup).  A kelpie is an Australian sheepdog, an esky is a cool bag, thongs are flip flops, a swaggie is a homeless person, and to shoot through is to leave quickly. I think you can work the rest out!

Davies Creek

In the holidays, we went swimming at Davies Creek National Park near Mareeba where Daniel works. Little waterfalls and rapids, endless fun for children who love water. On the way home we nearly hit a huge kangaroo and had to swerve the car to avoid it. Apparently they wait until dusk to play chicken  on the straighter stretches of road!

Lake Morris

This weekend we decided to explore the hill behind our house. Our house is on the left of the first picture. The road winds up to Lake Morris and Copperlode Dam, which is where much of Cairns' water comes from. 

Sunday morning hike

Daniel and Caleb's early Sunday morning hike. (7:30am) It's getting too hot to hike much later.

Of course Caleb ended up swimming.

Joshua

Josh had an exciting trip this week. He was one of the winners in the G20 art competition and was able to meet the Australian treasurer and see the room where the G20 finance ministers will meet this weekend in Cairns.

Last week was his 13th birthday which he chose to spend with a friend zip wiring over crocodiles!!

Fathering...

Yesterday was Australian Fathers' Day, and I was spoiled with a 'big breakfast' and various presents (almost exclusively edible). We also went out for pizza on the Esplanade - it is slowly starting to warm up, but not to hot to be out and about yet.

Speaking of Fathering, Joshua and I went on a 'Fathering Adventure' a few weekends ago (see here for more). It was a good opportunity to have some good one-to-one quality time - something that has been pretty rare since Bethany was born.

We had some fairly serious physical activity (including about 7km of dual sea kayaking - fairly sore by the next day!) and a hike up to the 'forts' (during which we saw koalas in the wild for the first time - it is such a pity that you aren't allowed them as pets!)

We stayed on Magnetic Island (off the coast of Queensland, about 4 hours south of Cairns) which was a WWII outpost.

Here are a few photos:

Collages

One of the features I like about Picasa is the 'collage' creator. It was this that I had in mind when I took specific photos on our trip to Green Island.

I like the result :)

Libby was not so impressed ('too brown'), so I did her a more colourful one...

Result!

It was a good day for Ruben recently - as for reasons unknown someone parked their digger just over the road from our house. This meant he could get up closer than he ever has before.

Show Day

A couple of Fridays ago, it was 'Cairns Show Day'. Apparently every area in Australia has a 'Show Day', which is a very localised Public Holiday so that people can visit the local show. The Show is a mixture of an agricultural show, fair, fete, etc.

We thought we would toddle along - it being our first year in Cairns - to see what it was all about. Although it is the 'cold' time of year, it turned out to be a very hot day, which put a but of a damper on it - until we discovered the auditorium which offered some shade (as well as stuff to watch).

The fairground rides were very expensive, so we said the kids could do one each. Caleb and Joshua (Caleb's idea...) decided to go on the biggest scariest ride there was:

80m high, and 3+ G...Proof, if ever you needed it, that there are genes other than mine in the mix...

Ruben enjoyed the 'machinery parade' (surprisingly):

  

and we were all going to enjoy the motorbike stunt show - until the first rider on his first jump fell off and broke his ankle :( So that was the end of that.

We also watched the crowning of the Cairns 'Show Queen' and enjoyed the pole climbing competition - below. You have to be an arborealist to enter, apparently.

Great Barrier Reef

 A few months ago, in a poster competition, Joshua won a family ticket to Green Island and the Barrier Reef. We took an 1hr 15 minute Catamaran out to the island, where we had the day to explore, swim and snorkel before coming home. We also had a trip on a glass bottomed boat.
Here are a few pictures:

Leaving Cairns:

Arriving at Green Island:

(This aerial shot is not mine, but gives you an idea of where we were)

Around the Island: