Goroka? Why?

 

This blog is about 5 days spent outside of time in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.
It is about the Goroka Eco Trek as devised by Samuel Lulu. Mostly it is about the people I met along the way. It is written at the suggestion of Sam who wants the world to know. Otherwise I would keep it hidden, my secret place.

PNG is one of the most exciting and least visited destinations on the planet. It is an adventure just thinking about going there. Unfortunately it has a reputation for lawlessness, mosquitoes and bland food. But hey...

So where to go? The Sepik is called a cultural powerhouse in the Lonely Planet, but has lots of mosquitos. Mt Hagan had security issues. Tari sounded wonderful in the LP but is now the main town for a huge LPG project. Food seems bland everywhere.

Goroka is half an hour by air from Port Moresby and has no mosquitos (according to the LP). A girl I met in Rabaul said it was pretty peaceful too, not like Mt Hagen and certainly not like Port Moresby. Enough information! I had a week and 3 credit cards.

The flight into Goroka was great. The scruffy young local that squeezed in beside me on the "balus" turned out to be a statistician working for the government. He pointed out the place where the first Catholic priests landed in the country, im not sure if they got eaten, but its now a place for pilgrims. He showed me where land had disappeared into the sea as a result of climate change. We both squealed when a downdraft sent the plane plummeting for a couple of long seconds. He told me not to worry when landing because the brakes are jammed on hard.The landing strip at Goroka is short.

Goroka is a frontier town thrown around a landing strip. And there are mountains. All around. And mist. It seems incongruous that it has a university and a theater group of renown. But it does. 2 out of 3 credit cards don't work, however. PNG is full of surprises.

We emptied onto the tarmac and drifted into some shade to wait for luggage. I am the only one with a backpack. Yes! Security checks our bags before letting us through cattle gates into a confusion of old trucks and people being picked up and welcomed home. Goroka town seems busy, colorful and not too pretty. I hadn't booked a room and had no set plans but wanted to go where the LP left off.

Typical Goroka street.

The statistician points me to the courtesy bus for the Bird of Paradise Hotel. Its 5 mins walk to the Bird according to the  LP, but the bus is free. A scruffy bloke grabbed my arm as i was climbing in. "Im Samuel Lulu, Im in the Lonely Planet. You'll need me. Ill call you tomorrow. Whats your name?" I told him my name. Latter that night I checked the LP and there he was, PNG High Country Tours. Meet Samuel Lulu... He meets every plane.

Samuel Lulu.
png high country tours

PO Box 576. Goroka. EHP. PNG