Places We Like to Nomad: Papua New Guinea:Things Go Wild

Papua New Guinea is not an easy destination. Things unravel fast.

Atm at airport blocked my card. Chat with card provider, unblock pin, then atm breaks down.
Today is major day of happiness in PNG, 50th independence day celebrations: 1000s of smiling Papuans with elaborate hairdos, facepainting, vivid clothes, flags tucked into their hairdos with floral kebabs everywhere.

Brief sortie from airport to swish Airways hotel for brunch. Lots of very big noises in suits. Clearly the number 1 hotel in town to see and be seen. Get to wander randomly on 7th floor and lo and behold there is an atm in splendid isolation, and it shared the love with my pin.

Back to airport we now know quite intimately.

Flight cancelled in afternoon due to nebulous term: operational requirements. Maybe pilot's ingrown toenail malfunction? All the jilted passengers mill around, but mishap is so common, they take it oh so calmly in their stride: no-one gets angry.

We are shuttled off to a kinda grubby, airline paid overnight hotel with room that had ancient aircon making jet engine noise, just needed wings to fly us to destination.

We took a taxi to Nature Park that was meant to be open, oops, not so fast, normal opening closed due to very bigwigs with attendant minders speaking into wrists and earpieces for opening of new orchid house. Minders looked like heavy boys, did not look the type to be enthused by orchids.

Returned to the nature park 2 hours later when it opened minus bigwigs: lovely spot and excellent walkthrough aviaries with Raggiana birds of paradise and really spectacular Victoria's Crested Pigeon. Back to airport.

Flight rescheduled to next morning's scheduled flight. That got cancelled too, then rescheduled to afternoon flight. Another nope, they just said you've been bumped off flight because no seats left, bit weird and pissed us off, so we gave up on our prebooked sidetrip to Mt Hagen and the birds of paradise at Kumul Lodge. Our accommodation is non-refundable. PNG travel is very expensive. Be prepared to pay and lose it.

Then started the very, very arduous process of trying for cancelling, refunding, rerouting flights with airline to our main destination, Goroka, 2 days later. Also initiated very, very tedious claim with travel insurance to get back expensive prepaid accommodation that was non refundable. We tried and failed: the travel insurance predictably weaseled out on weasel technicality. Adios A$1,350.

Having spent 2 whole days at airport in what locals so aptly call a 'buggerup', tired and in need of a bottle of wine, we decide to splash out on the swanky hotel. The steeplechase of calamities still kept going when we trudged 300 metres to our room, only for the electronic keycards to fail.

Despite all this, PNG is like nowhere else, such a fun, supercharged, smiling place in evident adversity. Everybody here has genuine big smiles, fist bumps all round, totally infectious go with the flow whatever happens. Despite a steeplechase of errors, I'm sailing along because there's such an amazing energy to this place.

We do make it to Goroka in the Central Highlands on a flight that leaves an hour earlier than advertised. Expect the unexpected is the motto here- we are sliding into the groove.

The Goroka SingSing is held at the local showgrounds where over 120 tribes compete for best honours with stunning adornment often borrowed from hapless birds of paradise, intricately painted bodies, and a thunderous, swirling dance of singing, cataclysmic drumming, and an unbelievable intensity of energy, energy, energy.

Everything here is constantly on the verge of exploding with pentup energy. As the crowds are meant to leave at the end of the day, we are hustled out by our guides before the police start firing teargas to feebly counteract the raw, surging wave of adrenalised crowds who have come to town for an annual celebration.

A very tall and stately couple, intricately adorned, appeared in the crowd also, seemingly Maasai visitors all the way from Africa.

Lots of kids participated, joining in the dancing and singing.

Most of the costumes used parts, fur, skins, plumage, feathers, wings, etc, of a huge variety of wildlife, including iridescent beetles. Seen were Spotted Cuscus, King of Saxony bird-of-paradise, Owl, Hornbill.