Papua New Guinea Travel Answers

Well one thing is for sure, - official travel advisories are always far worse than the reality of the situation, and travellers will always have a lot more savvy ways to look at things. We have had this discussion on a couple of occasions. It has been quite a while since I fronted a tour to Papua New Guinea, so I am sure that my stuff on it is out dated. However some things do not change. The Goroka Festival is still an annual thing, and I would still plan a trip around the time of that festival. There is also another one in Mt. Hagen, and the place itself is well worth a visit. Even back in 1990, it was a little uneasy thing to attend. I would imagine that Bwana Brown could tell some earlier stories of those festivals. Promoted in the beginning to get the various tribes to learn to live together and let go of the "mafia like", - 'you kill one of mine, I have to kill one of yours,- nothing personal...", - a lot of the dancing is very confrontational. It has been one of my favorite places to reminish about, as back in the day I loved to seek out "edge of the world" travel. I did two tours to PNG, for the now defunked Olson Travelworld, and I loved every minute of it. I had always wanted to go back and roam there on my own, but unfortunately I never had the chance, - yet! I would suggest that you review the pages of Bwana Brown. His are likely the most comprehensive first hand accounts of PNG. Here is his Papua New Guinea page, just follow the links. members.virtualtourist.com/m... Hope this helps you....d:o)

thanks again, i got both answers! happy travels! N.

I was there last year and although I'd still love to go back again it's not the sort of place to under estimate the need to be security conscious. But it does depend on where you go in the country. Port Moresby is spread out and doesn't lend itself to quiet strolls through town. My favourite place was Madang. Was able to wander freely through town, even on dark nights, without any worries. I did get robbed during the day once though. A wallet snatcher. But I chased after him and so did more than 50 of the locals. Got my wallet back and the thief ended up in jail. But further along the coast, Lae is a different story. It's quite dangerous there these days. The older editions of Lonely Planet Guide for PNG weren't too good but the latest one is a great improvement. You'll find a lot of valuable information in it.

thanks 1+1, PNG seems really a place you should be alert. I should be better prepared for such a situation, than I thought, or even, I'll leave this trip for when hopefully I'll be more ready. happy travels! Nik

1+1 is right.I was there last year in spring and felt safe in Madang buttraveling further up to uplands it was getting more and more dangerous. It was experience of my life but I would not repeat it.In 20 days I did not meet one traveler.I use lutheran guesthouses(hotels and lodges are incredible expensive).Only foriners are mining people and Chinese shop owners. I experienced sing sing gathering and that was something out of this world. Milislav