Back to Past Adventures

February 2006

Jim's bit
We spent our Christmas in Wewak and then flew to Madang with Jean's mum Sue and friend Rick. Sue brought a heap of goodies with her such as chocolates, biscuits and Bundaberg rum. New Years Eve was spent at Jais Aben resort-Madang. This is a lovely spot to relax, swim, snorkel and paddle a canoe. We'd worked very hard and accomplished a lot in 2005. We had gone through a hell of a lot of politics, both in and out of PNG, had written many grant applications, patrolled the villages of the Torricelli's, increased our workload somewhat and have what many would consider a mini zoo in Lumi. To top it all off Jean is now pregnant.
I guess we needed a decent break. It was hard to switch off at first but after a few days of viewing beautiful fluorescent reef fish through a mask we took to it pretty well.

Jean's bit
We hadn't been with our families for Christmas since living in PNG so it was great to have Mum over during this time. I really enjoyed it at Jais Aben. I love being near the water and the reef life in PNG is just awesome. There were some glorious days with crystal clear water and great visibility. Wish I could have gone for a dive though - never mind, will do so when the pregnancy is over. It was nice to have a few luxuries as well. Good food and plenty of it. I really enjoyed the cheesecake at the Madang Resort - yummy.

Next stop was Lae which was not very eventful except for the PMV ride which seemed to take forever. PMV's are like little mini vans that squash about 26 people in them. Both Jim and I were in the front row with bugger all leg room and so of course we were pretty anxious, tired and cranky by the time we got to Lae 8 hours later.

Jim's bit
In Lae we had to organise many things. Our top priority list to get our old laptop computer fixed. The laptop we had received in September had broken down and had been sent back with Jean's mum as it was still under guarantee. Our laptops of late have been a right pain in the backside. We really need to have two or three on standby. If all the ones we've gone through still worked we'd be right. Oh well, just another hurdle to jump.

It took a while to jump this hurdle as our old laptop was not fixable, at least not in PNG. We then had to buy another laptop. It wasn't exactly as good as the last one but it was good enough for us to carry out all the things we needed to get done.

We were also in Lae to get more rabbits and to buy chickens for our next project. There were no rabbits for sale and the chickens in Lae had some sort of poultry pox (not the dreaded bird flu) which meant we would now have to find another source for our chicken purchases. One step forward - two steps backwards in this case.

Jean's bit
Back in Lumi we only just got settled before heading off in two different directions. I went to the most Western villages to conduct a drama program and meetings. Jim on the other hand went to the most Eastern part of the Torricelli Mountains to continue the hunting moratorium for the Golden-mantled tree kangaroo.

I was a little anxious about heading out for patrol due to my pregnancy. I also knew there was a bamboo bridge crossing I had to do which is normally scary at the best of times. After being pregnant I have noticed my balance is not quite right. However, as it turns out the bamboo bridge was recently fixed and the walk was fine. The bridge had collapsed only the week before when 6 men tried to walk across carrying a coffin. When they got half way across when the bridge broke, collapsed and they all fell down, breaking the coffin but fortunately with no-one being seriously injured.

Wai'eli was the first village I stayed at and I spent the first day conducting drama program training. The village was quite prepared for the drama which always makes things easy for me. The next day I held a general meeting with the community to discuss the conservation area and TCA's work. They were keen to set up the conservation area and had their rules and penalties listed. We cut the meeting short to allow for the arrival of a new woman to the community. She had been recently married to a fellow in the village.

Traditionally in PNG a bride price is paid to the bride's family before she is allowed to leave and live with the husband in his village. A couple of weeks prior the bride price was paid (although it was 250 kina short - should be 1500 kina about 600 dollars). Then the idea is that the bride's family will hand over the bride to the husband's village with a pig and food. As it turns out the bride arrived without providing any food and this caused a bit of dispute in the village.

There was shouting and yelling going on which was strange for me because I was expecting a happy, loving marriage ceremony to take place. In the end it was all resolved with the bride being allowed to enter the community; both parties decided they had both done wrong in not committing to the full bride price payment and exchange, so I guess they called it even. In the meantime the groom was no where to be seen because he was feeling too shy!

The next day in Wai'eli we conducted the drama program, which went well. A man called Samuel was a real character and is actually a very talented actor. He could become a professional if the opportunity presented itself. Not likely though in the middle of Sandaun Province. I then walked to Maiwetem village through a lovely bush / rainforest area.

Jim's bit
After buying supplies to see us through for a few more months and hiring our driver, Sebi, to take all the equipment up by road we flew directly to Lumi in the Cessna 206 (a small, six seater plane). The normal pilot was on holidays and his replacement was a new pilot who had not yet been given the clearance to land at all the airstrips in Sandaun Province. Wouldn't you know it, I had to travel to Sibilanga the next week and now I would be only able to fly half the distance (from Lumi to Angugunak). I would have to walk the other 40 km or so.

Jean was to patrol the Yaulwape area and I would try to meet her at the end of her first patrol to then join her on the patrols to the remaining villages of the Tenkile moratorium.

I was travelling to Sibilanga to talk to more villages about the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo and to establish a hunting moratorium with them. Eight villages had already agreed not to hunt the Golden-mantled and there were another eight villages that I knew had this tree kangaroo on their land. My aim was to talk to these villages as well as letting all of the villages know of the date for the official opening of the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo program.

I decided it was best to travel to all the villages I had visited before to make sure they got my letters of invitation to the opening and to see how they we going with their rabbit enclosures. This patrol would give me more time to discuss the program with the villages that had already joined. In a way it was good that I was walking all the way to Sibilanga.

Jean's bit
Maiwetem is always difficult to work in because they believe they are the true owners of Tenkile and so make more demands than other villages. I tried very hard not to lose my cool but had to put my foot down during a village meeting so I knew that people would be establishing the conservation area for the right reasons and not because they think TCA is going to provide all kinds of goods and services or compensation.

In the end the majority of people showed a genuine concern for the environment and established some great rules to help with the sustainable harvesting of animals. The most impressive was to kill any dogs found killing any domesticated animals such as the rabbits and chickens as well as other wild animals. This rule has come about because two of the rabbits they had received from TCA were in fact killed by dogs, and so this has created a lot of controversy in the village.

The next few days were spent in the Yaluwape area to also conduct village meetings. They are all keen to establish a conservation area too but still need to work on their rules and penalties and set the boundaries. Given time, I think these villages will work towards establishing their own conservation areas too.

Jim's bit
I flew to Angugunak and found two guys from Mupun village who would escort me to Weigint village. I was a little unfit from not going on a patrol for six weeks or so. By the time I reached Weigint I was exhausted. I slept well that night and held a meeting with the village next morning. Weigint was doing well with their rabbits and were in the process of making more enclosures. Some men were telling me that their rabbits were fatter and healthier than ours in Lumi. That's the spirit! I hope their enthusiasm continues.

I then walked to Nunsi (the village who gave us a Golden-mantled, which is in good health by the way and has increased to 4kg in weight) and found I was again very tired. I had hoped I would have walked further today but decided to take it easy. I had a great meeting with Nunsi village and they thanked us for the rabbits and training thereof. There was also a representative from Kara village there who signed the hunting moratorium on behalf of his village. Kara is on the other side (north side) of the Torricellis and shares their land boundary with Nunsi. They too have the Golden-mantled on their land.

I hired two fellas from Nunsi to travel with me for the next week or so. We left Nunsi and walked to Auang, Winbe and then Muku. These villages had not yet started their rabbit enclosures but had discussed the project within their communities and were now going to start. Muku, for example, started gathering timber for its rabbit house when I was there. There had been some confusion within these villages so it was a good thing I'd come around. The problem when visiting villages and only staying for a short while is that you don't get to see everyone. Often people will be out in Aitape, Wewak or Vanimo and when they come back will be unclear about the visit their village has had. It is so important to conduct patrols regularly so that people know what we are here for and what we are able to do to help the community.

The next day we walked to Sumil, Weigi and Yapunda. Sumil had started its rabbit house which was good news. They were also looking forward to the opening of the program. In Weigi and Yapunda I learned that they too have land on the mountain range, however they rarely ventured up there. Oh dear , there may be two more villages to include in this program.

After staying a night in Yapunda we walked to Sibilanga, Asier and then Barkop. The walk was really hard. There had been a lot of rain so the walking tracks were very sloppy and slippery to say the least.

We reached Barkop late in the afternoon and soon after I conducted a village meeting. This was my first time to this village. Barkop is situated at the confluence of two rivers and is really beautiful. I found out that this village has a rabbit and have been looking after it for three years now. This is a good start.

Barkop joined the program and signed the hunting moratorium. Representatives from the next village, Aluna, also signed. From discussions with the villagers, the foot track to the remaining five villages was not good. There were many hills and river crossings which were flooded. The advice from the people was to not visit these villages until it is drier. I had been walking for five days now and had three days to get back to Lumi to meet Jean.

I had also learned that MAF were not landing at Sibilanga until the other pilot came back from holidays. This meant I would have to walk back to Angugunak and then catch a flight back to Lumi. I decided to take the advice of the people. I wrote letters to the remaining five villages explaining the situation and inviting them to the opening of the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo program.

I now aimed to walk back to Angugunak within two days to catch the flight on Friday. Brian from Nunsi advised we take the highway, which by the way resembles a rocky track. Either way it would be more direct and there'd be a chance of hitching a lift should a car drive by. The only downside was that there was no cover from trees and I would be cooked to a crisp.

Yep, I got cooked to a crisp and we were absolutely knackered when finally reached Angugunak two days later. All three of us slept soundly for a good ten hours in the guesthouse there. The next day I flew back to Lumi. It was great to be back home.

Jean's bit
Back in Lumi and I met up with Jim for a few days and then took off again for the next big patrol to the other villages. I went to Rawete first and Jim met me there the next day. We held a big meeting about the conservation area and conducted the first puppet show. While Jim and I moved the soft plush style puppets, Jim used the animal voices and characters we have already established in the radio program. They are known as Timmy Tenkile, Clemen Cockie and Rick the Rat. The puppet show was basically to re-enforce the hunting moratorium for Tenkile, promote rabbit farming and the radio program. People enjoyed the show but it was difficult for Jim to perform for a long time. It didn't take long for his voice to get croaky after all that squawking, he was great. But in the end it was fine and the kids seemed to enjoy it.

Jim's bit
I had made it back to Lumi before Jean which was unexpected. I recovered slowly from my 100 km patrol (I worked the distance out on the map), before Jean and I left for the 12 villages of the Tenkile moratorium we had to visit.

Jean's bit
The next day we were to head to Wilbeite village and attend the Miwaute drama program. We were to base ourselves at the Tenkile house that was made for us at Wilbeite while working in the Fatima area for the next week. The Fatima area is the most heavily populated with villages only 15-30 minutes walk apart. The Miwaute drama program went well and finished just in time before the rain came down. They sang a great song about Tenkile and showed that they are very proud of their village and being landowners of Tenkile. It was clear that they feel proud that Tenkile has given their village, district and Province a name and identity.

The next day we held a meeting with Miwaute village about TCA's work and the Conservation Area. It seems they really think about the work we do and analyse it rather than just accept everything we do as gospel which is a good thing. They are quite well educated in Miwaute village and more inclined to initiate their own programs. In fact, this village has established a group of volunteers that conduct clean up programs each month. We introduced the village to the 'Clean up the World program' of which they are now members and participate in clean up days throughout the year. To date they have conducted 4 clean up days which is great.

I then went to Wabute village and conducted the drama education program. This village had all women participating in the program which was a refreshing change. They were great to work with and did well considering most women in this area are very shy. The group then spent the next day practicing their performances while I went to the next village Sarborte and conducted the drama education program there.

The following day, Jim and I returned to Wabute to see the drama performance which was great with a great song about conservation, written by one of the young men in the village. We of course recorded the song and intend to put this on the radio program in the future. The next day, Jim and I went to Sarborte village to see their drama program which was also very good and we recorded their songs.

By the end of the week we had fulfilled all of our work commitments including the drama program, puppet shows, meetings about TCA's work and the conservation area and also to check up on the rabbit and water projects in each village. Most villages are working well in this area but more training needs to be done for the rabbit project. We are particularly impressed by Miwaute village and Wabute village because they have bred many rabbits which have now been distributed to individual clans and families and many more are to be released in the pipeline. The ultimate goal of this rabbit project is to have 3 females and one male rabbit for each household to enable the family to eat one rabbit each week.

Unfortunately due to the poor road conditions and lack of vehicles willing to drive the Fatima road, many villages have not received the materials for the rabbit project nor the water tanks. So we encouraged 2 villages to carry their water tanks and materials to their village via foot (about 5 hour walk), so Jim decided to go back to Lumi and distribute all the materials to Wabute and Sarborte villages while I walked to Tolgete village for a rest.

Jim's bit
Jean took the lead in talking to villages about establishing a Conservation Area and was doing great job. After talking to Wabute and Sabute villages we arranged for them to come to Lumi for them to collect their Community Development Scheme equipment. To make things easier I walked back to Lumi to facilitate the process.

Jean's bit
In Tolgete village I conducted a meeting and then waited for Jim to conduct the puppet show. I then surprised Jim with a special welcoming ceremony where I dressed up in a grass skirt with about 8 other women. I had always wanted to do this and had mentioned it to some of the women last time we were in Tolgete. They didn't forget and had made a grass skirt for me and suggested we do the singsing when Jim arrives in the village. So that is exactly what we did. Jim had no idea and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw what I was wearing or what little I was wearing!

Jim's bit
After two nights in Lumi I walked to Tolgeti and was really surprised to see Jean greet me at the village in traditional dress. I couldn't believe it.

Jean's bit
Next stop was Wigote village only half an hour away. We held a meeting and puppet show which went down well with this village. The same was done at the next village Hapseim of which some children were in hysterics about the puppets and really enjoyed the show. We were supposed to see the Hapseim drama show but they had not organised themselves so we had a day of rest before heading up to Yomoum.

Yomoum was great with the TCA reps giving us heaps of praise and words of appreciation for all the work we had been doing. They now had some proof that the hunting moratorium was working in the area because they had seen two Tenkile in the bush on their land which hadn't been seen for about 20 years. Great news.

We conducted some conservation awareness for the drama program and on the Saturday there was a huge turn out for the drama day. The local headmaster attended with his students and he was very supportive of the program and what we were trying to achieve. He commented how the drama program fits in very well with the new PNG curriculum for schools which was great acknowledgement for us.

We then went to Lilal village and did the same thing. There was a huge turn out of people with their headmaster and his students attending. A group of young school children actually put together a great little song about Tenkile or Tikisir as they call it in this village. Very cute, this will of course go in the radio program later.

We had word that the Angukunak airstrip would be closed and no planes will be flying in or out of the arisptrip, this meant we would have to go on a huge walk back to Lumi on the highway which I was not looking forward to so I decided I would walk back to Lumi via Tolgete and Fatima while Jim could continue without me and come back via the road.

Jim's bit
I left Jean in Lilal and walked to Mupun to talk about our work and the Conservation Area. I didn't take the puppets with me as I would have to walk all the way back to Lumi. I wanted to leave Mupun and Sikel as soon as possible. On the walk to Mupun I got to see a Dwarf Cassowary in the wild for the first time. This was a real buzz as I had only seen their scats before.

When talking to the Mupun community they told me that a Tenkile had died in the village last month. Initially I was very upset and it still upsets me to know that one of these beautiful animals has passed away. A Tenkile had come very close to village and was chased by a dog. The Tenkile jumped from a tree and landed on rocks next to a river. The villages captured the animal and took it back to the village. They planned to bring it to Lumi the next day. Unfortunately the Tenkile was injured badly and died the next day. This news was very sad but knowing that Tenkile is now moving closer to this village is an indication that their numbers are increasing. The leaders of Mupun village are very pleased with seeing a Tenkile so close to their village. No one in Mupun has ever seen a Tenkile so close to the village before. The village leader told me that he now has belief in TCA's program as this is clear evidence that the hunting moratorium is working. Some of the bones of the Tenkile were given to me.

Jean's bit
The walk to Tolgete was fine, going through the garden area of Yomoum and Lilal and a gradual climb back up to Wigote and down to Tolgete. The next day however was a killer. We took a short cut to the river which I regretted later. By the time we reached the river my legs were like jelly and then I had to climb the mountain back up to the Fatima villages. By the time we reached Miwaute I was pretty exhausted and not really willing to keep going for another 4-5 hours back to Lumi but I did it anyway. The rain decided to interrupt us along the way with 3 different stops to wait for the rain to pass. It took me 8 hours to get back to Lumi. Back in Lumi I had a great wash and rested back in our own bed.

Jim's bit
After talking to Mupun and Sikel I began walking back. I hired two carriers from the village who were willing to trek all the way to Lumi. I decided to take the highway as there is always a possibility of being picked up by a car on the way back. I thought I'd call in on the Angugunak air strip just in case it had been re-opened. Low and behold it had. The station manager had mowed the airstrip (long grass caused its closure) so I decided to wait for the plane. I arrived back in Lumi on Friday.

Jean's bit
Jim arrived by plane on the Friday which I was not happy about, this plane trip could have saved me a days walk. These things tend to happen a lot in PNG. Never mind - it is done now and I know I do not have to walk such a long distance again for a while. However, although coming back to Lumi was good, it was also a bit sad for me knowing that I would not be going back to these villages again for some time. The villages are much cooler than Lumi, very lush and even more peaceful than Lumi. It would also mean I would not see many of the village members for a long time unless they come to Lumi.

Jim's bit
The plan now is for Jean to leave PNG in April and for me to leave in May. We aim to return to PNG in September with the new arrival. This will mean Jean will conduct training courses in Lumi and will spend most of her time there. I will do all the patrols and work in the mountains. Having a family in PNG will no doubt be a challenge but is something that we are certainly up to.

Jean's bit
Back in Lumi we worked on the computer and got things organized for Jims visit to Wewak. In the meantime I will be staying in Lumi and organizing things for the gardening workshops to take place for the next three weeks in March. Following this we will have a womens meeting before I leave Lumi and head back to Melbourne to have the baby.

Until then take care...

Jim and Jean Thomas
Tenkile Conservation Alliance