So my last day in Brisbane was a rainy, foggy one so I opted out of going to the Lone Pine Koala Reserve. I figured I would not see anything during the one hour and 15 minute boat ride each way given the foggy conditions and I didn’t want to wander around the reserve for 3 hours in the rain. I ended up sleeping in, going for a late breakfast and generally doing nothing.
Saturday morning I was up at 5:00 a.m. and off to the airport for my flight to Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The flight was less than 3 hours and once I landed was picked up by my tour company and swiftly driven to the Airways Hotel, about 5 minutes from the airport. The original room they gave me was a lower ground floor room with two twin beds that faced the parking lot and had a room of elephants (or maybe a bunch of kids) above me. Basically, the room was bargain basement shit and I was pissed given the amount of money I had spent for the tour. I went to the front desk and said the room was not acceptable and was told that if I wanted to upgrade for 80 kina (about 20 bucks) I could. So $20 later, I was on the third floor of the hotel in a room with a lovely balcony and king bed that left me feeling like I was in an entirely different hotel.
I ended up wandering around the grounds (actually a lovely hotel except for the crappy side wing that they had originally stuck me in) and then spent some time packing my small little carry on for the next 7 days. I ended up having a lovely dinner (giant prawn wraps) and talking to the incredibly friendly restaurant staff before heading to bed by 9:00.
I was up and off by 6:30 a.m. for my 8:30 a.m. flight to Mt. Hagen. Now, I had previously been warned that the flight is often delayed and today was no exception. The 8:30 departure time was moved to 9:30 (without explanation) so I did not arrive into Mt. Hagen until 10:30. Once I arrived, I was met by Ken and after a brief stop by the tour company’s office, we set out for Rondon Ridge, my home for the night.
Now the trip to Rondon Ridge took me high up into the mountains (7,000 feet up) over incredibly rough terrain and past numerous, very rough looking Sunday markets. Ken told me that while there is produce being sold, the big attraction is the sale of betel nut, a hallucinogenic inducing nut that turns your teeth red. It is widely popular in Asian countries and I saw more than one person wave at me and flash a very red smile.
Anyway, we finally reached Rondon Ridge around noon and after being shown to my little cabin, I spent the afternoon relaxing before heading out at 3:30 with “Joseph” to go see if we could spot the Bird of Paradise, which is native to the area. We ended up hiking about 1 km uphill and on the route, we spotted a gorgeous honey eater, but otherwise, it was slim pickings.
Around 4:30, we started to hear the squawking of the Bird of Paradise and while Joseph apparently could see the birds, I was pretty much useless. I finally spotted one on a branch, but Joseph got so anxious about me taking a picture that I totally screwed it up and only got the dark outline of the bird. In fact, Joseph started to irritate the hell out of me because he kept trying to take my camera away and take pictures himself. I finally told him to let me take my own pictures and this shut him up. Sadly, I never did get a good shot of the bird. However, I did get some beautiful pictures of orchids.
So, unfortunately, I was stuck with Joseph again on Monday morning for some early hunting for the Bird of Paradise. And instead of looking for some new area to spot the birds, Joseph took me back to the same spot we had been at the night before and … the result was the same. Shutout. When I come back on Friday, I am going to request another guide. Joseph and I were not made for one another.
Anyway, my time at Rondon Ridge was over until Friday and next up is a trip to the lowlands and a two day stay at the Karawari Lodge on the Karawari River.
