Papua New Guinea — Land of the Unexpected

Traveler’s Journal

When: 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 21

Where: Guy Cole Event Center, 202 N. Blake Ave.

Cost: Suggested $5 donation (adults); 18 and younger, free

Presenters: Bob and Enid Phreaner

Presentation: ‘Papua New Guinea — Land of the Unexpected’

“Why Papua New Guinea?” is often the first question people ask us when they learn we’ve traveled to this remote country. The next question is usually, “What’s it like?” … quickly followed by, “Are there still cannibals?”

So really, why Papua New Guinea? First, we wanted to see the country where Bob’s mother served as a U.S. Army nurse during World War ll. Secondly, as birders, the prospect of seeing birds-of-paradise a la Sir David Attenborough was pretty appealing!

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is referred to as the “Land of the Unexpected” for good reason. How surprised must a couple of Australian mining prospectors have been in 1933 to discover a million people living in an area that was believed to be uninhabitable? Imagine it, the PNG Highland tribes had been unrecognized and undisturbed by outsiders for 50,000 years!

Many tribes had first contact with Europeans within the last 50 years so tribal life and customs are still very present and visible. Meeting the Huli Wigmen, Mud men, and the Crocodile people was an incredible experience.

Unfortunately, Papua New Guinea is changing rapidly. The smell of burning forests is ubiquitous as the Highland people clear land for farming or mining. In a Lowland village, we watched an ancient woman in a dug out canoe fishing with a hand line while not far away a small solar panel charged a cell phone outside a thatched hut.

The PNG government encourages Sing-Sings as a way to retain, as well as share, tribal cultures. These inter-tribal competitions seem to limit conflicts that were formerly pervasive.

Flying over the spine of New Guinea we were really able to observe just how rugged the country is. The extremely steep hillsides, deep valleys and dense forests help explain the country’s amazing diversity of plants and animals. In this country the size of California there are almost 800 species of birds … including the 11 bird-of-paradise species we saw!

“Are there still cannibals?” Probably not, at least none that wanted our heads. But, the U.S. State Department advises to avoid traveling to some parts of PNG and to exercise caution throughout the country. That, plus the lack of infrastructure and language barrier (there are over 700 languages spoken) make traveling independently in PNG difficult.

So this trip we chose to join a tour. There were only five in our tour group and we had two guides. We traveled to both the Western Highlands and the Sepik River area in the Lowlands. We spent two weeks hiking, birding, visiting villages and attending a Sing-Sing.

Sing-Sings are particularly colorful events. Tribal members dress in traditional clothing made of plant material and feathers. Since PNG is an equatorial country it can be very hot and humid. Most women wearing traditional clothing are topless and prepubescent children play sans clothing. (So a word of warning … you can expect to see a few “National Geographic” style photos during our program.)

About the presenters

Bob and Enid Phreaner were both born with insatiable curiosity about nature and the world around them. During their working careers, they had little time to travel, so they hiked and backpacked near their home in Pennsylvania.

After Bob retired, they spent several years traveling around the US and Europe before choosing to relocate to Sequim in 2012.

Since moving West, Bob and Enid have traveled less frequently but to more obscure locations, including Patagonia and South Georgia Island which they shared during the 2017 Travelers Journal Series.

When asked why they travel, they list many reasons: to learn, to experience, for adventure, curiosity…but one reason many people travel, to relax, is definitely not on their list!

While at home, Bob and Enid enjoy an eclectic list of hobbies including: volunteering, birding, woodworking, gardening, crabbing and trying to tire their dog.

About the presentations

Traveler’s Journal is a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition with local adventurers sharing their stories and photos with you. All of the money raised is used to buy project supplies and food for the volunteers working on the Olympic Discovery Trail.

Admission is $5 adults, youths 18 and under free. Shows start at 7 p.m. at the Guy Cole Event Center at Carrie Blake Community Park, 202 N. Blake Ave.

Each year the dream of a continuous trail from Port Townsend to Forks gets a little closer. In 2017, about 200 volunteers put in more than 9,000 hours of labor on the trail.

One selected photo enlargement will be given each week as a door prize.

Call Arvo Johnson at 360-301-9359 for more information.