Pollies do the 'musical chair dance' and I had a SNAKE!!!!

While the National Alliance led coalition Government goes into 'standby mode' coughing up to - what a friend in the media industry says - close to 'K200,000' as 'buy back payments' (better still bribes)..............this is whats happening with some of its said to be priority facilities:
1. Kwikila High School is closed because foods run out;
2. A college dormitory outside Port Moresby, is burnt to ashes and 60 odd students will spend the night outside
3. Kerevat National High School which passed out students in the likes of the current Governor General maybe suspended because of facilities condemned in 1994 not updated yet - http://asopa.typepad.com/asopa_people/2009/07/dangerous-keravat-school-faces-closure.html

And on a more personal scenario I had my own woes and crises - we had a SNAKE in camp right over the table where we have our breaky, lunch, dinner and daily conversational get togethers. Some pics of it should liven this misery:

The first peep and first sighting -

Then speared first (to prevent it recoiling) and quickly arrowed asit sticked it's head out:

Speared and arrowed in various places it was quickly pulledout of the ceiling (it still resisted strongly):

Speared and arrowed its still coiling on the floor:

Tumu Timbers Development Limited

Tumu Timbers Development Limited
Landowners of Kamula Doso, I mean the real on the ground illieterate grass roots have 'no effing' idea what this is all about.
All they care about is how much money they can get from the trees on their land - be it logging or 'money long sky' (as Ilya puts it). Now Ilya has been put off track by his AAP people I believe for bringing this to light (because some people might/ could be sued!! what travesty for telling the truth!!)
I am not from Western Province and I dont really gve a rats ass about the province to be quite honest; but I work here and live close to the area of Kamula Doso and talking to the people here; they have no idea about what all this Carbon Trade thing is or how it works.
All they know is that they will get money for all the trees that are curently standing in the forest (literally each one of them).
They are ignorant of the fact that Mr Kirk as the 'elite landowners in POM' endorsed is a conman with a shifty back ground and that the Director for Carbon Trade Office (or whatever it is called) has now been sidelined because he has made deals that is not legislated and that their is NO LEGISLATION or ACT of PARLIMENT as yet regards the Carbon Trade process.

STOP EFFING WITH THE PEOLPLE'S RESOURCES you money mongering leaching assholes and come down here on the ground.

Oil & Gas Explorations

Recently our local company assisted a major JV exploration company to scout for and locate its first wellsite here in PNG. Prior to the JV delegation visiting the site, we went out and marked out the actual site itself and made the pathway bearable to walk - well at least.

The delegation's visit was to confirm the drill location and its associated facilities i.e: barge landing site, service camp accomodations and its facilities etc.
Our camp was built earlier on in mid 2008 to cater for the Awapa seismic survey (for the same JV) so a service camp was already in place with communications network setup - internet and telephone.

First a walk through the sago swamp (infested with leaches and mozzies) to the drill site location. On the walk we had an environmentalist who, if I may say, did a whole lot better then her male counterparts (see her looking back at others still coming through)

At the location we had a whole group of men from another village join us as well just out of curiousity.......... and while the visitors rested and quencehd their thirst some brief was in order to water down undue expectations (which always happen anyways) by the Managing Director of Firewall Logistics, Craig McCornaghy:

After locating the proposed drillsite, it was now time to locate sites for use to support and service the drilling operations. Sites for use as barge landing, twin prop helicopter laydowns (Chinooks, Mil 8 and Russian made Kamovs etc), refuel pads, accomodation/ service camps, road feasibility and the like so it was done by motorised dinghy as all of this sites would have to be near the main water way .......................................

Pic from R-L: Jake Marco (Field Operations Manager), Noel Buttler (JV In-Country Manager), David Holmes (AsiaPasific Project Manager), Paul Fendder (Drilling Manager), Don Lewis (Drilling Expediter), Silas (Boat operator).

I suppose another of every explorationist's inner most secret is to make sites for support services as paradisic as it possibility could so it becomes a 'home away from home' during the long haul of the drilling program so one does not get insanely homesick and fall out. And there is no better place to set that over looking the water - especially any kind of flowing water. It just beats the hustle bustle of a long working day and keeps the stress at bay...............................

And so it was down to decision time of picking out the best possible sites to have the civil works contractors to come out and work out their quotations.

Then it was back to each his/her own little office to plan for the whole works to start in a years time, hopefully sooner but then unpredictables like weather pattern, dry/ wet seasons, logistics schedules of the suppliers could throw the whole thing back or forward to uncomfortables levels.

Be back in abit with something more or else............................

To POM With Plenty Of StopOvers!!

I recently left my field camp in Awaba, Balimo District in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea to travel to POM (due east) for a short break and at the same time put my laptop (which is practically my office) in for service (tell you that laptop story on another post).
Departed on Airlines PNG (the only third level airline servicing many rural locations and the pilots are brilliant!!) from Awaba and the first stop was Daru!! (yeah I know we went the wrong direction - further west - but I just enjoyed the ride having negotiated with the pilot).




We spent an hour while the fuel was been sorted out and the agent/ pilots decided whether some pax would be shifted to the Dash 8 (which was in Popondetta - the otherside of the country!!!) and risk the pax waiting forever or do Balimo return Daru and then continue etc; etc.........time was going towards 4.00pm already.

Anyways, we eventually got to Kikori, in the Gulf province (my former stomping ground) - the first Gulf port of call if you travelling in from the West or the last Gulf port if you travelling from the Easterly direction.

In Kikori, I noted the agent was absent and pax from there had to negotiate with the pilot instead. I overheard the pilot telling the pax (who apperantly have tickets bought in POM but have no PTA numbers) to call APNG POM office and confirm their travels as he was unable to raise his office as well though he tried at Daru (which I truthfully confirm he did try). Now that's something rare for pilots to do, especially a very reputable third level airline. I would expect private mision run pilots i.e MAF, North Coast Aviation pilots to do there own ticketing and manifests in remote strips. Anyhow, the pilot did mention to me (we made acquaintance in his previous flights where I provided jet fuel - left overs from ou survey work - when Daru ran dry) that we would stop over at Kikori just to let the four hopeful pax that they will have to travel another time.

Departing Kikori at time 4.40 m, after about half an hour on the ground we headed direct for Port Moresby.

We flew over Kerema along the way and I could just see the effects that global warming is doing to what once was a long point (Ipisi Point). This them Tairu'ma - the exact spot a popular local musician from the area (Robert Oeka) sang about 'mountain wara mix wantain solwara....Kerema yu no save, yu yet kam na lukim.'

50 minutes after Kerema, we were over POM and I took some disinterested pics of the city and the Freeway to my Hotel.