Thursday, October 28, 2010

Crossing The Borders by Foot

I did mentioned in one of my last post a long time back that I would write something about the walk-a-bout I did which practically, literally and physically took me from the Gulf Province over to the Western Province.
I calculated that the walk would be about 40kms at most (give or take) but when I finished the walk, it amounted to 55kms and a swollen right ankle!!!!

The picture here is a handrawn locality map of the Mt Bosavi villages who on their own initiative registered an area as a WildLife Management Area (WMA) under the Environment & Conservation Act. This stopped the logging operations in that area and my entry into that area was to assess if they would accept seismic operations (which is just one part of the petroleum exploration work).


We departed Haivaro, a village in the Gulf Province, administered by the West Kikori Local Level Government Council at about 5.30am and basically followed the logging road.




After an hour, on the unused, overgrown logging road, the walkers are so far apart with the 'old dogs' way, way ahead and us the 'un-used to' ones so far far behind. And this is after an hour but having covered 5-6kms in a brisk quick pace walk. By this time I am already feeling the pull on my legs.



Another hour (later) we had only covered 4 1/2 kms - see how much I have slowed up? If you look at the board in the background, you will notice that we are 35kms away from our destination, Musula.

This is where I had to munch into my first two cakes of Bikpela Wopa biscuit (this is the locally manufactured biscuit - its got a very bland to no-taste at all but somehow I like to have it on long walks and it goes very well with Orange Tang juice. I carry heaps of Orange Tang in my back pack always).


I thought it was only I that was going through this until we stopped for a rest 2.5 hours later.


Some of the local boys have never walked this way before (except for my main man in the above picture) everyone including me were a newbie.

We walked another 5 kms along this unused, overgrown logging road (by now I was tripping on the creepy vines every 10 steps or so as my legs got heavier by the minute) and by the time we were to turn into a bush track, off the logging road I was knackered - I was not going to take a picture of the scenario too as I was not in the mood by then.

The main man said we had to keep moving (by then it was 2 pm pushing 3pm) in order to get to some proper shelter before dark and the probable rain.

We got to the location at about 3pm but then first we had to cross the Turama River (which by when near the hills was fast flowing and the stones in the river were so big they were not even rocks but boulders. So you can imagine the river water rushing past and into this boulders and the force of the swirl around the rocks - I wonder how the mothers and children cross this river to go making sago or to walk down to where I just came up from!!!!!)
I did not bother to take pictures here,as it is, by then I was totally drenched, tired, hungry and then some. All I wanted was to get out of the wet cloths, soak my body in hot water tub ( or something close to it) and go to sleep with my feet up.

The leaches were no solace and I was itching all over.
We arrived at a resting place where the lead man said we'd have rest and walk 5 kms more up the hill to Musula (the villages was just over the top of the small ridge).

I acted as if I was not listenng and started stripping off my wet cloths and unpacking rice and tinned fish which prompted everyone else to decide we over night. The boys cooked a big pot of rice and we openned two 777 mackerel tinned fish and just had that straight out of the can. That is serious hungriness if you ask me..................


Banana leaves acted as plates and we had a big serving of the rice and tinned fish - for those whose experienced the taste of rice in the bush, it is definitely good.

We walked up the ridge the next day to get to the village......and came across this huge tree that was felled by the wind (whew!!).


3 hours later we reached the village..............................



And the people were a curious but friendly lot who were welcoming as well. It was a surprise when some man knew me from long ago when we did some drilling work (didn't know I was that well remembered, but the feeling is good though).



My mate from some 8-9 yrs back is now a councillor in this village. Here he is leading his village in constructing the official dais/ stage for the independance celebrations - but back then you should have seeing us; rough, loud, silliness and most of all disobeying and or bending rules was what we got high on.

I guess as you get older you get milder (or is it wiser??

Everyone came down to the small airstrip to see me off................



and I departed then with a swollen ankle, two cucumbers, a pineapple, a water melon and a long sugar cane that I gave away to the pilot.

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