Friday, Nov 4 - To Kiunga

(Note:  We're back in Port Moresby today and have internet connection, so I'll send out the posts one by one....)

We got up at 5:00 AM and had our checked bags outside our door by 6:00, and then went up to level seven for breakfast by the pool. We had a very nice buffet of all sorts of cereals, nuts, fruits, pastries and meats, and assembled at 6:30 by the front door to get on our bus for the five minute ride to the airport.

David herded us through the airport check-in line and security and we all sat in a very crowded lobby for the call to go to our gate. There were signs warning against smoking, and against chewing betel nuts and spitting the juice! 

Our plane was to leave at 8:00 for Tabubil, a small town in the western foothills rather than directly to Kiunga, our destination, due to an error by the Victor Emanuel Nature Tours staff, and David had arranged to have us driven the two hours to our next hotel in Kiunga on the rainforest river plains. In short order the flight was delayed to 11:55, and so we sat and sat. Then came the announcement that we wouldn’t depart until 5 PM!! - effectively losing an entire day.

David said that was unacceptable and dashed back to the ticket counter and came running back to say that Airways PNG had a flight directly to Kiunga at 11:15... but only six seats were available. Barry and Cindy volunteered to stay behind with David, but then more seats became available. (It turned out that the Airline, with the prospect of all these sudden customers, kicked two people off the plane! David paid them ~$50 each to appease them.) We transferred our luggage from Air Nuigini to Airways PNG, and dashed through Security once again and onto a DeHavillan Dash 8, and took off from Port Moresby and over the Gulf of Papua. After about an hour we reached land and the huge Kikori River Delta. We flew over mile after mile of untouched rainforest with the river and its tributaries winding all over in every direction as the land is so flat. It was just stunning to see so much wilderness. As we flew lower we could see that the banks of the river were flooded and the whole area was very wet.

We landed at ~1:45 and were met by Sam, David’s local assistant and a bus for the short ride through town, a very messy typical jungle town. We pulled up to a little store, and found that the Kiunga Guest House was located right behind it. Bob and I got assigned Room 23, by the small algae-filled swimming pool. 

A nice very plain room with A/C and two twin beds. We dashed over to the dining room and got some good chicken soup, beer and spaghetti with meat sauce for a late lunch, before setting out again in our bus. We drove 10 miles from the center of town to KM 17 and parked off the road in an opening where we could get a nice view of tree tops and started logging in birds. Several beautiful doves, parrots and birds of paradise came by and we saw a bamboo orchid and several butterflies. It was only 85 degrees but very humid and everyone looked pretty sodden by the time we returned at 6:15.

We showered and gathered at the dining room for more soup, fish and chips, and ice cream.