1. From the air

Last week I had the opportunity to spend the weekend in Wewak with two friends. The previous week two of us had planned to go, but in the end it did not work out as there ended up being no flight later in the week. But last week it all came together, without having to organise anything, it just happened. I had heard a lot about Wewak and had wanted to get there for a long time for two reasons. I really needed a break and it was the place where my Grandfather was during the last stages and the end of WWII.

2. Boram Beach, Wewak

So come last Wednesday we had confirmation that we were able to go, Timon one of my housemates and Daniel a good friend from work would be going. We left Mt Hagen Thursday morning and were in Wewak around 1030. To see a place that is unknown is always exciting, but especially seeing the coast again was so refreshing. Wewak is only three degrees from the equator, so it is summer all year round. Where as in Mt Hagen it is spring all year round being in the highlands. So that was the main thing that hit me was the change in temperature and humidity.

3. Daniel and I at Wom Beack, where the Japanese surrendered

During our four nights there we were able to do a lot. Going to the beach, eating out, shopping, more swimming, cars breaking down several times, chilling out on beaches and exploring around Wewak. There are a lot of things to do in Wewak for recreation, not like in Mt Hagen. My highlight of the trip would be the exploring, but mainly looking for and checking out WWII sites. As the Wewak area was the last main battle of WWII in PNG. We saw a lot of things and found many things. But visiting the Wom Beach Memorial Park and Wom beach was definitely the highlight. It was where my Grandfather was when the Japanese surrendered to the Allied forces in PNG. Today there is a monument marking the place of surrender. There is a memorial explaining the events in the area and palm trees, each representing a fallen Australian soldier. To be where my Grandfather was, after seeing photos and hearing him tell stories about it growing up and reading parts of his war diary, was quite special and breathe taking.

4. Wom Beach Memorial Park

But funny enough, getting there was not easy going. We had left the MAF compound around 1100, looking forward to getting there and having a BBQ on the beach for lunch. As we headed out of town, it started to rain and we ended up passing the turn off. We actually went quite a way past the turn off, very far. Once we had turned around there was a big pressure releasing sound, just like a flat tyre. We stopped, but all the tyres were fine, the radiator had let go with a big hole forming at the bottom. We were around 15-20kms from town, no mobile phone reception, out of radio reception, no soap and no tools. So our PNG bush mechanic skills kicked in. We were able to nurse the car all the way back to Wom beach. We would top up the radiator with our drinking water or river water when we came across it. Drive for a little while and then turn off the engine and coast until needing to start the engine again. It was quite an adventure, but in the end we made it to Wom Beach. After we had been to the Memorial park, we went down to the beach for a BBQ and swim. The events that happened there are quite long, so i wont go on. All I will say is that it was the hardest BBQ I have ever cooked, for many reasons. But it was quite an action packed day and we were able to get the van back to town safely in the end.

5. Wom beach

We returned to Mt Hagen Monday afternoon. So the time down in Wewak was a huge blessing for me. It was really refreshing and an enjoying time and good time of fellowship too. I would love the Engineering department to relocate to Wewak, but some how I don’t think that will be an option any time soon. The atompshere in Wewak is a lot more easy going and less tense than that of Mt Hagen. I am really grateful for the opportunity to visit Wewak and God’s provision. I hope I can return there again sometime in the future.

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1. The Posse

Security in PNG for nationals and expats can be an issue in some parts of the country. I guess that’s why a high percentage of jobs would cover security guards. They have a hard job, some working 12 hour shifts seven days a week any time of day for little pay. Every now and then, there is a money transfer or gold transfer via an aircraft at Kagamuga Airport every few weeks. It is quite random and one day I was working in the cockpit of a Twin Otter in the hanger doing some electrical work. As I looked out through the cockpit window, I saw at the front corner of the hanger two guys dressed like smart mercenaries with M-16’s looking in, I thought to myself ‘hello’. There is normally quite a few around during the transfer, taking up different positions around the airport.

2. Security with force

For a while now I have wanted to get some photos, especially a group photo, but have not been able to. As I have been told that I can’t or I just don’t have access to a camera on the day. Fortunately last Friday instead of receiving money they were transferring it out of Mt Hagen. You would think they are not approachable or friendly. But they are quite friendly and approachable. i was able to talk (stori) with one of them for a little while. They have some interesting stories. I was able to get a group photo with some of them once the aircraft had departed.

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I have finally uploaded some more photo’s, it isn’t fun uploading with dialup. Here are some photos of the Hangar at work and around the airport. There are still some more good ones to get and upload, enjoy.

Hangar Photos

Some photos at our Engineering Hangar at Kagamuga and around the Airport

37 Photos

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I registered my Landcruiser last October after it was off the road for three years by the previous owner and two months of maintenance to get it back on the road. Before getting registered, a lot of things were fixed, replaced or serviced. Since then not much has changed, I have only probably done around 200-300 km’s with it seven months on. During this time their has been various items requiring fixing.

1. In for maintenance

One of the main issues since it being registered has been the carburetor not working properly, something that I was aware of before purchasing the car. The carby would ever only stay good for one week, before it started playing up after fixing it. The first occurrence was out bush with the MAF ministry team. So this lead to it being rebuilt twice over a period of four months. Which in the end did fixed it, but again there was something terminally wrong with it to function well. So in the end I did all that I could to save buying a new carby, as a new one from Japan was almost the value of my car. So I purchased a new Holley carby off ebay, by far the cheapest option with the help from the Aussie Government. Since the installation and fine tuning, the car has been running with a large improvement since I have had it (sounds beautiful).

2. The old setup

But as you would expect nothing has been smooth sailing. As I fix one thing, something else breaks in the process or after something is fixed. One Saturday when I was driving out to work to overhaul the carby, the engine overheated and I almost blew my head gasket. But the radiator all of a sudden had a serious leak. So this involved removing the radiator which was a hassle, and was pretty much a throw away. But all my search over a few weeks for another one, ended no where as they were way too expensive. One I found was half the value that I paid for the car. But in the end I was able to get it repaired, which it continued to leak to some extend and repaired again. Then when the car was running the best it had, it started running rougher than a 40 year old two stroke lawn mower because some how a large amount of water got mixed with the fuel. And also in the process the exhaust manifold started to leak.

3. The new setup

So there has been a long list of things just breaking or not working out of the blue, big things or little things (I won’t bore you with a long list), it has been unending. the hardest thing has been getting parts, as most parts I have to buy overseas and have shipped here. So what could take a day in Australia, can take one to two months to fix. Plus getting access to certain tools can be difficult. Cars here are expensive and are worked hard. The Landcruiser has given me a project, I have been learning a lot more about cars, especially bush mechanics (did you know you can stop a radiator leak by packing it with soap?). The only time I have to work on it is Saturday afternoons, and sometimes then I don’t have time. It has also been testing my patience too. I do look forward to the day when it is good enough to take out bush with confidence (hopefully sometime soon). But for now it is quite good to get around town and out to the airport. It is a blessing to have a car, it is a good car in PNG standards and slowly getting a lot better, with more work awaiting.

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