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Surprisingly, information about visiting PNG isn't all over the place. I'm curious if anyone has been recently and could tell me about it? I have 4 weeks or so to spend somewhere in Dec/late November and the wildlife/WWII history of PNG has always appealed to me. Dec is the beginning of the wet season there, so I'm not sure if this is going to work out. Things like the Kokoda Track seem like a fun if rough way to spend a couple days. The SCUBA opportunities are supposedly fantastic but I'm a total novice at it, not sure if that's the best place to start. I've traveled quite a bit solo but PNG would be a wholly new type of trip it seems.
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Apr 25, 2017 12:12
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 00:36 |
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Smashurbanipal posted:Surprisingly, information about visiting PNG isn't all over the place. I'm not sure if you're sarcastic, but just in case not, PNG only gets like 20,000 tourists per year according to Wikitravel. All I can tell you though is that Bougainville is reasonably likely to erupt into civil conflict and violence due to their upcoming (maybe) independence referendum, so I'd suggest staying away from there... not that I know anyone who's been there or even to PNG at all. Edit: Apparently the independence referendum won't be until at least 2019, so it's probably mostly fine even there. Saladman fucked around with this message at 12:31 on Apr 25, 2017 |
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Apr 25, 2017 12:27
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Yes, a little tongue in cheek. Saw that about Bougainville. The Highlands are also mentioned as being one of those places where you should ask around before heading there. Seems like sometimes there's some low scale warfare between ethnic groups over resource rights and such. loving gorgeous country though by the looks of it.
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Apr 25, 2017 12:35
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I haven't been personally though I know people who have, and honestly the country has basically no tourist infrastructure aside from Australians doing the Kokoda Track. It's not the safest place either. Even if the diving is great, you're probably better off learning in Thailand or the Philippines before heading somewhere like PNG. I honestly wouldn't recommend it unless you're a very experienced traveller already (ie well-versed in third-world country travel etc). Note that the Kokoda Track is a seriously tough hike, so if you have a typical goon physique it could well be out of your ability. It's also 5 days minimum, more typically 8-9 days depending on fitness and weather. During the wet season you'll get drenched, bitten to poo poo by insects and covered in leeches. Oh and you have to carry your own gear too, unless you want to pay $500 for a porter. Not trying to talk you out of it but yeah, don't underestimate it. Maybe somewhere like Indonesia instead, if you're keen on heading down that part of the world? A week in each of Sumatra, Java and Bali/Lombok/Komodo then a few days in Singapore or KL would be pretty cool.
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Apr 25, 2017 17:09
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Indonesia owns the other half of the island, no? Might be easier to get to.
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Apr 25, 2017 17:09
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webmeister posted:I haven't been personally though I know people who have, and honestly the country has basically no tourist infrastructure aside from Australians doing the Kokoda Track. It's not the safest place either. Even if the diving is great, you're probably better off learning in Thailand or the Philippines before heading somewhere like PNG. I honestly wouldn't recommend it unless you're a very experienced traveller already (ie well-versed in third-world country travel etc). Appreciate the insight. I'm a pretty avid multi-day/week hiker with experience hiking in NE winter conditions. Obviously PNG is the opposite end of the spectrum for temps. I'll look into Indonesia though. Is the eastern part of Indonesia less heavily traveled than Bali? I've had people tell me Bali is like Daytona or South Padre Island but with Australians.
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Apr 25, 2017 20:26
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 00:36 |
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Yeah the other half of the island is Indonesia (aka West Papua), but aside from the diving area of Raja Ampat I don't think there's any tourism there at all. And yes, I'd say 90% of Indonesia tourism involves Bali or Java. There are some really nice parts of Bali but it's hard to recommend because yeah, it's basically drunken Mecca for trash-tier Australians. If you're keen on tough tropical hiking, maybe check out Borneo? There's some good stuff in Brunei and the Malaysian states of Sarawak & Sabah.
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Apr 25, 2017 22:36
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