Links
Kayak Voyage to PNG
Don't forget to follow the sea kayak voyage of the "Paluma" from
Townsville in Northern Queensland, Australia to Port Moresby (PNG) starting
on the 10th of August, 2003 by first vistinig the official website at --
http://www.users.bigpond.com/kayakkhan/Paluma_Voyage.html
South Pacific Motor Sports Club
Wolfgang Bandisch has designed a web site for the South Pacific Motor Sports
Club. It is located at -- http://www.spmsc.org.pg
-- For information about the car club, located along Waigani Drive in Port
Moresby; this is the site to visit.
South Pacific Exports
If you need that hard to get part for your electrical / communications gear
or even a special tool send email to Peter Goleby at South Pacific Exports
on -- sp.exports@bigpond.com --
he might just be able to help you out or at least point you in the right direction.
Peter claims he will attempt to get anything legal for you so long as he can
add a small amount to cover his own costs.
Misc Links
Embassy of PNG -- http://www.pngembassy.org/default.htm
PNG Virtual Library -- http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/PNG/
CIA - The World Factbook 2002 PNG -- http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/pp.html
Gateway to the Government of the Independent State of PNG -- http://www.pngonline.gov.pg/
Lonely Planet World Guide to PNG -- http://www.lonelyplanet.com/
destinations/ australasia/ papua_new_guinea/
University of PNG -- http://www.upng.ac.pg/
One Thousand One Papua New Guinean Nights -- http://members.tripod.com/~THSlone/1001PNGnights.html
Jane's Papua New Guinea Home Page -- http://www.janeresture.com/png_home/
Another site Designed by Wolfgang H. Bandisch -- Orchids PNG -- http://www.orchidspng.com
PNG Business Directory and Tourism Information -- http://www.pngbd.com
Investment Promotion Authority of PNG -- http://www.ipa.gov.pg
These are just a handful of sites dealing with Papua New Guinea. One of my
favorites, not mentioned above, is Bill Purcell's site. It is located at --
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~billpurc/
Tourism Sites
Air Niugini -- http://www.airniugini.com.pg
DIVErsion Dive -- http://www.diversionOZ.com/epngdive.htm
Lonely Planet Website -- http://www.lonelyplanet.com.au/dest/aust/png.htm
Madang Diving -- http://www.madangdiving.org.pg
Melanesian Tourist Services - http://www.meltours.com
MV Golden Dawn -- http://www.mvgoldendawn.com
New Ireland Tourism -- http://www.discovernewireland.com.pg
Niugini Art -- http://www.global.net.pg/niugini-art
The PNG Tourism Promotion Authority -- http://www.
pngtourism.org.pg
Trans Niugini Tours -- http://www.pngtours.com
Wrecks and Reefs
http://www.datec.net.pg/~mecba/
-- Wrecks and Reefs around Port Moresby ... Wrecks and Reefs documents for
the first time, the history of early shipwrecks and World War II wrecks that
lie in the waters around Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. This
book, primarily a guide for scuba divers, includes intriguing tales of bloodthirsty
cannibals, retribution for a ruthless Japanese submarine that took the lives
of innocent citizens and the mystery of a lost airliner that disappeared along
with thirteen unfortunate souls.
News Items
Cell Phones
A contributor has said the following about the PNG GSM cell phone network
-- A lot of people are wondering when the "new" GSM cellular system
is going to work correctly, no Voice mail, no SMS and busy tone when the unit
called is off or out of range.
Crab Race
The Wewak Rotary Club ran its annual crab race recently and raised a total
of K22,000 from sponsors and punters. Some of the money raised was paid out
to successful crab owners and K12,700 was leftover. This will be paid by the
club to help refurbish the nurses quarters at the Wewak General Hospital.
Western Highlands
Major work valued at over K20 million has kicked off at Kagamuga airport.
The airport serves Mount Hagen and the Western Highlands. Many people from
Enga and Chimbu provinces also travel to Kagamuga to use the airport. Some
of the money will be used to fence the airport and another portion will be
used to seal the ring road around the airport and extend the runway. The runway
needs to be extended so that the full capacity of the aircraft can be used.
At the moment due to the altitude some airlines have to either restrict cargo
or the number of passengers that can fill a plane. A plane leaving with empty
seats doesn't always mean that those seats were available to passengers.
Quote
Thanks to Mark Wilson I can say that the following quote can be attributed
to Douglas Casey (1992) -- "Foreign aid might be defined as a transfer
from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries".
Peace Monitoring Group
The unarmed peacekeeping effort on Bougainville has come to an end as the
Australian-led force of 5000 wrapped up a successful bid to bring peace to
Bougainville Island.
The troops from Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu and Fiji recently lowered
their flags in a ceremony marking the end of the five-year mission on Bougainville,
where a nine-year secessionist war left thousands dead.
A fragile ceasefire was negotiated in late 1997 and the Peace Monitoring
Group was deployed a year later to oversee a phased disarmament program and
other peace steps.
Defence Force
The Defence Force airwing owes K7 million for services rendered to them.
Most of this money is for the maintenance on the aircraft and helicopters.
Like all aviation companies in PNG the airwing has found that aircraft and
helicopter parts are very expensive because they were purchased overseas.
The airwing currently only has one helicopter, one Casa and one Arava aircraft
operational.
Defence Force - Navy
It has been reported that most of the Defence Force vessels are in working
condition. Only the Buna is on the slipway. The Tarangau has recently returned
from a major service in Australia. The next ship to go in for service would
be Dreger.
Australian Consular Services
Australian Consular Services will be available in Alotau from Tuesday the
8th of July departing 1625 hours on Wednesday the 9th of July. The Consul
will be staying at the Alotau International Hotel. You can contact him at
the hotel on telephone number +675 641 0300
Cassowary
Some information on the cassowary that is now considered endangered. Cassowaries,
smaller than the ostrich and emu, can grow to be up to 2 metres (6 feet) high
and weigh as much as 60 kg (130 pounds). There has been a report from here
(PNG) of one weighing 86 Kilograms. They defend themselves by kicking with
dagger like claws on its toes. A kick from a cassowary can rip open a human's
stomach. They are a flightless, swift-running, pugnacious forest bird. Their
plumage is dark and glossy and the head and neck unfeathered. The head bears
a horny crest. They are fast runners, attaining speeds up to 50 kilometres
(30 miles) per hour. The female Cassowary lays a clutch of four to ten eggs
. The male Cassowary incubates the eggs
Cassowaries feed on fallen fruit, but will eat almost anything, including
birds, dead rats, reptiles, and even fungi that they might find on the ground.
Unlike most seed eating birds that swallow grit to help in grinding up the
food in the stomach, the cassowary's stomach appears to massage the flesh
off the seed. Many of these seeds excreted are still viable and in fact may
benefit from the scarifying effect of the bird's stomach. Cassowaries are
important disperser's of seed of the larger fruited forest trees that may
be deposited many kilometres from where they were picked up. The survival
of these plants is apparently intricately bound with the survival of the cassowary.
It is believed that Europeans sighted the first cassowary when one was taken
back to Amsterdam, Holland, where it arrived in 1597 and was presented to
the Holy Emperor Rudolf II as a gift and was put on public display for some
years. One bird at Healesville Sanctuary in Australia has been recorded as
living to 61+ years.
Southern Highlands
Two policemen are in police custody in the Southern Highlands Province after
they allegedly shot dead a security guard at Moro oil field last week. The
acting Southern Highlands provincial police commander said the two policemen
had wanted to enter the Iagifu oil and gas area but were not allowed in by
security staff because they were with unauthorised passengers in the vehicle.
The frustrated policemen then allegedly jumped out of the vehicle and opened
fire with police-issued guns. The firing of the guns resulted in one bystander
being shot dead whilst another received pellets in his body.
Drug Laws
The existing drug laws and fines, in PNG, have not kept pace with inflation.
The present laws are not tough enough to deter even minor drug offenders.
Many offenders are arrested and put in prison for a few months and then they
are back out again selling drugs and making huge profit. This is making a
mockery of the present system.
Pre Paid Web Access
For visitors coming to PNG and wishing to have an Internet Connection Daltron
have pre-paid web access available starting from K66 for 10 hours up to K154
for 40 hours. The customer is not charged a connection fee or any other monthly
fees. Users are, however, charged a fee by the telephone company for access
as well. For more information please contact sales@daltron.com.pg
or visit their website at http://www.daltron.com.pg
- it is advisable to shop around in case a better deal is available from one
of the other Internet Service Providers.
Internet Service Providers
Daltron -- http://www.daltron.com.pg
Data Nets -- http://www.online.net.pg
Datec -- http://www.datec.net.pg
DG Computers -- http://www.dg.com.pg
Global Technologies -- http://www.global.net.pg
2003 Public Holidays
The remaining Public Holidays for PNG are shown below.
23rd July, Wednesday - Remembrance Day
16th September, Tuesday - Independence Day
25th December, Thursday - Christmas Day
26th December, Friday - Boxing Day
2004 Public Holidays
NEXT year's public holidays have been gazetted. Prime Minister Sir Michael
Somare yesterday announced the National Executive Council's approval of the
public holidays.
- New Year's Day - Thursday, January 1, 2004
- Good Friday - April 9
- Easter Saturday - April 10
- Easter Sunday - April 11
- Easter Monday - April 12
- Queen's Birthday - Monday, June 14
- Remembrance Day - Friday, July 23
- Independence Day - Thursday, September 16
- Christmas Day - Saturday, December 25
- Boxing Day - Sunday, December 26.
Monday, December 27 has been declared a public holiday in respect of the Boxing
Day public holiday which falls on a Sunday.
2004 Observance Days
Observance Days are days that are be observed but are not taken as public
holidays are:
- International Mothers Language Day - February 21
- International Women's Day - March 8
- International Day for Women's Rights and International Peace - March 8
- Commonwealth Day - March 9
- World Day for Water - March 22
- National Women's Day - March 24
- National Disabled Persons Day - March 29
- World Health Day - April 7
- Book and Copyright Day - April 23
- World Press Freedom Day - May 3
- International Day of Family - May 15
- World Telecommunication Day - May 17
- World No-Tobacco Day - May 31
- World Environment Day - June 5-6
- National Labour Day - June 10
- International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking - June 26
- World Population Day - July 11
- Provincial Government Day - July 19
- International Day of the World's Indigenous People - July 9
- National Prayers Day - September 6-7
- International Literacy Day - September 8
- International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer - September 16
- World Maritime Day -September 29
- International Day of the Older Persons - October 1
- International/National Teachers Day- October 5
- World Post Day - October 9
- International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction - October 11
- World Food Day -October 16
- International Day for Eradication of Poverty - October 17
- World Development Information Day - October 24
- United Nations Day - October 24
- Universal Children's Day - November 20
- World AIDS Day - December 1
- International Day of Disable Persons - December 3
- International Volunteer Day - December 5
- International Civil Aviation Day - December 7
- Human Rights day - December 10
- UNICEF Day - December 11.
Vagrancy Laws
Police Commissioner Sam Inguba said there was an urgent need for law enforcement
agencies and governing bodies like the National Capital District Commission
to co-operate and revamp submissions to Parliament to have the Vagrancy Act
enacted.
South Pacific Games
Ryan Pini opened PNG's gold-medal campaign when he won his favourite swimming
event - the 50-metre backstroke. In the process he set a new South Pacific
Games record of 26.49 seconds as this was an inaugural event at the SP Games.
Goldie Barracks
The PNG Defence Barracks at Goldie River will receive a major refurbishment
thanks to the Australian Defence Force. Over 70 engineers from the Aussie
army will join 45 PNG Army engineers to undertake the major work codenamed
"Exercise Pukpuk".
Moresby Payback
80 Relatives and friends of a man from Tari have avenged his brutal death
by killing seven people from the area where they suspect the killer came from.
Two others are fighting for their lives in Port Moresby General Hospital after
the clash. The incident happened after a Tari man was held up and killed on
his way to Gerehu Market to sell cigarettes. The people involved have been
arrested.
PNG Media
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