First Impressions of Hagen

Friday, August 10, 2012
Mt Hagen , Western Highlands, Papua New Guinea
Arriving into Hagen and looking out through the window and clouds, you can really appreciate how rugged and beautiful the highlands are. The mountains are not smooth and round like those in Australia but sharp and rugged and obviously much newer. They would be almost impossible to traverse on foot, hence the great interest in walking the Kokoda. Over the next few days I came to understand that we were driving at altitudes of 2400 metres plus.

(In the early 1930's my grandfather Georg Horrolt traversed these mountains to conduct his missionary work in the highands . He did this without any of the modern conveniences such as roads, accommodations, food stores or any form of civilisation. He was one of the early german missionaries, working with the Kuka Kuka head hunting tribes.)

We arrived at the airport, they wheeled our bags out on a little trailer and then we waited outside for our bus amongst all of the vehicles that had swarmed to the airport to meet arrivals from our flight as well as hundreds of locals who obviously enjoy watching planes land and take off. We boarded our bus but then were told to wait until a second bus arrived so no-one had to wait behind at the airport. It was not safe to wait at the airport for the second bus according to the drivers. I definitely agreed with them that it was not comfortable!

The drive in to Hagen from the airport was a culture shock, reinforced by all of the stuff that we had heard from Australia and no experience in PNG. The roads were destroyed with potholes on the way to town, there were rubbish fires burning along the road, wrecked cars, piles of rubbish, election posters etc . Trucks and buses had full cages built around all of their windows for protection. Nationals were congregating on the roads and at road side stalls and markets and villages along the way. Buildings were enclosed in fences atopped with razorwire and electric fences and guard dog security vehicles seemed to be everywhere.

I later learned that since the elections were over, the locals have started to clean up to get pride back in the town. They were collecting piles of rubbish on the road sides. All a bit hard when they have no rubbish service and pot holed dirt roads and no curbing and channelling. Things we just take for granted at home.

When we arrived at the Highlander Hotel in Mt Hagen we went through a large security gate with guards inside and out. The 2 - 3 meter iron fence was topped by razor wire and an electric fence a top that. Regularly we had police with guns and pistols standing in the car park. 

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