Bomana War Cemetery

We flew into Port Moresby on Monday evening. Lori was only on the ground for about 18 hours and then she was back on a plane to Singapore. It's unusual for me to be here when Lori isn't. Normally I don't like to take our vehicle and driver outside of the city in case Lori needs to go to a meeting or the courthouse, but since she wasn't here, I decided to get out and explore a bit.

There is a Commonwealth War Cemetery about 19 km north of Port Moresby in Bomana. There are over 3800 graves and the majority are of Australian soldiers, sailors and airmen who died during the Second World War between 1942 and 1945 in Papua New Guinea and Bougainville. There are some British soldiers and about 700 unknown soldiers as well.

I have visited several Commonwealth War Cemeteries in France and Holland and I'm always struck by how visually beautiful they are but incredibly sad at the same time. As I walked through the rows of headstones I was surprised to discover how old the troops were when they died. Many of them were in their 30's and some in their 40's. I was told that many of the troops who were sent to PNG to defend it from the Japanese were reservists, which would explain the ages.

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Mt. Whitfield Hike

Since it's our last week here, we decided to rent a car again. There is a conservation area just outside of the city and it's a great place to hike, but you need to drive there. Lori and I went the last time we rented a car and I went again today, but I hiked a different trail this time. It was definitely more rugged than the first trail we hiked, but it was totally safe. Nice wide paths with guardrails everywhere.

To be honest, I probably shouldn't have gone alone. If I had rolled an ankle, I would've been in big trouble, but it was just so beautiful.

And I finally got to see a wallaby. I heard a noise behind me and I thought it was just going to be another brush-turkey, but it was this guy having lunch.

It was as if the Australian Tourism board heard me complain that I hadn't seen any indigenous wildlife and they went out and placed him there for me. Still haven't seen a crocodile yet, but I'm okay with that.

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P.S. Sorry about the photos, I only had my phone with me.

Our Last Week in Cairns

Just like that, 5 months have passed and our stay in Cairns is coming to an end. Lori flies in on Wednesday for an extended weekend and then we both fly back to Port Moresby on Monday. I've really enjoyed my time here; diving, golfing, hiking, eating in great restaurants, getting decent fruits and vegetables, but I'm looking forward to spending more time together with Lori. Although, we'll only be together for a month and then I'll be on my way back to Canada at the end of July and I won't see Lori until mid-September.

I'm not sure if we'll rent a place in Cairns again. It's great because it's so close to PNG, but I've been planning a 3 month trip to New Zealand in the new year. I'd like to be mobile and explore all of New Zealand so at first we thought we would rent a camper van, but now, I think maybe we'll just rent a car and rent apartments or cottages. We haven't decided yet. It's a longer flight, so Lori wouldn't be coming up for weekends, instead she would come up for a week or 10 days every month. I would say that I'd love have you come for a visit, but since no one came to see us here, I doubt that anyone will come to New Zealand.

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Great Week

Normally when Lori heads back to Port Moresby early on a Monday morning she takes a taxi, but this morning I got to drive her to the airport. We rented a car for the week and it was so nice to have some freedom. It felt so normal, except for driving on the left side of the road. I actually took a driving lesson a couple of weeks ago, just so I would feel comfortable behind the wheel. It went well for the most part, but I would occasionally turn the windshield wipers on instead of my turn signal.

We went for a hike in the rain forest near Barron Gorge. It was beautiful, but I spent most of the time looking up for tree kangaroos. Still no luck.

Then we stopped at Trinity Beach for lunch.

I've seen this a few time now. They have first aid stations set up for anyone who gets stung by a jellyfish. There are bottles of vinegar and instructions on how to treat the wound.

Another day, we drove up the coast to the resort town of Port Douglas. If anyone is looking for a tropical vacation on a resort, I highly recommend Port Douglas. It is beautiful.

We also spent some time hiking just outside of town near the airport. The first spot was a killer, we went up 320 metres, but the view was fantastic.

Our next stop was also near the airport, but it was a leisurely walk through to mangroves. Still haven't seen a crocodile either.

On our last day, we decided to take it easy so we went out on the Spirit of Cairns again, but this time it was for a lunch cruise during the day.

Instead of going out to sea, we stayed in Trinity inlet and went towards Admiralty Island.

It was a great week. I even used the car to make a couple of trips to the golf course.

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