Temporary New Home

With this blog entry we would like to introduce you to another of our new temporary homes. There are several things that are new to us, and maybe to you as well.
First of all there's the size of the rooms in this house. After living in a small apartment in Switzerland and several weeks in small hotel rooms, the space we now have is overwhelming.

Living Room

Kitchen

And then we have several layers of security measures to prevent any kind of intrusion. High fences and razor wire surround the whole compound we live on. Doors and windows are barred and floodlights installed to shoo away the darkness. In order to completely eliminate the possibility of somebody joining us unasked, there is a security guard patrolling during the night – if he's not asleep.

Thoroughly secured front door

Razor Wire

Electricity (if not out for the time being) is pre-paid, water is provided by the town, and should it not flow we have a rainwater tank. That we have to boil the water is already habitual, but we are looking forward to get our own water filter (which is in our shipped belongings). The warm water is heated by a solar system on the roof, at least as long as the sun shines and we don't use too much. Cooking is done on gas provided by an oversized gas bottle outside the kitchen.

Hot water from the sun

Our beautiful garden we have already mentioned. We've got various exotic flowers and trees whose fruits we are allowed to eat. There are plenty of banana trees with bunches of bananas in various states of ripeness. Once the leaves of the tree wither you can cut off the bunch of bananas (usually still green) and hang it under the roof or in the garage until they are fully ripe.

Exotic flowers

Papaya

Bunch of bananas on the tree

(For more pictures follow this link)

Arrival in Papua New Guinea

Finally, I found time to write some lines. With a lot of new impression this isn’t easy, especially since I don’t want to write pages of text nobody is going to read. Therefore, I’m going to write about our journey to Papua New Guinea (PNG) only.

Palm Cove near Cairns

We left Cairns Thursday morning (of last week) with sunny and warm weather. To fly over the reef was fantastic and after about an hour we arrived in hot and humid Port Moresby, the capitol of PNG. We cleared immigration without any problems, were, however, short one carry-on bag, which we had checked in. So, I filled in my first PNG form and hoped the bag will show up again.
After a short stroll to the domestic terminal and an useless security check we checked our bags in again and waited for the flight to Mt Hagen, where MAF-PNG headquarters are. However, the flight was first postponed by an hour and eventually cancelled. So, we spend our first night in PNG in a hotel room – and had a delicious dinner and superb breakfast paid for by Air Niugini.
On Friday morning we went back to the airport at 7am and despite the early hour people were queuing already. Therefore, I decided to check on my lost baggage and, lo and behold, it had appeared over night. Apparently, somebody had thought it was his, had taken it, and had brought it back.
This time the plane departed as planned, and another hour later we were welcomed in Mt Hagen by several MAF staff – including some we knew from Prairie. After all those years spent in preparation it was good to see that we were expected with delight.

Our new home is in Mt Hagen itself, approx 15 minutes drive from the airport. We presently live on a compound together with other MAF families and national staff. Our house is huge, surrounded by a garden with tropical flowers and trees. And even though, after living in a small apartment for almost two month, we have to adapt to the vast rooms, it’s nice to have some space again.

Our new home

View from the porch

After a few days of introduction and administrative stuff, we started on our two-week Tok Pidgin crash course. Details to follow.

Departure for Papua New Guinea

Today we're heading off for Mt Hagen in Papua New Guinea. The first weeks will be dedicated to settling into a new surrounding, language training, and studying (and writing) the PNG air law exam.
We'll be back as soon as we have a working internet connection.

A Winter's Swim

It's not really the time to go for a swim in an openair pool. Mind you, it's winter here and only 24C. But so what! Our kids are Canadians after all (and so are we, almost) and therefore, they don't fear the cold. Not even if it comes in the form of a winter's swim. And last, snorkel and diving goggles (a birthday present to Niklas from Switzerland) have to be tested as well.

Bathing Season

The Jackknife

It is rather cold

(Follow this link for more pictures)

Orientation Course, Part Two

Last week I finished the flight training part of the MAF orientation course for Papua New Guinea. The training comprised a week of aircraft theory (for the GA8 Airvan), as well as MAF standards and procedures. After that we had three weeks of (mostly) flying. We learned how to take out and put in seats, how to load and secure cargo, and how the plane behaves in the air. We also went through maneuveres like landing on short grass strips, low level flying in mountainous terrain, and emergency procedures.

Live West Training in the Pool

GA8 Airvan

These were intense weeks, as we learned (and relearned) checklists and had to reckon with mock emergency situations (like engine failure on take-off or engine fire in flight) on almost every flight. An additional stress factor was the daily one-hour journey to the airport in Mareeba, where the MAFI Asia Pacific maintenance department is.