A lot of Firsts in December

Thanks to the pandemic: the constantly changing travel dates have allowed our kids some unique experiences. Not only did they celebrate the first Christmas with a real fir tree and real candles, but they also saw their first snow, built their first snowman, and had their boots filled with goodies from St Niklaus.  

Hiking in the first snow

Frozen pond in our garden

The first snowman ever

What did I get from St Nikolaus

Lots of snow ...

... but all gone by Christmas.
Looking for the perfect tree

Real tree and real candles

O Christmas Tree

Our kids waited 9 years to do this: cut a Christmas Tree in the forest, set it up in the living room, and decorate it. Christmas is a-coming!!

Picking a Christmas Tree ...

... and then decorating it.

Our time in Switzerland

Our time in Switzerland has been both busy and relaxing. We held several talks at churches and other groups, met with supporters and spent time with family. As we did before, we also tried to show our children what and who Switzerland is. So, we visited castles (history), a chocolate factory (trade), walked through the alleys of Bern and traveled to several picturesque places (geography). Below a few impressions.

Our temporary home in the heart of Ostermundigen

Homeschooling continues in Switzerland

A rest with a view - Aletsch glacier

Eating blueberries straight from the bush

The impressive eagle on the Simplonpass

Sunset in Sardinia

Madeleine and I enjoy Sardinia - just the two of us

View down the impressive Lauterbrunnental

Traffic education for our children

25 years ago we've been married in this church

Beinwil am See - Place of our wedding reception

Visit to Lenzburg Castle

First snow of the year - for us it has been 9 years

Klick here for more pictures

Redbird Flight Simulator

With the change to an all Cessna Caravan fleet MAF will be operating nine of these aircraft in PNG. In addition we also try to get approval for transporting passengers in these single engine aircraft while flying IFR. In order to minimise training costs we bought a Caravan specific flight simulator from Redbird.
Mid July Markus went to Hagen as a technician from Redbird came to assemble what is called an Advanced Aviation Training Device. It took two days and three people, but then we were flying circuits in Tari with severe turbulence and 20 knots cross-wind.

A Holiday to Remember

It is always encouraging to welcome visitors from Switzerland. We have realised that it is hard for most people to really understand how life in Papua New Guinea is, despite our efforts to explain. Once somebody actually sets foot on PNG soil, things are quite different than they imagined – but suddenly it all makes sense.
Because of that, we were pleased to have Madeleine's mother and her two sisters visit at the beginning of February. So, they had the chance to experience first hand what it means to live in Telefomin. And our kids had the chance to see their grandmother, aunts, and godparents in person. Obviously, we used this unique opportunity to do some special things, and then added some holidays at the sea.
Following some pictures:

Hiking in Telefomin

Training to become a selfie pro

Moser sisters with our local guide

Jungle as far as you can see

Destination: Wara Sol

Well earned rest

... and back through the jungle again

Travelling is easier this way: flying to Wewak

Wewak: view from our holiday home

Wewak town black

Waiting for the big wave

Holiday treat: coffee smoothy

Wewak Boutique Hotel: soaking in the pool

Travelling in the 9-seater pickup

Reading, reading, reading, ...

Relaxation pur

On the way back home: transfer in Tari

DHC6 Twin Otter – A True Canadian

Flying the Twin Otter has been a new and very unique experience. For one thing, this is the first twin aircraft I fly commercially. Even though I did do a multi-engine rating during our time at Prairie School of Mission Aviation, I have not flown an airplane with two engines since. For another thing, the Twin Otter is a turbo-prop aircraft, and, obviously, a turbine is not quite the same to handle as the piston engine I am familiar with. And lastly, the DHC6 is much bigger having about four times the capacity of the Airvan, the little piston plane I flew up to now.
The Twin Otter was built to fly in the rugged environment of the Canadian North and, thus, is very suitable for PNG. With its STOL (Short Take-off and Landing) capabilities it lands comfortably on strips of 1300ft length and 12% slope. Therefore, it is able to go to places the Airvan could not, while still taking a full load in and out. Because of its big cabin it can not only take more, but also a different kind of cargo. Large iron roofing sheets, wood panelling and metal stilts for houses, water tanks, bags of cement, rolls of fencing, portable saw mill, and especially around Goroka, bags of green coffee beans.

Bags of green coffee beans awaiting their transport to a roastery

Iron roofing sheets out - coffee bags in

Heavy lifting: each coffee bag weighs 50kg - we can take about 36