Latest Adventures - June 2009

This update is from February to June 2009 and includes the opening of the TCA training centre which took place on June 5th World Environment Day.

Jim’s bit
The three of us arrived in Port Moresby in February and stayed for two weeks with our good friend Richard who allows us to stay at his place when we are there. Port Moresby is like Sydney.
I did a lot of networking with our sponsors and donors. I also tried to meet several other potential sources of funding and got to meet the Australian High Commissioner which was exciting.

In Australia we had made up invitations for the opening of training centre for June 5th, World Environment Day. I was madly handing invitations out hoping that they would come, see what a great job we were doing and want to support the program.
I’m getting used to Port Moresby and it really doesn’t bother me that much. Jean and Tadji felt that two weeks for them in PNG’s capital was too much.

Jean’s bit
While Jim was gallivanting around Moresby, Tadji and I amused ourselves in the captive environment that is a ‘compound’ of Port Moresby and ex-pat luxury living. This is not a life I could live – it comes with an in ground swimming pool, swing set, ocean views and luxury apartment living – sounds great huh? But on top of that is - 10 foot solid fencing surrounded with barbed wire, security gates and full-time security guards for your (unfortunately) necessary protection.

Living with a very concerned husband and 2 and a ½ year old does not allow me to go for a walk or leave the ‘cage’ of my own free will – hence the feeling of being imprisoned. I hate Moresby – I could never live there.

Jim’s bit
After Port Moresby we flew to Wewak where we caught up with friends and did a big shop for food and supplies. I tried to get Jean and Tadji on a flight with MAF from Wewak to Lumi but I just couldn’t. We had to all drive in by road.

It was now the wet season and so the road was going to be a real struggle. I had been enjoying the nice smooth roads of Melbourne until now. Mind you I could have done without the traffic.

The road was awful and I’m being very polite. Jean and Tadji walked the last eight kilometres or so to Lumi because the bog we were in meant I was going to be there for a long time. Is nine hours a long time to be stuck in one pothole?

Jean’s bit
Tadji and I took a power walk back to Lumi so we arrived at the house before dark – we just made it. Tadji was great walking part of the way – the little champ. It was great to be back “home” and after our usual clean up (getting rid of the insect mess, rat pooh and other animal leftovers stashed in the locked up confines of our bedroom) Tadji and I had a quick dinner and crashed. Jim came driving in around 10 o’clock.

Jim’s bit
It was great to be back in Lumi. Patrick had done a sterling job in looking after the place and taking care of all the animals. The training centre was getting there slowly but looked top notch. There was still a lot to be done in the next three and half months. This was going to my priority, to make sure the training centre was finished on time.

Jean’s bit
It was great to see how the TCA base had changed since we left. The training centre was looking great too. I started to get ourselves organised with the TCA rep meeting, the accounts and our work plan for the next few months. There a lot to do so no rest for the wicked!

Jim’s bit
Thomas Schmitt joined us for a third time to do more GPS mapping. We are slowly getting through the Tenkile villages. It takes a long time to map areas in conjunction with conservation area committees. This process is well worthwhile and land boundaries have real meaning to the people living on the ground and are not just straight lines on maps. Thomas has been collecting the points made by the villages and overlaying them onto the satellite photos we have. We’re very excited with the progress that has been made.

Jean’s bit
It was great to have Thomas back – he ran a short course on GPS theory and mapping – I learnt a few things myself which was good because previously I was just bluffing the GPS stuff during the Conservation Area training workshops. His work got us all thinking about the opportunities the GPS and mapping software could give us in the future. We started dreaming about mapping out all the villages land and doing resource planning – mapping out gardens, hunting areas, timber planting etc. Oh so much to do.......

Jim’s bit
When Wilbeite village were taking GPS points for their conservation area what did they stumble across but a Tenkile. This adult male was on the ground near the river Niengko. The animal was named Niengko, was captured and brought to Lumi. His bamboo cage was a bit rough and a piece stabbed Niengko in the hind quarters. We treated him with anti-biotic cream and iodine solution.

This was fantastic! Not only were we getting more data on Tenkile but all the visitors to our special day would see a live Tenkile.

Jean’s bit
Yes, Chris Banks from Zoos Victoria must be a bit of an omen because we were able to catch a Tenkile just before his arrival to Lumi last time! When the Tenkile arrived at our base in Lumi the smell was very strong – not an unpleasant smell – kind of musty and sickly at the same time. As soon as the guys carried him to the enclosure the smell hit you. Pretty amazing.

A week or so later when I woke up and went upstairs I heard a strange sound a bit like a dog yelping and I tried to figure out what it was. I firstly looked for the dogs but they were fine and then I went to check the rabbits but it turned out to be the Tenkile. It was like he was crying or more like pining and for no particular reason. Very strange but really interesting. I’m not sure but I don’t think this has been recorded before.

The other interesting thing to note is that in many traditional stories about Tenkile, people talk of the Tenkile crying with tears coming down his face. When the Tenkile is shot at he can catch the arrow and throw it back at the hunter. I love the way local people interpret nature. It’s very poetic.

Jim’ bit
We formed a working committee for World Environment Day. This was going to be a lot bigger than we had anticipated. We put together an estimate on the budget. This was way more than what we previously guessed. We have never organised such a big event before. This certainly was another learning curve.

We made a special request to Zoos in Australia to assist us financially for the opening. Zoos Victoria, Perth Zoo and Friends of the Zoo (FOTZ-Victoria)) helped us significantly. Thank you ZV, PZ and FOTZ.

Jean’s bit
It was great to hear the news of added financial support – the funds were running low, time was ticking away and we had so much left to do before our big event. It was an exciting but a stressful time for all of us but the news of extra funds took off some of the pressure.

While all of this was going on I was running Conservation Area Management Training courses for the Weimang villages. All went well and people participated fully which was great to see.

Jim’s bit
It was now one week before the opening and things were going pretty well. There were a few jobs being finished but we had done more than what I thought we would achieve. Oh no a mishap! The wire form the radio tower (24 metres high) just fell down. Aaagh we need this up for the opening. After a few days of stressing we found a fellow who was willing to climb the tower and re-attach the wire. Dunstan climbed up the 24 metre pole, I felt sick just watching him, and super glued the wire back into the socket. Phew what a relief.

Jean’s bit
I kept well away of the whole radio tower thing – but like usual the local staff managed to work it out and all is well. Apart from that mishap – everything was actually running really well. The place was a hive of activity – everyone was doing something – it was amazing to see actually. At times we had delegated so well that I managed to twiddle my thumbs on several occasions with not much to do! That never happens!

Jim’s bit
We now had confirmation of the attendees. Chris Banks and Lyn Brodie, from Zoos Victoria were coming with Becca Hanson and David Roberts from the United States. They arrived a few days before. A lot of people came along the highway, some other by MAF and some by helicopter. We had 210 invited guests.

The day began at Lumi station, next to the airstrip. There were eight sing sing groups, a market and the podium was decked out with flowers and a PA system. There would have been about 6,000 at the station. It was packed.

I gave a speech in tok pisin to begin the day; I then shared betel nut, a PNG tradition, with Peter Filfi (President of West Wape Local Level Government) who was the next speaker. Two other spoke as well, Joe Sungi (the Provincial Administrator) and Hon Simon Solo (Governor of Sandaun Province). The speeches were completed on time despite two helicopters arriving in the middle. We all then made our way to TCA Base-Lumi.

Jean’s bit
Unfortunately I missed all the festivities at the station because I had to do a test run with Tim Flannery using Skype. It all worked well and it was unusually quiet for a couple of hours before everyone arrived. But when they did the place lit up with colour and movement – it was beautiful and very touching for all of us involved. The day we had been working so hard towards for the past few months had finally come to fruition and we were all enjoying ourselves.

Jim’s bit
TCA Base-Lumi looked absolutely stunning. All the reps and committee members had done a great job decorating the place with flowers and palm fronds. Flower girls greeted everyone who came through the gate with flower necklaces and then threw flower petals all over them. We had two sing sing groups as well. I think all of our guests were impressed.

Jean’s bit
The official ceremony with the launching of our new satellite dish and internet connection was with David Peter from WWF. Jim had this crazy idea of releasing butterflies instead of cutting a ribbon so we had all the local kids collect live butterflies in the morning and put them in a small enclosure. Jim and David opened the cage and all the butterflies flew out – it was just gorgeous.

Following this Trish Caswell from the Sustainable Development Program did the official opening of the training centre with the cutting of the ribbon – we all entered the training centre and sat down. I gave a quick talk on how TCA started and what we do, then Chris Banks, Chris Talie (advisor to TCA) and then our Project Officer Mathew Akon all gave speeches.

Following this we played a video from Dimity Fifer the CEO of AVI via U-tube. We then called Tim Flannery and he had a chat to us and gave a little speech. We had an old man from Wilbeite village, Caspar Seiko say hello to Tim which really touched him. Then Chris Moraitis the Australian High Commissioner gave a speech via Skype as well.

It all went really well and on time – amazing!

Jim’s bit
A lot of food had been prepared for lunch. Two big pigs, chicken, tin meat, local vegetables and of course rice. It all went though.
By 2.00pm the clouds made Lumi become gloomy and the pilots needed to leave now. All our air travel guests left. Everyone else left by foot. We were exhausted.
The day was a huge success and has left a mark on all those who attended.

Since 2003 this day stands out as one of the best.