7 March 2006
It's going to be a swampy ride...
Aerial view of the lake
© Greenpeace/ Behring
"Fasten your seatbelts, there are two emergency exits in front and two in the back and it is 30 minutes to the next stop." The co-pilot repeats the safety talk in one breath, for the sixth time…
We are going to Lake Murray in the "big plane" (a 21-seat twin-otter). It stops almost every half hour. After the first stop, the quality of the landing strips diminish. Most are made out of beaten earth. One is actually in the middle of a swamp!
The villagers all come to welcome the plane and see what novelties it brings. We, the passengers, get off to stretch our legs and find a bush to use as a bathroom. At the third stop, the pilot gets into a fight with one of the villagers.
We don't understand what it’s about, but one of the villagers says the man was so angry that he didn't want to let the plane go! Fortunately, the problem is somehow solved.
After flying for about 6 hours over the beautiful lowland tropical forests of Papua New Guinea, we arrive in Boboa, a small village on Lake Murray. Sam picks us up in the “banana boat” and in about 40 minutes, we’re sitting among the bananas (literally), at our base camp - the Forest Rescue Station.
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