Take a leap – reality beats perception
I’ve got myself into a few sticky situations in this job. There was the hot air balloon ride where we couldn’t find a landing spot; the snake in Sri Lanka I nearly stood on; and the campground in Bosnia and Herzegovina where we hid from ‘‘dodgies’’ smoking everything illegal.
My favourite was the time I ran naked past campers in France (late at night) after lightning hit a tree next to our tent.
There are billions of chemical reactions that take place in our bodies every second, and when I was told I’d be heading to Papua New Guinea, almost all of them joined together in a molecular meltdown of anxiety.
My lucky escapes, surely, were running out. I researched PNG – not a good idea. It reports violent crime, including armed robbery, carjacking, home invasions and sexual assault, are common throughout the country. Kaboom, my anxiety reactor just had a further meltdown.
But we forged on, buoyed after reading reviews that the perception doesn’t match reality.
A few weeks later, we touched down in Port Moresby. To my surprise, I found the best Hilton I’d ever stayed at (brand new), a chic restaurant that looked like it belonged in Melbourne, and a flash shopping mall. Of course, the city has its problems – but so far, so good.
For the next 10 days, we explored the country’s mountainous interior, home to some of the most remote tribes on Earth. But, the real surprise came in the last three days of the trip, where we travelled to PNG’s tropical coast, which almost resembles a slice of Fiji. Buckle up, and join me on pages 14-15 for an adventure.