David French | 11/06/2013 9:20:34 AM

This article was originally published as "PNG" in http://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/ on 20/4/2013.

Just three hours flight north of Rockhampton, something so special is happening that it is almost trite to try to put it into words. That something is the integration of a whole country to a 21st century world. The country of course is Papua New Guinea.

My third visit, I took the opportunity to get beyond Port Moresby, venturing into the highlands to take stock of the situation and to meet the locals. With Mt Hagen the epicentre of bad press regarding sorcery murders and payback, what I found was a distinctly tribal community that welcomed us into their villages and loved the interest offered by three long piks (white people - literally "long pig").

Arriving at Mt Hagen airport we were met by elder Pym Memindi, a number of guides, a cook and an "assistant guide". Before long we had almost a bus full, and helped by the language of rugby league and the sharing of some betel nut (just awful), it was pretty clear we were not destined for the pot. We visited "edgy" markets, saw poverty, walked in villages comprising grass huts and exquisite vegetable plots and talked at a school. The scenery was as spectacular as I have ever been in.

From the semi-trailers coursing through mountain ways to the new gas fields, the tap water provided in the villages, overt Christianity and the belief in the spirits of the dead, the contrasts were intellectually challenging, jaw dropping and moving, all at the same time.

And amongst this there are many PNG nationals who are working very hard to manage well the transition from subsistence to westernisation. Like bows and arrows against lightning, traditional culture must be preserved, while benefits are captured. Pym is one of those people. He knows that education and health are critical to his people, and that whites' (for all our historical failings) are important in providing resources and knowledge. As one of my colleagues said "he's all class".

So now I am on my way home. It's been an incredible week, and in deference to Pym's efforts I am going to give him a plug. If you really want to do something different, contact Pym at Magic Mountain Lodge (www.paiyatours.com). Expect clean holiday shack standard, not 5 star, some uphill walking, and put in an effort to be interested. The rewards will speak for themselves.

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