Independence day

The day before the NZ foreign minister's visit, one of the admin staff asked all of us Kiwis if we could bring our New Zealand flags to work - and was flabbergasted when each of us replied that we didn't have one!

Fast forward a couple of weeks to 16 September and his reaction made a lot more sense. Papua New Guineans love their flag and are proud of their independence, which was granted on 16 September 1975.

MAF Mt Hagen

I had a planned overnight in Kiunga on Wednesday and when I arrived back on Thursday I was greeted by our traffic officers. All the national staff were wearing their national colours (in many cases, with a local flavour from their as ples - place of origin). 

Village school celebrations

Five of us attempted to climb Mount Hagen - the mountain, not the town - on the long weekend. When we heard that the local school was putting on a 'show' we decided to go and watch. (It ended up raining in the afternoon so we didn't do the walk, but I'm glad we got to see the school event.)

Jess being mobbed by young fans

Singing the national anthem while raising the flag

Neighbourhood celebrations

When we arrived back from our shorter-than-expected trip, the field across from our compound was a hive of activity. Rugby goal posts had been erected and over the weekend we heard much cheering and blowing of whistles. It made a change from the spakman (drunks)...