Serina's Place...

We’ve had limited experience with village life in Milne Bay, but what experience we’ve had was thoroughly enjoyed. A couple of weeks ago we not only had the chance to experience more of this village life, but also to see where our friend Serina lives. To save any confusion, Serina lives with us in the ‘Volunteer House’ (everyone in town seems to know which one it is) during the week as it is too difficult to get back to the village every night…

We left on Saturday morning in what can only be described as the most uncomfortable car trip I’ve ever been on. Lyn had her family over, so there were 10 of us in a rented toyota troop carrier as well as a whole lot of food, dive gear, and anything else considered essential for our trip. It was almost worth it for all the strange looks the locals gave us – we even started yelling out “Here comes the Dim Dim PMV!” (PMV is a Public Motor Vehicle – the equivalent of a bus in Australia – for those of you not in the know). Nothing like providing a bit of entertainment for the locals.

So we arrived at Serina’s place to be greeted by a special surprise that Lyn and Serina had organized for the family. All the local school children were in traditional dress, and performing a traditional welcome dance for us. It was a fantastic performance and a very special treat. The cutest thing was every time the beat from the kundu drum (local percussion) stopped, the kids would stop and look around, until they were told to keep going by the adults – and then they just didn’t want to stop! We were also allowed to have a turn of the kundu drums (they seem to be made from local wood – I presume some sort of palm – and the drum part is a stretched snake or lizard skin) – and Steve and I had a bit of a jam session.




The afternoon was spent in being shown around the place. We walked through beautiful bush/forest/jungle and river beds, and visited the closest local market (about 6 ladies and a dog sitting on the side of a river with some yams, greens, pineapples and paw paws). Serina then took us for a swim and taught us how to use the prawning spears that we would be using for a spot of night prawning. It was just so beautiful there. Standing in the river you could have been in almost any country in the world.





Serina and her family cooked us a lovely meal (I have to admit that I am enjoying yams more each time I have them – especially when they are cooked well), and then we got ready to go night prawning (or what we would call in Australia ‘yabbying’).



The idea behind this is that the little critters come out at night and are easier to see (especially with a great big torch) and therefore to catch. Well, I’m sure you’ve all heard Cam rant about prawns (and if you haven’t you are missing out – it’s a pretty good rant), but he became prawn obsessed, and even picked up a prawn related nickname. He thoroughly enjoyed hunting and catching them, and true to his word he actually ate them according to two of his rules 1) he knew how they were caught and where they came from, and 2) he caught them himself. PNG is full of new experiences for us!

Anyway, we took over Serina’s house for the night (10 people is a lot to fit into your house), and then the next morning we went for a walk. It started off deceptively easy. We went to Serina’s brothers house and were greeted by family (including a child with no pants – quite usual here) and a baby pig. I particularly liked the pig, and the pig particularly liked tasting peoples shoes – this made for creative footwork on behalf of the dim dim visitors.



We then went to see the pet cassowary – it shed light on why you wouldn’t want to meet an angry full grown cassowary in the wild – a small angry cassowary is scary enough.



The thing that impressed Cam the most though, was the crocodile jaw. Yes, it was estimated at about 2 months dead. We knew this because Serina’s brother (blue shirt background) was one of the men that killed this fearsome creature, and it didn’t look like it would have been a small one either…gives me the shivers. Apparently it got a little too curious about a village, and so the men all got together and tried to kill it. Repeatedly. Obviously they were successful in the end, but I definitely wouldn’t want to come up against one of these critters in the wild. (Based on the jaw size it was probably about a 9 ft croc).



We then continued our ‘walk’ to see a waterfall. This was very pleasant. We then continued on to see another one, and another – all up. Serina then took us on top of a ridge where her old garden was – no wonder Papua New Guineans are so fit – they walk to their garden every day, and they are all incredibly high up and hard to get to. I don’t at all blame them for thinking we are soft. Because we are. A bit more than we had bargained for, but enjoyable all the same.







In the afternoon we went to watch Serina play netball with all the local teams. Her team was called the Baby Giants and they were really very good.



Afterwards we went to the big markets and had a look around, buying some contributions for dinner, and plenty of fruit. By the end of the day we slept more than soundly. Serina looked after us so well – she’s such a good friend, and it was great to meet her family. And once the wet season is over she has said she will take us night diving to look at the dugong. That’s something to look forward too! To finish up here is a photo of us with Serina, her son Desmond and daughter Garube and the one thing Jane didn't mention the cat called GABI!!!