Goroka Coffee Festival-: Bilas & Balls

Those zany Gorokan's...

The coffee festival draws a huge crowd and a large number of sing-sing groups (traditional dance/ceremonial groups). There were stands set-up by local schools, private companies, NGO's, medical research institutes... all sorts.

I was actually up there to (really) visit with AVI mates - but there was a ball and a festival with market stalls (yes! I wore black shoes and black pants for the 1st time in 6 months... not counting Flan's wedding perhaps).

Crazy weekend... the festival was half a foot deep in mus in parts and it was fun just trying to get around without going face-first into the mud. Had a tour guide (thanks Eden!) for the Sat.



Some great wekeend action amongst too much work otherwise! The photo's are up at the usual place if you're keen.

Hard to know which other bits to Blog... more about the mud?? 21 Nukes - just in case?? *grin* PMV ride back down the mountain in the pouring rain (x3 land-slips)?? Bilas, bilas, bilas... the photo's will have to do most of the work for now. Though the trip back was special in it's own PMV-like way:

Spent 1 hour or so finding a PMV on a Sunday morning around the Goroka market in the
heat (cold overnight, hot the next morning); 17 people squeezed into a van the size of mine; rained most of the way back (4+ hours); x3 land-slips since the Friday when I pmv'ed up there which brought the highway back to (barely) one muddy lane against the mountain-side all three times; driver smoked extra long spears and chewed buai (a process involving much hand-movement) the entire way whilst driving one-handed down some of the steepest bits of PNG. There was a kewl highlander dude from Kainantu who had some broken english next to me, and he took great delight in teaching me a little more pidgin for most of the trip back. Alllll good. Though the next day was a struggle!

And here was me thinking I'd get some catch-up sleep on the ride home...