Lae Favorites

Favorite thing: Lae is located at the innermost reach of Huon Gulf and is the busiest commercial port in the country. The small curved road heading inland and to the south leads to Wau and Bulolo, where gold was discovered in 1926 but is now an area primarily noted for logging. Lae is at the end of one of the three 66,000 volt transmission line spokes coming out from the a major hydro dam in the highlands near Okapa, with the other two spokes terminating on the north coast at Madang and further inland to the west at Mount Hagen. As backup for transmission line problems, Lae also had a diesel power station that could supply most of the local load. Many of my trips to Lae simply involved picking up an Elcom Landcruiser and heading off on the Highlands Highway to reach trouble spots further inland.

Fondest memory: During my time in PNG (1979-82), the mostly sealed Highlands Highway was not a bad road to travel as it climbed up into the rugged central mountain ranges. However, this recent update from the US State Department paints a different picture: "roads are generally in poor repair, and flat tires occur routinely as a result of potholes and debris on the roadways. During the rainy season landslides can be a problem on some stretches of the Highlands Highway between Lae and Mount Hagen. Criminal roadblocks have occurred during the day and more widely after dark on the Highlands Highway. Visitors should consult with local authorities or the U.S. Embassy before traveling on the Highlands Highway. Crowds can react emotionally and violently after road accidents. Crowds form quickly after an accident and may attack those whom they hold responsible, stoning and/or burning their vehicles. Friends and relatives of an injured party may demand immediate compensation from the party they hold responsible for injuries, regardless of legal responsibility. Persons involved in accidents usually should proceed directly to the nearest police station rather than stop at the scene of an accident."

The last part about accidents is no different than it was 25 years ago - an Australian engineer I worked with in Port Moresby was badly beaten by a crowd after his company truck hit a pedestrian on a country road outside the capital city.