Mt Wilhelm Treking

Mt Wilhelm is the highest mountain in Papua New Guinea (PNG) with a height of 4,509metres (15,400 feet) above sea level. Simbu is the home but the foot ruggedly shares borders with Jiwaka and Madang Province. It is named after the German Emperor, Wilhelm Bismarch who administered Northern New Guinea in the 1800's as this part of the country was a German colony. Mt Wilhelm's first conqurer was an Australian pilot Vial who was killed in action and buried at Lae in 1943.

 

Mt Wilhelm is always a challenge to conquer. It commences at Kundiawa town with a 4wheel drive which will take you through a bumpy but adventurous ride upriver.  

The road will take you through gorges and cliffs, huge rocks and limestone, caves and fast flowing rivers and creeks which make up the Head Rivers of Simbu River. It will take about 2-3 hours to reach Keglsugl and Kegla. There are two locally owned guest houses there; Betty's Lodge and Camp Jehovah Jarrah which is respectively owned by Betty Higgins, a local business woman and Hon. Tobias Kulung, the local Parliamentary Member for Kundiawa/Gembogl district.  These places are just at the foot of Mt. Wilhelm.

 

Tracking through the moss forest; and through the alpine tundra; and beautiful creeks and waterfalls; and high altitude plants and flowers; and plenty more to see on a fine day walk from Kegla to the two guest houses at Aunde Lake; A-Frame and The Australian National University Lodge. The beautiful glacial lake Aunde, the cold, the mist, the rocky base of Mt Wilhelm, the outlet waterfall from Piunde Lake into Lake Aunde, all provides the satisfaction and the view pays off, after a tiring 5-6 hours of hiking.

 

It is a real challenge and adventure simultaneously to climb the highest mountain of PNG. A climb in the early hours of morning or midnight; walking on touch light and battling against the cold, the wind, the rugged track of rocks, fear of heights, and risks of contracting altitude sicknesses. It is where all strengths vaporise. It is where the power of mind does the action. The determined mind and strong will and faith take you to the summit. There the extraordinary view, success, a sense of accomplishment, victory, happiness, and after all to be at the highest physical point of the nation in one time of your life waits patiently. Conquering highest peaks like this can build you physically and mentally. Risks are taken; there are memorial sites of people who have died when climbing.

 

After all; all in all, we are Papua New Guineans and this is our mountain. This is Mt Wilhelm. The environment is untouchable since the creation. There, silence speaks. The wind talks and sings tunes you have never heard before. The rocks become figures of creatures and human, during clear nights. The sound of creeks melodises into the quietness of those nights. Sounds of wild dog howls echoes through the peaceful night air. This place is wild and free. It is another place in PNG. It is nature’s own masterpiece.        

 

 

 
 

 

Jiwaka Coffee Night

The Jiwaka Students Association (JSA) in Divine Word University (DWU) had hosted a coffee night the previous month (Much 2013). The aim of the coffee night was to raise funds for the student club. Well hosting coffee nights in DWU is a common fundraising activity. Most provincial clubs in the campus host coffee nights to raise funds for their clubs.

After a close observation, one can suggest that highlanders on campus are the ones that host complicated coffee nights; that is just a blunt statement. Well, highlanders have a culture were big men usually take turns to talk and preach during feasts and celebrations or any event in that manner were food and people are involved. We have a culture to support each other in times of need.

Those little coffee nights that we host around on campus produces a typical scenario of our culture being exhibited. Students from  different highlands provincial clubs come by to buy food staff and drink a cup of coffee. Some may present a amount of cash. Also highlanders from the neighbouring Madang town and staffs of DWU come around to support the students. There at the coffee nights we take turns to talk on important issues. These types of activities, especially coffee nights creates an environment where students get together and build a strong bond of unity and nationality.

The Jiwaka coffee night was fun and also a success. the money raised was for the welfare of the Jiwaka students on the campus. One can recommend that those kind of activities in campus had have positive outcome and thus be encouraged to be carried on as a tradition.