Tuesday, 30th September.
Departure from Busamang.
I go to the old airport to buy my ticket to Port Moresby and find there a surreal reminder of colonization: Papuans playing the bagpipes to welcome a minister.
I go to visit the botanical garden of Lae. I get acquainted with the curator of the collection and herbarium. Very interesting exchange, we will keep in touch. He asks me to identify a plant. Two months later I find out it was Monanthocitrus (aka Wenzelia) bispinoza.
On the way to the airport I stopped to visit a crocodile farm.
Here are some pictures in a breeding pen.
A large male.
Nearer.
The guards tell me that when we enter the enclosure there must always be someone with a bamboo pole. I wonder "What happens if the crocodiles charge?" "You must run as fast as possible." "And what do you do with the bamboo?" "Nothing!"
A female.
I sympathize with Eric the head of the crocodile farm. He invites me to spend the night at his home. We spent a few fascinating hours telling us our adventures in Africa and Papua.
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