Mijts Blog

On the Friday that we were at Open Bay we drove to various sites at the main camp and then in the afternoon one of the managers took us for a tour of the plantation.
A visit to the clinic was interesting – the only medical service in the area. Open Bay timber company assists in the running of the clinic. On this morning one of the managers drove an HIV Aids awareness team up into the remote villages. The clinic was clean and well organised but lacked some basic resources. I asked the man in charge what they needed most (hoping I might be able to get some resources through Rotary) and discovered they had no stretcher, no crutches and only a few bandages and dressings. They also wished for a refrigerator in which to store medicines and needed some scales to weigh adults. He gave us a tour of the clinic, including the ‘labour ward’.

Baby weighing scales and labour ward.

We also visited the area where some of the school teachers are housed and met one of the teachers (whose husband works with Nick back in Kokopo) and her two children.

The children were very cute – as was their pet cuscus!!

We also called around by the log pond – an area where the logs are floated out to the ships for transport. We were lucky that a ship came in that day to collect a load of timber.

These pictures show the Atago with logs beside it for loading and back on the banks are the workers placing the logs in the water to be floated out to the waiting ship. Note the muddy conditions that they work in. The tally clerk (in white shirt) stands there counting the logs!

In the afternoon we were driven for several hours over the mountain range and around the plantation. The roads were rough and slippery as it rained all the time but it was very interesting. We even crossed a couple of fast flowing rivers with water well up the doors of the vehicle! We saw several areas which had been recently logged/cleared and had been planted with small trees as part of the reforestation program (Open Bay timber only logs planted trees). They mostly grow a native eucalypt called kamerere.
We also visited a couple of nurseries where the seedlings are raised.

These pictures show a new nursery – a couple of hours drive from the main area. Already a small village is starting to form – to accommodate the workers. The church is often the first to be built.

This lady’s job was to sift/mix the soil and fill the plastic tubes for the seeds. In most villages you will see several pigs roaming freely – highly valued animals – even used for a bride price!

Will also show some photos from our school visit in a separate post!