Oceania

[Visited: August 2023]

Oh, it seemed easy. I had the name of the place and the address, so I could just ask any taxi driver and we would be on our way. Alas, things in PNG are not always that smooth. We take a taxi from a shopping mall in the city, and the driver appears to understand our destination, and agrees to our offer. However, even before leaving the parking lot, he says he wants double the price we just agreed on. We try to explain that we don't agree, but he doesn't budge, so we say that we want to get out. He gets angry: if he goes back now, he will be last in the queue of taxis. Meanwhile, he enters the highway and accelerates. I immediately realize this is not going right, so I open the window and shout for help. This finally convinces him to stop the car so we can get out. People come to help us, and a lady takes care of us. She calls her personal driver, explains where we are going, but it soon turns out that he doesn't speak any English, doesn't know the place, or how much we will have to pay. I call the lady, but she can't help us either. We end up getting out of this second taxi, and talk to people waiting for a bus. They hail a third taxi, explain where we want to go - and finally, we are on the way and the driver drops us off without further problems.
We enter the garden, which is part of a bigger amusement park with lakes and a ferris wheel. Strange that drivers don't know this place. We pay our entry, and walk to the gate of the garden. We see some interesting wooden sculptures of human figures with crocodiles crawling out of their mouth. We show our ticket, and enter the garden proper. Inevitably, we see a large collection of orchids in all kinds of colours and shapes. There are a few more sculptures in between them. We reach a part of the garden with a rectangular pool, see a pelican walking by, and discover that nearby, there is an aviary. It is a quite large space, and we almost immediately see the coveted bird of paradise on the branch of a tree. We follow the restless bird, discover more of them, and try to see them up close.
Soon enough, it feels like the birds are playing hide and seek with us. Whenever we see one, we tiptoe our way closer, and then the bird takes off and disappears in the foliage. We walk around the aviary, trying to surprise them, but it is no easy task. When eventually we see one who seems not to notice us, we can finally appreciate its incredible beauty. Its yellow and green head, its abundance of brown feathers that make it look anything but aerodynamic. It is clear that this bird is not made for speed, but for beauty. After chasing the national symbol of Papua New Guinea for a long time, we go out again. We see cockatoos, hornbills and other spectacular birds, but we feel uncomfortable seeing them in their small cages. I feel the urge to open them all and give the poor birds their freedom. These beauties should be free, or at least in another large aviary as we have seen before, not in a cage where they are clearly unhappy. As a last thing, we see a part of the garden with many more orchids. It is time to go back to the entrance, and I call a taxi driver I had used on my first day to pick us up.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

inspiring you to travel

National Orchid Garden (Papua New Guinea)

National Orchid Garden > Papua New Guinea > Oceania

[Visited: August 2023]

Around the World in 80 Clicks