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“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires? - Nelson Mandela

Voyage to a wealthy land, a cyclone and a haircut

Rob Lilwall
2007-12-01 15:16:47

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ride to Australia - but I was beginning to think that this final stretch of water might prove a boatride too far.
In my efforts to secure a passage I nervously met up with shipping managers, gold exploration consultants, yacht club directors, the British High Consulate, Rotary Clubs and International Schools and a friend even helped me to gatecrash a VIP's party on the passing Greenpeace boat "Rainbow Warrior II?? and yet after 3 weeks I had still got nowhere, and I felt like my best options were one by one giving me a redundant "NO?. Until that is, I eventually received a phone call from a friend's contact's colleague's colleague's friend's girlfriend's friend's contact's colleague - who was a teacher -who phoned me up to say that their pupil's uncle had a dive boat heading to Australia in a few days ? and would I like a ride! You bet I would !! I was thankful and I was relieved.
I was relieved not only to be completing my island hopping extravaganza just as I had hoped and intended , but I was also relieved to be leaving Papua New Guinea. It is such a beautiful landv and the people I met showed me nothing but friendliness and kindness. And yet it is also a land of deep and anguished trouble - with corruption, incompetence, violence, and apathy all playing lead roles. As the dive boat chugged out of the harbour southwards I looked back over a glimmering ocean - the mineral-rich mountains slipping away under a setting sun and the smokey village fires fading out of view.
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Deciding to travel through Papua New Guinea had been one of the scariest decisions of my life, but in my memory, as I left, I saw no bravery (only sadness). I felt a burden of stress slip off my shoulders, bade farewell with a parting prayer, and strolled back to my cabin. Two days later we were crossing the Great Barrier Reef and I was setting my eyes on a new land, the rugged cliffs and mysterious beaches of Northern Queensland, Australia.

I relished being ...