‘Time to explore our country’

By AGNES FIFI UKI
PAPUA New Guineans must take pride and explore the unique sights in our country, a group of youths who walked the Kokoda Track say.
The 21 youths from Moge Andakalimb, Wes-­tern Highlands, walked the track over the Easter weekend.
The six females and 15 males decided to go on the week-long journey after being convinced by others who had walked the Kokoda Track.
Spokesman Jack Pungi said: “Our aim was to see for ourselves why the track is attracting tourists every year.”
They left Mt Hagen on April 3 for Lae.
The next day, they got on two speed boats for Popondetta.
They were at the start of the Kokoda Track at 4.30pm on Good Friday and began to climb the first steep mountain.
All in, they climbed five mountains and crossed four rivers on bridges made of cane and arrived in Port Moresby on April 10.
“If tourists are spending thousands of kina to come and visit this track, then we have no excuse to sit back and receive second-hand information about the track,” Pungi said.
He challenged locals to take pride of attractions in the country and to make effort to visit them.
Pungi said if the national go­vernment could look at creating more tracks linking neighbouring pro­vinces, more people could check out the beauty of the country.