Flying from Kawito back to Mount Hagen

During my visit to Papua New Guinea, I was very fortunate to be able to fly in one of the MAF 208 Cessna Caravans during its routine operations.  My first trip was to Kawito, one of the most southerly air strips MAF flies to.  There are 2 pilot families and 2 smaller aircraft based in Kawito, who serve the remote tribes living in the Fly valley area of the country.  There is also 1 member of Operations staff (My team) who runs all the ground tasks, operating the radio, refueling aircraft, booking flights, etc, with the help of the pilots.

Enjoying the view

We left Kagamuga Airport, Mount Hagen first thing in the morning with almost a full load, 7 passengers and a fair amount of cargo, including loads of fruit & veg for the pilots’ families.  The view over the highland mountains and into the lowlands was breathtaking!  When we landed in Kawito we were greeted by one of the pilots who was meeting his family, and the wife and son of the other pilot who brought cold water and chocolate muffins for us all.  The cold water was very welcome after the 1 hour flight, especially as we went from around 24°C in Mount Hagen to the mid 30°s in the lowlands of the Fly River region.

 

Kawito International

During my 3 hour stay in Kawito I admired the “Kawito International” waiting area, was fed lunch by one of the families and explored the Kawito air strip facilities and MAF houses (equipped with School rooms for the kids).  During the flight back I didn’t see quite so much as a lot of bush fires had started in the heat of the mid-day sun, so there was a thin layer of smoke across the horizon.

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The 208 Cessna Caravan is a very versatile aircraft fitted with a cargo pod.

> Single-engined turbine aircraft
> Cruising speed 170mph
> Carries up to 13 passengers 
      or 1,150kg cargo

Baptist Women’s Conference, Mount Hagen, PNG

The first Monday I was in Papua New Guinea (PNG) we went to a meeting place on the edge of Mount Hagen town to watch the start of the National Baptist Women’s Conference.  It was a week-long conference which started with a march around the school they met in and the whole town.  We turned up whilst they were still setting up, almost everyone had arrived (Over 1,000 women from across the country) and they were lined up in their regional groups singing to God and having a great time waiting to march!

Every group were dressed in different coloured “Meri blouses” singing in different languages.  I couldn’t understand most of them, but the Mount Hagen women were singing “Mi gat Jisas, mi amamas” which is roughly “I’ve got Jesus, I’m happy”!  That was a very popular chorus as I heard it so many different times during my visit; even now I sometimes find myself humming it.

What a noise and what an experience, so many women joining together to praise Jesus, have fun together and demonstrate against the ill treatment of women across PNG.