Situated in the Pacific ocean in an area known as Melanesia, New Guinea is the world’s second largest island, and is located just to the north of Australia.
The western half of the island is divided into two provinces, Papua and West Papua, and is a part of nation of Indonesia.
This area was once a Dutch colony, and passed to Indonesian control after that country became an independent nation.
The eastern half of the island forms the country of Papua New Guinea.
This is comprised of what was previously known as the Territory of Papua, and the Territory of New Guinea (formerly known as German New Guinea).
Australia won control of German New Guinea during World War 1.
Australia had assumed control of the Territory of Papua (British New Guinea) from Great Briatain in 1906.
Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia in 1975.
The island is the world’s fourth highest land mass, with ‘Puncak Jaya’, (Mt Carstnsz), reaching a height of 16,023 feet (4,884 metres), and is populated by descendants of the ‘Austronesian’ and ‘Papuan’ peoples, with small numbers of Asian and Europeans.
There are over 1,000 tribal groups on the island, and about as many languages and dialects. This makes it the most linguistically diverse area on earth.
Today, there are over 7 million people living in the region.
The Papua New Guinea flag.
As I posted earlier, Ange Recchia is preparing to trek along the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea in June, and this is the second in a series of background reports.
Ange feels that this is one of the greatest challenges in her life to date.
With rugged terrain, temperature extremes and the threat of endemic diseases such as malaria, Ange has set herself just eight days to complete the trek.
The track was the scene of some of the most bitter fighting between Australian and Japanese troops during World War 2.
Walking the Kokoda trail has become a rite of passage for many Australians, along with the pilgrimage to Gallipoli.
The video below shows something of the terrain, the history, people and emotion that Ange may expect to encounter there!
Please note that the video will not display on Blog Friends and other RSS feeds.
Thanks to Our Spirit for the use of the video!
Preparing For An Expedition To New Guinea!
