It’s taken a month, and finally – Jacinta and the kids are here in Port Moresby. I flew to Brisbane on Thursday, and they flew in from Auckland. Typically my flight out of PNG was delayed, and I arrived some 2 hours after them. Imagine trying to clear customs with 3 kids (one a baby) and two trolleys of luggage, then spending the next 2 hours in arrivals with no Aussie dollars… Yup – she’s a trooper my wife…

We had a great time in Brisbane – spent a lot of money, went to Movieworld where the kids had a ball, and I almost shat myself on the Superman ride… Yes – a born again screamer!

We only had a couple of dramas in Brisbane, firstly the car we hired had a problem with the cigarette power so the gps wouldn’t work. They swapped out the car the next day. And then the Motel we were staying in, which we thought was a dual bedroom – wasn’t. All 5 of us in the living area of the room, not enough room to put your socks on… So thankfully we were able to transfer to a brand new motel down the road which was a bit more family friendly.

On Monday (after PNG independence weekend) we took the 10am flight from Brisbane to Port Moresby, and after a delay – arrived in PNG, the 3rd plane in a row to land. This meant at least 600 people in the airport, trying to clear customs (4 counters) and then 2 more planes arrived….

omg

So after about 30/45 minutes in a HUGE queue, an Air Nuigini flight attendant went past with a couple and three kids in tow, taking them through Airline Assisted customs. I grabbed Jacinta and the kids (who were almost dying of the heat by this stage) and followed them through, and she helped us jump the 3.5 hour queue… Yes, 3.5 hours is how long it took one of my colleagues to get through.

Welcome to PNG!