For me the initial attraction to PNG was for the diving, pristine reefs with an unparalleled diversity of marine life - everything from pigmy seahorses to barracuda and sharks. I narrowed the choice down to Milne Bay in the south or Kimbe off New Britain in the east. I finally decided on Kimbe but am sure I would have had a great time in any of a number of places. The eight and a half days diving was fantastic, a huge range of sea creatures and beautiful corals all in 29 C water, usually with visibility of over 40m.

I had read about the “shows”, cultural festivals, which began in the 1950 as a way of bringing the different language groups together for peaceful purposes. The Goroka show delivered on its promise as an amazing visual spectacle, underpinned with just enough testosterone and competitive intensity for it to be clear that this was not a sanitised performance just for the tourists.

PNG also has Australasia’s highest “mountain”, Mt Wilhelm, and is criss-crossed with walking tracks. Adventure tourism is however relatively new and while turning up somewhere and finding a guide is a possibility only a few walks are currently being promoted. The Kokoda trail is the best known but unless you are into Australian military history or are a masochist there are more attractive alternatives. I walked up Mt Wilhelm and then spent three days walking east, down to Brahmin.

I found PNG to be fascinating and friendly place. There are security issues but good advice about staying safe is easy to get.