Oil Search Pacific Games Relay in Ambua, Hela Province and Dreikikir
At the Gap a handover took place between the Hela Huli to the Hela Opena tribe. The Hela Huli ran the Baton down through the swamp grasses and handed to the Opena’s.
The Relay then drove from the Gap up past Ambua and on to the Kapul Markets and Tengo Village before climbing up to the Magarima Station at 1,700m.
At Magarima the Baton was run into the markets by a small Relay group and then passed around the people gathered at the markets.
The Baton was met by a baby kapul and then went on to Ambua for a walk to the famous waterfalls and across one of the Hela rope bridges.
The Relay popped into Tari Power Station where Oil Search has partnered with Games sponsor PNG Power to refurbish the power station and started providing power, using diesel from the Hides Plant, to Tari on a 24 hours basis from last week.
The Baton was then taken on a helicopter trip to gets a birds eye view of the Oil Search Hides operation plants and also took the opportunity to view the spectacular Hewai waterfall on the Tegali River.
Today the Relay took an early helicopter trip to the outstation at dreikikir. The team skimmed over trees close enough that they felt as though they could touch them watching flocks of kokomos rise from the forest, beautiful hamlets and fog settle over the ridge tops.
Unable to reach Dreikikir the Relay team touched down on the Akuk River bed to wait out the fog.
Standing in completely nowhere 50 children appeared out of the forest from a nearby village of Wainim.
They had never heard of the Relay or even the Pacific Games so the team had a fun time explaining what raunim Papua New Guinea was all about.
They held the Baton and studied it like a science experiment.
Finally off to Dreikikir the Relay team landed to a singsing welcome and a flag raising ceremony by the Moihwak primary School.
2000 villagers the created a line back to the helicopter to pass the Baton along.
The Oil Search pacific Games Relay now heads off to Maprik and the start of the Sepik River adventure.
Photo credit: madNess Photography
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