It’s just over two weeks since I last wrote; life was simply too busy last week and we were out for lunch during Sunday afternoon, our usual correspondence time, with Satish & Sonali Moka, a new pilot and new HR Manager from India. They and their two boys are a lovely family and a tremendous asset to MAF PNG.
What an amazing couple of weeks it’s been. My last operational flight, and almost certainly my last Twin Otter flight ever.
I’ve accrued 7116.9, let’s round it to a nice palindromic 7117, flight hours in this aircraft type, 11,341 total flight hours, with over 10,000 of those in PNG. It’s been a good innings and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
The two airport fire trucks were on the apron as I taxied in for the last time, spraying an arch over the aircraft. I was very moved that nearly all our staff were out on the tarmac to welcome me back. I choked up on my final checklist!
The final day of flying was a really good one, visiting some communities for the last time that I’ve built up a close relationship with. I was flying with Brad Venter, my successor as FOM, which was really nice. We had a bit of weather to work first thing in the morning, including an instrument descent through cloud to reach an airstrip that I’d never been to before – a personal first landing on my last day!
When communities I know well heard it was my final flight there were some impromptu speeches, handshakes, and at Dusin, where we did our bush orientation in 1994, a bilum and a spear, the latter with Matthew 28:20 written on the blade: “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”
My last bush landing was at a relatively new airstrip called Pyarulama. It’s located in what is referred to as The Baiyer in Enga Province. The Baiyer has always had a reputation for being disorganised, pushing the limits of load, how much to pay and so on. My very last landing proved the point admirably: large amounts of unbooked excess cargo, the agent telling me that they never paid the excess rate, requests to pay on arrival at Mount Hagen (I’ve had that told me too many times before). While I had to be firm, in the past I would have got cross with the continual pushing, this time the ironic humour of the situation made me smile – this was how I cut my teeth in PNG flying, working The Baiyer in the Cessna 206. I finished as I began.
After the final landing at Hagen and the welcome by the fire trucks and staff, there were a couple of celebratory cakes to cut, one provided by Nicki, and enough to share with base staff and also operational staff and engineers at HQ.
The following day, Friday 8th, was the last office day, at least for me as Nicki has continued tidying up ends of her orientation work. My inbox was empty and my desk clear, and it’s strange, unreal, that I no longer have input into the operational decisions that have been so much of my day to day life for so long. I will, however, manage to cope with not having 50 or more emails a day to deal with!
During the morning I had a phone call from a journalist at RadioNZ. He’d heard it was my last flight after 25 years, and would I be willing to do an interview? Then was as convenient as any other time, so we chatted for a while and he later sent me the link to both the news page and the interview, which I thought came over well.
I asked him how he’d heard about me, and he replied it was through a friend of his. When I asked who that was, he told me it was Watna Mori, a young woman whom Nicki taught at Mount Hagen International School and whose mother is a friend at church. We saw Watna a couple of years ago when we met her as we passed through Moresby, and then in church when she visited her mother more recently. She is a qualified lawyer now, working in Moresby. Her younger sister, Amber, is one of our qualified aircraft engineers.
Packing up, selling or giving away occupied last week, along with some time spent with friends. All bar one crate and some trunks are now closed and sealed. The house is empty, the cleaning very well-advanced thanks largely to Irene. How we will miss her, friend, advisor and helper for so long.
On Wednesday we moved to Godfrey & Glen Sim’s house as they are on leave. They suggested that it would be easier for us to finish the selling and packing if we didn’t have to use our own stuff right up to the last minute. That was excellent advice and we’re glad that we took it.
Yesterday, Sunday 17th, was our last service with Mount Hagen Baptist Church. There were some lovely speeches of thanks, one from Gloria, a young woman who was born the year we arrived and whose family we’ve had quite a lot to do with. Then her father, Kambowa, a delightful and godly man who works for MAF as well as being an elder in the church. Finally, Maureen, Watna’s mother, and Maureen’s sister sang a farewell song to us.
After this the church secretary presented us with a gift, which when we opened it back at the house, was a lovely sand picture from Enga Province. We’ll very much enjoy having that on our wall in due course.
I gave the sermon, after which Nicki beautifully sang a song about God’s faithfulness.
Cake and coffee followed the service, and the chance to interact with a lot of people. Special memories!
In the afternoon we drove out of Hagen and up to Rondon Ridge lodge for the second time in two days. On Saturday night we’d been invited to go with a small MAF group, including the MAFI CEO, Dave Fyock, who was visiting for the MAF PNG Board meeting. This time we drove up for a couple of days by ourselves, and hopefully to fulfil a long-term ambition to see a Blue Bird of Paradise.
On arrival at the lodge we found that Bob Bates, the owner and somebody again that I’ve known for a long time and whose flight checks I’ve also done, had allocated us the premium Presidential Suite and the couple of days as his guests. The generosity and kindness of him and so many others have been somewhat overwhelming; we’re not used to having a fuss made of us and usually shy away from it. But it’s been nice and very much appreciated.
This morning, Monday 18th, we were up early to go bird watching, and most of them had heard we were coming and decided to go elsewhere, except for … one young male Blue Bird of Paradise. Yay! Long-term bucket list item ticked! Tomorrow we’ll go again and hopefully get some better views and maybe of some other species that live around here as well.
Bel bilong mitupela i pulap tru; pen na amamas i bung wantaim. Sometimes I revert to Tok Pisin in my thinking, and this expresses the last couple of weeks: “Our hearts’ are full; sorrow and joy are mixed together.”
Later this week we’ll complete the packing, have our formal farewell on Friday, and finalise some of the arrangements for our time in New Zealand. This time next week we’ll be in Cairns.
What an amazing couple of weeks it’s been. My last operational flight, and almost certainly my last Twin Otter flight ever.
I’ve accrued 7116.9, let’s round it to a nice palindromic 7117, flight hours in this aircraft type, 11,341 total flight hours, with over 10,000 of those in PNG. It’s been a good innings and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything.
The two airport fire trucks were on the apron as I taxied in for the last time, spraying an arch over the aircraft. I was very moved that nearly all our staff were out on the tarmac to welcome me back. I choked up on my final checklist!
**********
The final day of flying was a really good one, visiting some communities for the last time that I’ve built up a close relationship with. I was flying with Brad Venter, my successor as FOM, which was really nice. We had a bit of weather to work first thing in the morning, including an instrument descent through cloud to reach an airstrip that I’d never been to before – a personal first landing on my last day!
When communities I know well heard it was my final flight there were some impromptu speeches, handshakes, and at Dusin, where we did our bush orientation in 1994, a bilum and a spear, the latter with Matthew 28:20 written on the blade: “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”
My last bush landing was at a relatively new airstrip called Pyarulama. It’s located in what is referred to as The Baiyer in Enga Province. The Baiyer has always had a reputation for being disorganised, pushing the limits of load, how much to pay and so on. My very last landing proved the point admirably: large amounts of unbooked excess cargo, the agent telling me that they never paid the excess rate, requests to pay on arrival at Mount Hagen (I’ve had that told me too many times before). While I had to be firm, in the past I would have got cross with the continual pushing, this time the ironic humour of the situation made me smile – this was how I cut my teeth in PNG flying, working The Baiyer in the Cessna 206. I finished as I began.
**********
After the final landing at Hagen and the welcome by the fire trucks and staff, there were a couple of celebratory cakes to cut, one provided by Nicki, and enough to share with base staff and also operational staff and engineers at HQ.
The following day, Friday 8th, was the last office day, at least for me as Nicki has continued tidying up ends of her orientation work. My inbox was empty and my desk clear, and it’s strange, unreal, that I no longer have input into the operational decisions that have been so much of my day to day life for so long. I will, however, manage to cope with not having 50 or more emails a day to deal with!
**********
During the morning I had a phone call from a journalist at RadioNZ. He’d heard it was my last flight after 25 years, and would I be willing to do an interview? Then was as convenient as any other time, so we chatted for a while and he later sent me the link to both the news page and the interview, which I thought came over well.
I asked him how he’d heard about me, and he replied it was through a friend of his. When I asked who that was, he told me it was Watna Mori, a young woman whom Nicki taught at Mount Hagen International School and whose mother is a friend at church. We saw Watna a couple of years ago when we met her as we passed through Moresby, and then in church when she visited her mother more recently. She is a qualified lawyer now, working in Moresby. Her younger sister, Amber, is one of our qualified aircraft engineers.
**********
Packing up, selling or giving away occupied last week, along with some time spent with friends. All bar one crate and some trunks are now closed and sealed. The house is empty, the cleaning very well-advanced thanks largely to Irene. How we will miss her, friend, advisor and helper for so long.
On Wednesday we moved to Godfrey & Glen Sim’s house as they are on leave. They suggested that it would be easier for us to finish the selling and packing if we didn’t have to use our own stuff right up to the last minute. That was excellent advice and we’re glad that we took it.
**********
Yesterday, Sunday 17th, was our last service with Mount Hagen Baptist Church. There were some lovely speeches of thanks, one from Gloria, a young woman who was born the year we arrived and whose family we’ve had quite a lot to do with. Then her father, Kambowa, a delightful and godly man who works for MAF as well as being an elder in the church. Finally, Maureen, Watna’s mother, and Maureen’s sister sang a farewell song to us.
After this the church secretary presented us with a gift, which when we opened it back at the house, was a lovely sand picture from Enga Province. We’ll very much enjoy having that on our wall in due course.
I gave the sermon, after which Nicki beautifully sang a song about God’s faithfulness.
Cake and coffee followed the service, and the chance to interact with a lot of people. Special memories!
**********
In the afternoon we drove out of Hagen and up to Rondon Ridge lodge for the second time in two days. On Saturday night we’d been invited to go with a small MAF group, including the MAFI CEO, Dave Fyock, who was visiting for the MAF PNG Board meeting. This time we drove up for a couple of days by ourselves, and hopefully to fulfil a long-term ambition to see a Blue Bird of Paradise.
On arrival at the lodge we found that Bob Bates, the owner and somebody again that I’ve known for a long time and whose flight checks I’ve also done, had allocated us the premium Presidential Suite and the couple of days as his guests. The generosity and kindness of him and so many others have been somewhat overwhelming; we’re not used to having a fuss made of us and usually shy away from it. But it’s been nice and very much appreciated.
This morning, Monday 18th, we were up early to go bird watching, and most of them had heard we were coming and decided to go elsewhere, except for … one young male Blue Bird of Paradise. Yay! Long-term bucket list item ticked! Tomorrow we’ll go again and hopefully get some better views and maybe of some other species that live around here as well.
Bel bilong mitupela i pulap tru; pen na amamas i bung wantaim. Sometimes I revert to Tok Pisin in my thinking, and this expresses the last couple of weeks: “Our hearts’ are full; sorrow and joy are mixed together.”
Later this week we’ll complete the packing, have our formal farewell on Friday, and finalise some of the arrangements for our time in New Zealand. This time next week we’ll be in Cairns.
