AS you might expect, these range from very positive to very disappointed.

PNG's natural beauty is world renowned, its flora and fauna are unique and its wealth is phenomenal.

There are extraordinary reefs, amazing rivers and lakes and the mountain ranges are up there with the big ones.

The natural environment provides some of the real challenges to life in PNG. In recent years there have been volcanic eruptions, a drought and a tsunami. These add to the perennial challenges of the jungles, swamps, mountains and malarial mosquitoes.

Despite inestimable mineral and oil wealth, the PNG economy is chronically weak, never seeming to escape the cycle of budget shortfalls and borrowing from international banks.

This flows on to the community at large as evidenced by a very large unemployment problem. Only ten percent of the population are in formal employment, and there is a steady flow of people to the cities seeking a cash lifestyle rather than the traditional village subsistence farming life. The inevitable result is extensive urban crime. One of the worst aspects of this in the past decade has been the rapid proliferation of guns, many stolen from the Army and Police, many traded for drugs across neighbouring borders, and the rest homemade.

One of the best sources of information on PNG is the daily newspaper, Post Courier

For those familiar with PNG, or wanting to gain some insights, a visit to pnggossip.com will give you the chance to receive a free fortnightly newsletter prepared by long-time PNG resident, Trevor Michie.

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