Jerom surveys the grey field of consolidated ash that makes up Crater D
itself once again with slippery roots and numerous logs to cross over. Added to this are the holes that one can’t see, and in places the volcanic stones covered in moss, which turn out to be as treacherous as soap. Sudden falls are unpredictable and unavoidable. The trail seems to be endless and I am overwhelmed by a miserable feeling of being pushed beyond the limits of my endurance, both physically and psychologically. “The courageous ones who venture on this trek, do it usually in three days,” confides my 27-year-old guide Jerom. “Therefore, I am satisfied with the way you walk.” For my part, I did it in two days, including a 7h30 walk on day 2. In
conclusion, it is not too much to say: Mt Balbi – you have to deserve it! An unforgettable experience, forever engraved into my memory.
PNG Air flies from Port Moresby to Kieta weekly For bookings: Call + 675 74112644
The writer Pierre with a background of sulphur gas plumes on the rim of Crater B
History Snapshot Bougainville Island was originally known as North Solomons as it is geographically attached to the Solomon Islands, although politically part of PNG. The first human being settled here 29,000 years ago during the Pleistocene’s ice age when the island was in fact part of Greater Bougainville when many of the Solomon Islands were joined together as a big land mass. This became known after the discovery of Kilu Cave (Buka Is) in 1987. In a rock shelter close to the seashore, remains of nerite (snail) shells were found, as well as bones of varanids (lizards), snakes and fish. Volcanic tools such as flakes (shaped stones) were brought into light. If the first inhabitants were of Australo- Melanesian origin, they were followed 3000 years ago by the Austranesians of the Lapita culture, who introduced pottery, agriculture and domestic animals such as pigs, dogs and chickens. The first Europeans were the Dutch – William Schouten and Jacob Le Maire – who sailed along Takuu atoll and Nissan Island in 1616. They were followed by the British navigator Philip Carteret who saw Buka Island in 1767.
However, it is the French admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville who gave his name to the island after he navigated along the east coast. The German colonial empire annexed the island in 1886, after it settled an agreement with the British empire over sharing the Solomon Islands. The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force took over Bougainville in 1914, and integrated it into the Territory of New Guinea in 1919 by mandate of the League of Nations. The Japanese invasion of 1942 was short lived, replaced by the Allied counter- offensive which regained full control of the islands in 1945. The Territory of Papua and New Guinea returned under the wing of Australia until the independence of PNG in 1975. The Bougainville Crisis, the violent civil war that was waged against the PNG Government from 1988, reached a ceasefire in 1998, and an agreement to create the Autonomous Region of Bougainville (AROB) was declared on June 25, 2002. The region overwhelmingly voted for independence in a 2019 referendum and leaders have set a deadline of the end of 2027 for its introduction.
VOLUME 34 2023
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