Day 12- August 17th

Sarah standing with the priest

After a sopping wet day of fishing, it was only understandable we all woke up groggy and tired. By losing our privacy and alone time for two weeks, we were getting exhausted being around each other. Sarah started throwing some of the vases at Jessie, but thankfully Ayesha caught every one of them with her impeccable basketball skills. Sierra danced around the room running her fingers along the wall all while singing heavy metal songs. Jessie, being the most fed up, screamed at everyone to shut their traps, although some of us said that Jessie was a little out there too. Thank goodness the resort rooms were not connected, or else we would have gotten an earful of screaming from the neighbors. We all got dressed grudgingly and walked out the door ready to go to our next location.

Saint Mary's Catholic Cathedral (Culture): The first place we went to with our rental car that day was St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. The Church was right near Ela Beach, and quite an extraordinary structure. There was a tall, open cone in the front with intricate and colorful designs on the inside. When we entered the structure, there was a color scheme of light blues and a grand seating area for people to sit at.

All of us at Saint Mary's Catholic Cathedral

In 2000, the census measured Christianity to be the main Papua New Guinea religion with 96% of the population. We wanted to get a sense of the atmosphere they practice their beliefs in, and St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral gave us the perfect opportunity to do so.

When we had finished observing the glory of the Church, we left to go walk on the beach. It was a long stretch of sand so we walked and admired the ocean and the shells everywhere. After walking around for awhile, we stopped at the Ela Beach Cafe for a quick meal. We were running out of time, so we ordered the food to go.

Adventure Park PNG (Culture): Everyone was excited to take a look all the exotic creatures and plants that resided in the foreign country there. The Papua New Guinea Adventure Park was the perfect place to visit. It took twenty minutes to get there, which apparently was too long for Sierra to sit still inside an enclosed space.

The Adventure Park was basically a theme park, but nothing like any amusement park we had been to. With its pen field and abundance of trees, along with a large lake, it was a change of scenery from the usual long lines for rides and other activities. There were water slides and a Ferris wheel, but it seemed to be focused more on outdoorsy activities. The park included an elaborate ropes course, zip lining to get a view of the stunning landscape, exotic birds, and an orchid garden. Jessie, Sierra, and Katelin participated in bungee jumping.

Asian paradise flycatcher

Bird of Paradise

While the rides and activities were fun, the birds and garden seemed to stand out above all else. This was also the location we spent the most time exploring. The birds were very exotic looking and colorful, and we admired their beauty. We got stunning pictures of the Raggiana Bird of Paradise, the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, and the Victoria Crowned Pigeons.

Victoria crowned pigeons

It was very disappointing to have to leave such colorful scenery and animals to come back home. The tropical setting was able to enhance all of the activities within the park, and it was so incredibly fascinating to explore. The zip lining was one of the most thrilling activities. When we were up in the air, we were able to gain a birds-eye-view of all of the greenery.

There also happened to be a variety of water slides that weaved in and out of the trees. It was like a Disney World water park without all of the ugly cement. It focused more on the nature-like atmosphere, so people wouldn't be missing out on the characteristics that came with the location. It made the ropes course feel like we were walking on vines through the forest and the bungee jumping made us feel like Tarzan.

Another incredible part of the park was the recreation of a Mayan temple with slides coming out of all of the sides. It showed us that even with such a unique environment of their own, Papua New Guinea doesn't ignore the rest of the world; they explore the culture and history of everywhere.

Water slide in the adventure park

That night we slept with frowns on our faces knowing it was our last day in Papua New Guinea. The next day we'd be flying out of the tropical paradise where we had gone on our many incredible adventures.