General Information of Conducting Linguistic Research in NIP

The following information is based on my first field trip in New Ireland Province.
(from 12/Oct/2006 to 07/Nov/2006).

Before Departure

“Collect basic information of the language you are going to work on”
http://www.sil.org/pacific/png/index.asp
http://globalrecordings.net/ (you can listen to it!)

“Contacts of KARA, LAVATBURA-LAMUSONG, and MADAK”
Please ask Sasha for detailed information.
Sasha's webpage in RCLT
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/rclt/StaffPages/aikhenvald.htm

“Visa Application”

Tourist Visa Application (for the first short visit)
http://www.pngcanberra.org/visas/index.htm

Research Visa Application (for the 9 months’ trip)
1. Documentations needed:
① A cover letter (give a general description of your work plan in NIP)
② A research proposal
③ Your CV (resume)
④ A photocopy of the ID page of your passport
⑤ 2 recommendation letters from RCLT
I will suggest you fax those materials to the National Research Institute before departure.

2. Contact
Make sure you contact James Robins before departure. You can ask him to book a room for you at Lamana Hotel in Port Moresby. I will also suggest you to meet James in Gold Club (a bar inside Lamana Hotel) and submit your research visa application to him directly.

James Robins
Divisional Head and Senior Research Editor of
THE NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE http://www.nri.org.pg/
TEL: +675 326 0300 / 0061
Mobile: +675 686 3895
Fax: +675 326 0213
Email: nri@global.net.pg (emails are not reliable in PNG)
Address:
The Research Visa Liaison Section,
The National Research Institute,
P O Box 5854, Boroko, NCD. 111.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA

“Airline Booking”
Please review the web site below.
http://www.latrobe.edu.au/finance/travel/travelguide.doc

“Travel Doctor”
http://www.tmvc.com.au/about_locations.asp?ClinicID=35

Arrange an appointment with the travel doctor. You can get immunizations, mosquito net, repellent, and antimalarial drugs there. There are lots of camping stores near the travel doctor’s clinic, where you can get water purification tablets.

“How to carry money”
For the short visit I will suggest that you
1. Get 400 kina in Australia (though the exchange rate is not good)
2. Get traveller’s cheque in AUD (you can encash them in Kavieng and then put the money into your BSP bank account)
3. Carry 200 AUD with you
4. Withdraw money through your visa card in Port Moresby if necessary
5. Better exchange rate is available at the airport of Port Moresby.

“Gifts for the local people”
1. Prepare some special gifts (from Australia or from your own country) for really important persons, for example, for those people who are listed in “Contacts of KARA, LAVATBURA-LAMUSONG, and MADAK”. (And their family members)
2. As for other local people, I will suggest that you buy gifts from Kavieng town for the first short visit. The following web page might be helpful (you can also obtain lots of useful information from “Eva Linstrom’s Travel tips for New Ireland”).
http://www.ling.su.se/STAFF/evali/resetips.html#Gifts

Arrive at Port Moresby
A shuttle bus of Lamana Hotel will pick you up at the airport. You only need to wait outside the airport and catch the shuttle bus (“Lamana Hotel” is printed on the bus).

“Lamana Hotel”
http://www.lamanahotel.com.pg/
1. Visa card is acceptable in Lamana Hotel.
2. You have to book a seat at the reception if you need the shuttle bus to send you to the airport the next morning.

Arrive at Kavieng

“Provincial Approval”
The most important thing you need to do in Kavieng is to obtain the “Provincial Approval” from the “Office of the Provincial Administration”
Contact the Executive Officer of Provincial Administration Mrs Elsie Wambun and let her know when you are going to visit her office. Tel: +675 984 2289, Fax +675 984 2280. Address: P.O.BOX 103, Kavieng, New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea.
Make sure you get a copy of the approval and also ask them to send a copy to James Robins.

“SIL Kavieng Centre”
Manager: Rhona Lisam
Tel: +675 984 2673
Email: rc-kavieng@sil.org.pg
•K108/night (airport run: K6/time )
•24hours electricity, hot running water, gas
•Full kitchen, fridge
•Washing machine (you need to pay)
•single/double bed with mattress, pillows and sheet
•Self-catering
•Read the “Handbook” in your room, you will find the rules and some useful information.

“Living in Kavieng”
Please see the “Simple Map of KVG Town” to find locations of supermarkets, post office, banks, etc.

•Supermarkets: you can get rice, tin fish/meat, instant noodles, oil, salt, sugar, coffee, etc from the supermarkets.

•The Market: Fruits, vegetables and sea food are available in The Market (Mon-Sat, 6am-11am).

•Post Office:
Mon-Thur 08:00am-04:15pm
Fri 08:00am-03:30pm

•Telephone: http://www.telikompng.com.pg/
You need to purchase Telikad (TELECARD) before making phone calls. You can get Telikad from either the post office or BISI SUPER MART.
2 public phones are available outside BISI SUPER MART.
You can also use SIL’s telephone and it is cheaper if you use your own telikad.

•Banking:
There are two banks in Kavieng town. “Westpac Bank PNG” and “Bank of South Pacific” (BSP). BSP is recommended. Because the “KunduCard” issued by BSP is widely accepted all over PNG. By using KunduCard, you can easily purchase goods in stores, pay your bills in hotels, and withdraw money from all the ATMs in PNG.
http://www.bsp.com.pg/
In order to open a bank account in BSP, you need:
1. Your passport
2. Another photo ID (I use my La Trobe Card)
3. A local people to accompany you and sign on certain documents. (I think SIL’s manager can help you with this.)
You need to wait about 2 weeks for getting your KunduCard. So I suggest that you go to open your account as soon as you arrive at Kavieng.

“PMV”
•There are 2 PMV stops in Kavieng town. One is just the opposite of Crystal Trading; the other is in front of City Pharmacy. Ask the local people about detailed information of travelling by the PMVs.
•Road Conditions: (along EAST COAST)
From Kavieng town to Namatanai town is about 250km (almost 5 hours drive, K50).
The road is wide and smooth from KVG to the kara area (less than 1 hour drive).
But the road from the kara area to Namatanai is very narrow and bumpy.