Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to Simbu Province, a place I have always heard about but was not able to travel to. I mean I was born and spent the early years of my life in Goroka town and I did hear about Simbu but never had the opportunity to travel there.
Simbu Province has six Districts - Chuave, Guminae, Kundiawa-Gembogl, Kerowagi, Sina Sina Yongomugl and finally, Karamui/Nomane.Well this time, after so many years, I finally was able to travel there. The highlands highway was under a Government funded rehabilitation program so the road from Goroka to Simbu was very smooth. There were ocassional potholes, land slips, unsealed sections and even drops in ground level bit overall, the road was done very well. I got to experience the great Highlands Highway!
When we arrived in Simbu province, I was even more amazed to see a District road was well rehabilitated. This video, shot using a Samsung A52 mobile phone, is about the road that runs from Kundiawa town to Gembogl station in the Kundiawa-Gembogl District of Simbu Province. The road was rehabilitated in 2018 by the PNG Government and funded by the Asian Development Bank at a cost of K105 million. It was one of multiple roads up in the highlands region that the PNG Government got a loan of K3billion back in 2017 to fund. Read more here from the two newspaper articles - Post Courier and The National about the road contracts.
The Kundiawa Gembogl Road is an amazing road with the most beautiful scenery, cool mountain breeze and rugged terrain. We only stopped at Gembogl station but if you travel further on, you arrive at basecamp of Mt Wilhelm, the highest mountain in PNG.
Kundiawa-Gembogl District is renowned for its fresh vegetables such as onion bulbs, cabbage, potatoes, carrot, peas, passionfruit and sweet potatoes.
Here is the video:
