Sunday, June 1st 2008. Today, three other VSO volunteers and I visited Balek Wildlife Sanctuary 10km south of Madang town. There is a sulphur creek that flows from a huge limestone formation. A Papua New Guinean family manages this area and they took us across the South Coast Road toward the mountain and into the rainforest. The man said that it is believed that spirits inhabit the area and that many years ago people with leprosy were brought to the water for its healing properties. I was surprised by the amount of life in this “smelly water.” Thanks to the Lonely Planet, we came prepared with bananas to feed the eel and turtles; however, the fish and ducks seemed to be more interested. The young girls of the family were eager to entertain us by climbing high in the trees for beetle nuts and swinging across the creek on vines.
I assumed they were putting on a show for the white manmeri (people), nevertheless I enjoyed every second of it and tried my best to capture it all on my camera just as any tourist would!
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