16 Lae-Eastern Highlands Finding that the Otter was going on to Chimbu, and had room for us, we left Goroka in her at 10:39. Quick climb over a narrow divide about 9000 feet high between Asara Valley at Goroka and the Wahgi waters of the Chimbu district. This mostly under cloud, but saw much good primary forest on the range (the Goroka-Mt. Hagen road crosses at about 8000 feet in good forest recommended by Womersley as a working locality) Chuave Government Station in the Chimbu is in limestone country so rugged that no place can be found for an airstrip. Some tremendous faces of partly forested white limestone. Bat caves 1/2 mile from Goroka-Mt. Hagen Road near Chuave being investigated as source of guano. Landed at Chimbu (Officially Kundiawa) at 11 o'clock. A "one-shot" air- strip, on a short, flat-topped but rather steeply downhill-sloping ridge, with drops of several hundred feet at both ends. Headquarters of Chimby Sub-District of Eastern Highlands, in charge ADO Terry Dwyer. White population of 25, in- cluding one trade and a Lutheran Mission, but mainly government personnel. Combined European school, with blackboard and regular school seats, darts board and bar. 25 native police including a sergeant-major. Original thatched buildings largely replaced with structures of sawn timber, iron roofs, and glass windows. Inspected a new police dwelling (married) of 4 rooms, bathroom, and kitchen with quite big iron stove; fitted with glass louvres. At airstrip a sprinkling of men and women in old native costume, and loaded with pearl shells, etc. Keglsugl airstrip (8300 feet, and reputedly the highest airstrip in the British Empire (it is the highest in New Guinea), which we propose to use for approach to Mt. Wilhelm in June, is in the Chimbu Sub-District. Dwyer gave us maps which will be helpful. He says 2/- is the carrier rate from Keglsugl to the lower lake on Mt. Wilhelm at about 11,000 feet. Chimbu rate for casual carriers is 3d per hour, and they feed themselves. Dwyer taking a patrol into the Keglsugl country late in May, and proposes to climb Wilhelm then. This will help us in June. Left Chimbu carrying a patrol officer's effects, a sick native woman lying flat on the floor, bunches of bananas, and cartons of eggs and vegetables. Landed at Goroka 2 PM. Too late for lunch at the hotel, so Womersley called up the administration transport pool for a Land Rover for which he had wired ahead. Could not raise anyone in authority. Government vehicles lined up in plenty in front of the hotel, where Goroka was celebrating Easter Tuesday and beer was flowing. The District Commissioner reportedly in bed after a spree in Madang, on the coast, from which returned by air early this morning. We therefore hired a rattletrap old jeep from the garage and service station. Sans hand brake. All dashboard instruments out of order. No lights. Second gear having to be held in by hand. Still, with John's good driving, we set out for a sawmill on the south slopes of Mt. Otto about mid afternoon and got back to Goroka about night- fall -- 6:45 pm. From Goroka's 5500 feet we drove 8-9 miles to an altitude of 7300 ft. at Kotuni Sawmill. Country to about 7000 ft. almost entirely deforested for gardening and either grassy or producing forest second growths. What the original forest was I do not know. From the bottom of the Goroka valley to Goroka town and up the slopes to about 6500 feet I saw no relic of the original vegetation. At about 6500 ft. a few Castanopsis trees appeared, Isolated for some reason in garden lands or lands recently cultivated. At that point, about 100 feet above the road in the narrow valley we were following, a relic forest patch was dominated by a gray-boled tree which Womersley said was Nothofagus. Where we