Shangri-La-Rain
p. 48 · Read in the full issue
End Of A Dream
Shangri-La-Rain And Pig-Houses
REMEMBER Shangri-La, the so called “lost” valley of Lavani, in the Southern Highlands of Papua? In its day—less than two years ago—it was as big a news paper sensation as the Joyita or Arakarimoa, or Fiji’s Red sub marines. , Newspapers all over the world clamoured to be first to send a cor respondent into this new glamour land. And, in a way, it is a pity that they were not permitted to.
A routine air-survey by two P-NG Departmental chiefs of unpatrolled areas of the Highlands started the rabbit running and when geologist John Zehnder emerged from the same area a little later to say he had visited the valley, the news hawks were in full cry. .
Officers of P-NG’s Native Affairs Department always recognised this valley as just another of many isolated communities in this newest of P-NG Districts.
Since the first sensation, patrols have been made to the valley, the latest of them in November-De cember, 1955, when Patrol Officer J P. Sinclair and European Medical Assistant A. Speer, as part of a
larger patrol in the Duna area, spent 26 days in the valley.
Mr. Sinclair later described Lavani as the coldest and wettest place he has ever seen —only six of the days they spent there were without rain, and at that altitude (the valley floor is 7,000 ft) the rain is icy.
Much of the valley is marshy very inferior sweet-potatoes are tfa staple diet; the people are secretatiw and suspicious; and the populatioc is not nearly as large as at firs believed because many of the larg' pig-houses were mistaken for tW standard type Lavani house.