Hello ladies and gents this is the Viking telling you that today we are talking about
Papua New Guinea facts to help you plan for an incredible trip
1. Papua New Guinea has 851 languages
One of my favourite facts about PNG is that Papua New Guinea is the most linguistically diverse country in the world.
The most popular language is Tok Pisin, an English-based creole with German-language elements. The country also has an official sign language.
2. Papua New Guinea has 5% of global biodiversity
Most people don’t know how biodiverse Papua New Guinea is – it’s one of the world’s finest scuba diving locations thanks to the stunning biodiversity underwater.
Even though Papua New Guinea has a total of 1% of Earth’s total land area, it has 20,000 plant species, 800 species of coral, and over 650 species of fish.
Do you have your scuba diving PADI? If not, you might want to get one before travelling to Papua New Guinea to really make the most of this unique world underwater.
3. PNG has the world’s third largest rainforest
Many of us know Papua New Guinea is full of rainforest but did you know it has the world’s third biggest rainforest?
Papua New Guinea has a 288,000 square kilometres rainforest, third in line after the Amazon Rainforest and the Congo Rainforest. One of the best little known facts about Papua New Guinea is that there’s plenty of opportunity for adventure!
4. PNG is home to one of the world’s very few poisonous birds
Papua New Guinea is home to the hooded pitohui bird, native to the country. But the hooded pitohui bird isn’t your average one – it’s one of Earth’s very few poisonous birds.
Because of that, hunters are cautious to preserve the birds because they kill many parasites and are fantastic for the ecosystem. Hunters also love the unique characteristics of these birds.
You probably won’t accidentally come across one, so nothing to worry about, but exciting to know about!
5. The capital city is Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea established Port Moresby as the capital in 1873. It’s home to over 360,000 citizens and is the largest South Pacific city outside Australia and New Zealand.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
I remember in the 50’s David Attenborough did an early TV series, I think it was called Zoo Quest? He covered PNG and Indonesia. From that was a follow on called in Search of a Dragon which captivated my interest. He found the “Dragon”, in reality the largest lizard on earth, the Komodo Monitor. I believe he brought one back to the U.K. and was put on display in one of the countries zoo’s. I believe there is still one in captivity.
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