A Bike Journey through the Highlands.

I glanced at my watch, 2:49 am it read. We were passing through Watabung in Daulo, EHP when a motorbike overtook us on the Highlands Highway, leaving me puzzled about its presence in such an unexpected place at an unexpected hour. Little did I know that the rider was heading home to Wapenamanda from Lae. But it wasn’t about the destination, it was all about the journey itself.

Traveling the Highlands Highway can be an intimidating journey, with tales of roadblocks and criminal elements in notorious hotspots like Barola and Kombri. And with the deteriorating road conditions, it can be a menacing journey to embark on.

 As the sun slowly set on a Sunday afternoon, 24 students from Unitech embarked on a mission to raise educational awareness in Enga province. The peer-to-peer Career Expo, organized by the Enga Student and Staff Association under President Terence Shem and Female Vice President Alice Pokon's leadership, was an opportunity to make a difference for students studying in remote places in the country and give some valuable insights into the courses studied at the Papua New Guinea University of Technology and the entry requirements. Our vessel for this journey was the Navigator, a 25-seater white-blue Coaster bus aptly named for its familiarity with the winding roads.

Excitement filled the bus, carrying first-final year students, as if embarking on a thrilling excursion. The Enga Mioks had just defeated the Mendi Muruks at the Lae Rugby League ground, and the announcement of the final scoreline via WhatsApp update from the ground had sent waves of excitement throughout the cabin. While Sean Rii's "Rainy Lae" played on the stereo, light showers kissed the windows, and the wind caressed our outstretched hands as we zoomed at 160 mph down the Miles Speedway with the exhaust breaks diligently firing at each bend, skillfully alleviating the turn’s momentum.

By 9 pm, we found ourselves ascending the Kassam Pass, shrouded in fog that hinted at the colder temperatures awaiting us. It was around midnight when we reached Goroka, and as we briefly halted for a caffeine boost, a few intoxicated bystanders lingered around the service station at Faniufa. The clock had just struck 12, and the weekend spirit still echoed in the air, with a couple of revelers howling at the moon further down the main road from the fuel station.

While approaching Watabung, just before the ascent of Daulo Pass, a Coaster bus overtook us, trailed by a yellow motorbike in full speed. Speculations and assumptions ran rampant among the passengers, with divided opinions on the identity of the rider. After catching up and overtaking the yellow motorbike, our doubts shifted to a hopeful belief that the rider was one of our very own peers - McBride Matai, a third-year Civil Engineering student from Wapenamanda. This was the Vice President of Enga Student and Staff Association cruising alone on the Highlands Highway at 3 am, in the eerie hours of the morning. This was McBride on a daring adventure.

McBride Matai on his bike at his dormitory at the PNG University of Technology. 

Embarking on a long journey on a motorbike in the middle of the night seemed like a cinematic experience straight out of a film. When the world around was asleep, under the moonlight and a million stars, there was a rider roaming freely through the nocturnal landscape, resembling a shooting star in the dark sky. Imagine viewing from a bird's eye perspective. It must’ve been an experience, we said to one another inside the bus. How lonely must it be? Is it raining outside? These questions floated around in the cabin, and beyond the cold mountains outside, the spirits of the land watched over the road, witnessing a soul enveloped in solitude and profound isolation - an experience rarely witnessed since the days of Adam in the Garden of Eden.

During our descent from Daulo Pass, we made a stop at a roadside market, providing an opportunity to chat with McBride. He took out his phone and showed me a picture of a rider on his bike and quote above it that read, “Bikers ride motorcycles because they’re addicted to freedom… and committed to a way of life that few have the balls to live”. This was an experience reserved for those with the audacity and passion to pursue such a challenge—a test of personal limits and an exploration of one's resilience. Here was a bike lover, willing to test how far he could go with his companion. Happiness was a byproduct of one’s pursuit of passion.

The Navigator temporarily led the way as we traveled in tandem along the highway. However, the bus distanced its lead from the bike after passing Kundiawa, around 4:30 am. We detoured into Kindeng to fetch a bag of fruits for one of the passengers. Then, as dawn broke, we cruised through Jiwaka into Mt Hagen. We garnered curious glances from onlookers as we raced past the Wabag bus-stop and traffic lights in Mt Hagen, with question marks on the faces of those K5 bus crews demanding why we were not stopping at the designated drop-off point. A final refueling at Kaiwe preceded our journey's final leg, with the coordinates set for Wabag.

At Tomba checkpoint, we paused our journey to savor our breakfast. As everyone stretched their backs and legs, placing orders for cooked bananas, broccoli and some fruits, McBride cruised to a halt beside the Navigator. The daylight revealed the dirt, dust, and mud clinging to his bike, a testament to the arduous journey from Lae to Enga Province. I’m reminded of a quote I saw, that all the mud and dirt will wash off, but the memory will last forever.

After breakfast, the Navigator glided along, maneuvering through curves and bends, passing the old checkpoint, and shifting gears and easing the speed off the exhaust breaks as the Enga-Western Highlands Province border boom gate loomed into view. We made a grand entrance into the province, with a banner proudly displayed at the front, informing the on-duty policemen that the Navigator carried passengers on a mission to disseminate vital information to secondary school students. The policemen gave us a VIP Pass into Enga Province. As we drove past the Kumul Lodge, the yellow bike zipped past us without any intention of stopping or exchanging words on the road. The bike had entered Wapenamanda district, and this was familiar territory.

Descending the Pausa cliffs, the Navigator gradually decelerated, intermittently applying the exhaust breaks as we approached the Lai bridge that spanned the mighty flow of the river Lai and Minamb combined below. There, on the edge of the bridge, stood a lone figure, his bike an extension of his being. Below, the mighty currents of the Lai River flowed, washing with it waves of tribute and accolades to the two figures on the bridge. This sight, though missed by a camera lens, was definitely immortalized by the Nature’s lens – an instant when man, machine, and nature merged into one. 522 kilometers, 18 arduous hours, six provinces, several towns – just one moment with an aura of victory in the clouds and a flow of triumph underneath the bridge. Home was just a short 20 mins ride away.

The Navigator drove up the winding mountain pass from the river gorge, surrounded by the peacefulness of a Monday morning. The road ahead was quiet, allowing me to close my eyes and find a moment of tranquility. I could hear the wind outside, faint conversations in the cabin, soft music playing through someone's earphones, and then a distant rumble of a motorcycle engine. With my eyes shut, I let my mind absorb the moment. I recalled how, during late nights around 2 or 3 am, I would sit on the stairs of the Mining Engineering department foyer and hear that same rumble from the nearby Civil Engineering department. In those instances, the thought would occur to me that one day this unfamiliar sound would no longer capture my notice, but instead harmoniously meld with the environment, transforming into a familiar background element.

McBride smoothly cruised alongside us and had a brief exchange of words with Terence in the front seat. Then, with the foot to the pedal, he raced off into the wind. With the majestic cliffs of Pausa gracing the background, the encompassing beauty of Wapenamanda all around, and a wide-open highway stretching in front, the yellow bike that once seemed foreign on Unitech soil was now on home turf.

 

McBride and his bike somewhere along the Highlands Highway. 

The story highlights one's determination, courage, and the unforgettable experience of embarking on a solitary adventure like being on a pilgrimage. The message here is to pursue one's passions with fearlessness, push the boundaries of comfort, and find fulfillment in the extraordinary moments that life presents.