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New York lecture by serial adventurer
There's a reception/dinner/talk at the New York Explorer's Club tomorrow by an adventurer who just made a "first contact" in Papua New Guinea. A "first contact," for the uninitiated, is the first meeting between someone from modern society and an indigenous tribe. To put this feat in perspective, keep in mind there are still cannibals living in PNG. Here's a good story in last year's Smithsonian Magazine about that--they do a great job in telling it like it really is, without the hype or sensationalism.Anyways, back to this guy, Frederick Selby, who I've been talking to in the last couple weeks. He's done some ridiculous stuff, including trekking all over Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, Kilimanjaro, and the Alps. But here's the kicker: he works as a Wall Street banker by day. He told me his next trip will likely be northern Peru to explore some Mayan ruins or the south pole.
Most of his trips are for a group of his adventure friends. He just calls them up, everyone pools together the funds, and they find a local "fixer" who can help them with the logistics. A great role model for the rest of us.
Filed under: Stories, Papua New Guinea
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
James Nissley Oct 9th 2008 11:14AM
Hi Mate - Don't confuse the country of Papau New Guinea, which your speaker in New York visited, with the Indonesian province of Papua, the location of the story in the Smithsonian Magazine. Papua New Guinea is an independent country located on the eastern half of the island of New Guinea. The Indonesian province of Papua covers most of the western half of the island of New Guinea. I've lived in Papua New Guinea since 1994 and it is very very unlikly that cannabalism is being practiced anywhere in Papua New Gunea and hasn't been for many years. Tribal fighting is still very common, but no canabalism on this half of the island.