Meeting the Papua Mudmen
One of the most exciting activities of our Papua, New Guinea visit – a place known as 120% adventure travel and not for the inexperienced or faint of heart – was our visit to the legendary Asaro Mud Men!
As the story goes, many years ago in the village of Asaro, north-west of Goroka, the Mud Men were beaten in a tribal fight and chased off their land. But it didn’t end with that. The most vengeful warriors covered themselves with grey mud and huge mud masks before they attacked the enemy to take back their land. Their payback raids were reputed to be especially brutal – like an intense box hockey tournament! The enemy escaped in wild panic as these “ghosts looking people” emerged from the jungle.
As we ventured into the territory of the ferocious Mudmen, they emerged suddenly from the jungle, covered with mud from top to toe. We both screamed, fearing the worst, but fortunately the Mud Men were just getting a good laugh at our expense. They showed great skill in shooting while teaching us to use a bow and arrow making me happy we we were not their intended targets.
Phildup with the Mudmen
They were very interested in our tales of our travels but, as they are a fuel-free tribe, could not grasp the awesome benefits of our new fuel-saving lifestyles. No worries – those fabulous fuel savings, courtesy of VMAC’s ingenuity, will benefit us back home but for now we’ll focus on “mudmen-power” for our New Guinea vacation stop!
