Expedition update

It looks like we have some challenges to overcome before we leave for New Guinea. We just got an email from a guy that led a previous expedition to New Britain:

2 things:
1 If you are going to kayak in the caves, the odds of dying very high. The
caves on the Nakanai are extremely difficult. If you are going someplace
like Mine or Nare you are looking at miles of technical rope work after you
reach the entrance. Every river cave I know about there ends in a sump. You
will have to drag your self and your boat back the way you came. I
intentionally waited until I had years of river and alpine cave experience
before I went there. My two assistants also have more big river cave
experience than anyone else in the world the story would have been
impossible without their expertise.

2 There was a tribal war brewing near the Nare when I was there. It
centered around tribes being jealous of the money -about a dollar a day-
that we were paying our porters in Ora. The tribes around Nare were
demanding something like $10,000 us for access to the cave and threatening
to kill us by cutting our ropes if we went there without paying. If your
plans are to go to somewhere known like Mine or Nare or Ora, be prepared to
spend a long time negotiating and make sure you are negotiating with the
right people.

good luck,
Stephen

Sounds sketch to me! I guess we have some more logistical work to do before things are good to go...