On our way up the Puliya river by zodiac we get an impromptu singsing from the bank of the river. This was apparently an apology for the last visit when rascals from the local village attempted to rob the boat.

The captain dealt with it. Apparently it's hard to hold onto a ship from a small boat when the big boat is doing 20 knots.

Reuben Tupa from Kumbun Island near West New Britain tells me “Our ancestors, how they live we live same like that”. It's true, they paddle hand made dug out canoes to catch fish, not for industry as they have nobody to trade with, but to eat. “When drought comes, government doesn't look after us, all the food from the garden dries up. When the drought gets us we only eat coconut and eat fish.”

It takes its toll, the average life expectancy in PNG is around 51 years.

“No medicine, we didn't get any supplies from the government, when anybody sick, also die.”

There are definitely no dentists around here, everywhere I turn the teeth are stained red and rotten. It's been this way for as long as they can remember, from a young age the majority of the people chew betel nut, the seed of a type of palm tree. It makes them feel good and gives them energy, it also stains and rots the teeth and is known to cause oral cancer. They don't care, there's no alcohol, cigarettes are a rarity and that's what’s left.