Thanks for the kind words all
To answer your queries:
Mosquitoes (and Malaria/Dengue) are an issue and I will use Deet if going out for the evening where I know I'll be outside. Depending on where you are seems to affect how bad they are. Timika is actually ok and I rarely get bitten thankfully. Due to the work we do (pilots) and duration of time out here, all the anti-malaria pills are a no-no. It's a risk we take and I know lots of fellow pilots who've had one or other (or both!). Worst I've had so far is a couple of doses of Typhoid and that's despite having the vaccine!
The "Magic Tree" is a token effort against the local's unique aroma. It's impossible to put into words how pungent the smell is at times; a romantic aviation job this ain't!
The house on the hill is actually the airstrip's "Terminal building" at Tsinga. The airstrip was build on that ridge at 6500ft by the Freeport mining company for the local people. What they didn't consider is the fact the villages it serves are in the valley floor below which is a 2 hour hike...
As for flying hours. I can log up to 30 hours on a good week or zero on a bad one if the aircraft's gone tech. The aircraft take a real pounding on the airstrips here and getting parts shipped is a constant battle with customs. They just don't understand AOG and hold the parts for days/weeks sometimes.
