Any expedition visiting in the dry season would probably discover many more butterflies. I suspect there are some areas like this in Africa, and am sure that there are similar places in South America. |
By some miracle of the stars, everything came together and we were able to spend two weeks on the mountain. I'm still pinching myself that it could work. |
By some miracle of the stars, everything came together. |
Everyone was so transfixed. You are seeing a bird that no Western scientist has ever seen. I was shouting. This trip was a once-in-a-lifetime series of shouting experiences. |
I know the Bush administration is talking about going back to the moon and going to Mars. But there are plenty of new things to look for right here, in our rain forests, in our oceans. There are whole worlds that are unknown to us. |
It has a fairyland quality. |
It has a fairyland quality. It's a spectacularly beautiful Garden of Eden. |
It really was like crossing some sort of time warp into a place that people hadn't been to. |
It's as close to the Garden of Eden as you're going to find on Earth. |
Large mammals that have been hunted to near extinction elsewhere were here in abundance. We were able to simply pick up two long-beaked echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal that is little known. |
No logging permits are given to this area, there is no transport system _ not a single road. |
No logging permits are given to this area, there is no transport system, not a single road. But clearly with time everything is a threat. In the next few decades there will be strong demands, especially if you think of the timber needs of nearby countries like China and Japan. They will be very hungry for logs. |
The first bird we saw at our camp was a new species. Large mammals that have been hunted to near extinction elsewhere were here in abundance. |
The first time I saw the face of that honeyeater with those wattles was a heart-stopping moment. |
The politics and the environmental constraints of western New Guinea are changing all the time. It is difficult to get permits. By some miracle, everything came together. |