on the way to Madang

we came across two truck accidents. In the first, the back wheels had somehow fallen into a ravine at the edge of the road. We got past that one - I was driving - and we came across a semi only about a kilometre further on that must have jack-knifed so that it was blocking the whole road. Amazingly, as we sat waiting for the PMV ahead of us to go around the semi, Tony, husband of Joy one of my work colleagues, came over as he had recognised me. In the middle of no-where I see a PNGn whom I knew. The PMV got stuck and so a 4WD on the other side pulled it through the mud and then it was my turn. I'd never had a 4WD before so I had to learn how to engage 4WD low range - as easy as shifting the gear stick - and so we were on our way. Quite uneventful really but it made us about half an hour late into Madang.
The trip took about 5 and half hours. On the flats of the Markham valley the main problem is negotiating the potholes. Around Ramu the road is good until you get into the mountains when it becomes unsealed rock. The unsealed section is probably only 50 k but it is the roughest of rock. I don't think you would get a low slung sedan over it.