A NORTHERN TERRITORY couple have returned to Darwin after three years in Papua New Guinea with Australian Volunteers International.

Kate Wheen and her partner, George Butler, went to PNG in 2008. Ms Wheen working on issues including HIV and climate change and George with the anti-corruption watchdog.

Ms Wheen said Port Moresby was like Darwin, but with more political unrest. "You couldn't walk on the foreshore at night," she said. "It was like a big melting pot of cultures.

“Everything was fortified and had barbed wire - but we got used to being security conscious. It is good to be back here."

She said spending so much time in the country had helped to break down cultural differences. "We felt like part of the community. I consider myself a true PNG-o-gram."

"We plan to go back to Papua one day. "But I love Darwin - I enjoy being back."

Source: Northern Territory News