I can certainly attest to the challenges of flying in Papua New Guinea. the DHC-4 Caribou crews of RAAF 35 and 38 Squadrons routinely flew missions to remote villages in a region of VERY big mountains shrouded in cloud much of the time - without radar and before GPS was available - Extreme pilot and Nav challenges! Landing strips were typically rough, hastily cleared hillsides of indeterminate length - Tapini as an example was on a 25 degree slope and with the prevailing wind coming at 10 o'clock landings were a test for any pilot.
A4-147 was lost 6/10/68 while attemping to land at Tapini.
A4-202 crashed at Porgera 11/06/65.
A4-233 crashed 28/08/72 in the Kudjero Gap.
A4-285 damaged during a heavy landing at Efogi 5/9/08 (yes, the missions continue albeit with lower frequency)
The Australian Army, flying Pilatus PC-6B Porters had an easier time of it with the extraordinary capabilities of those remarkable aircraft. Nomad N22B and N24A were also extensively deployed in PNG.
Helicopter operations in PNG were similarly challneged by the rock filled clouds, heat, humidity and the altitudes.
There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are very few old bold pilots.