Well, I was exaggerating for the sake of drama. I was mostly referring to disease, though. Is New Guinea pretty bad?
Well its not nearly as bad as Africa - 'only' about 30-40% of the German planters died of malaria and other diseases (And the Germans had some of the least livable parts of the island).
Once you get well away from the coasts and a high enough altitude its pretty livable for Europeans, the problem is getting around the arduous terrain.