EM209A 2018 SEPIK RIVER, SIMBAI AND GOROKA SHOW TOUR FRI 07-MON 17 SEPTEMBER 10 nights Sepik River, Simbai, Mt Hagen, Goroka Show (small group tour maximum 12 people + local guide) This small group tour (up to 12 people but usually only 6 or 8) begins in Wewak then onwards to the Sepik River including one night in a village on the mystical middle Sepik, home of the crocodile cult, then hops by charter flight to Simbai to experience the unadulterated culture of this exotic Highlands tribe, then overland from Mt Hagen to Goroka for the Show. The Goroka Show is partly an agricultural show and partly a highlands sing-sing. Since colonial days the people of the eastern highlands have come together once a year to display samples of their best crops and livestock to compete for prizes, and to show off their most colourful and energetic dance traditions. The pride of each tribe is vested in its dancing groups which vie for attention and prominence on the dance ground often there are several groups performing at once in different parts of the arena. Sparks fly occasionally on the field as jealousy and competition fuel conflict between tribal groups. At the end of the Show, judges award prizes to the best dancing groups. Cash awards have now taken the place of pigs and brides. Due to no road links between Wewak and Goroka and the high cost of air travel, Sepik River cultural groups rarely make it to the Goroka Show so this itinerary includes the Sepik as an important stop to explore the culture of the riverine tribes. Simbai is an isolated district in the highlands. It is located approximately halfway between Mt Hagen and Madang. The Simbai district is populated by the Kalam tribe. Archaeological digs in this area indicate that the Kalam people have occupied the Simbai area continuously for more than a thousand years. The dialect spoken by the people here is one of PNG s most unusual languages, characterised by glottal stops. The traditional culture here is also unique among Papua New Guinea s eight hundred tribes. Native houses have a trademark irregular hexagon shape, men s initiation ceremonies feature nose-piercing and pig-killing, and on special occasions the initiated men wear huge cane-framed head dresses the largest in Papua New Guinea decorated with animal skins and the exoskeletons of thousands of luminescent green beetles collected from the forest. Just an hour s walk from the airstrip brings you to traditional villages where time has stood still and the local people still live in grass huts, still wear local style dress and still hunt game and harvest fruit and vegetables from the forest for their diet. NOTE: EM209A is a wet foot tour that involves up to 1 hour walking in some places to get to villages, clambering in and out of canoes, and several nights sleeping rough in very basic accommodation at Simbai and the Sepik River - village guest houses with clean bedding and hygienic food but rather primitive outhouse bathrooms and only limited electricity for charging batteries. Some physical agility and mental resilience is required for this tour on the other hand if a cultural immersion experience is your idea of a tour then this experience will be perfect for you. Note that this is a unique small group tour program originally designed by Ecotourism Melanesia and not offered by any other tour company. The tour price includes a tour development levy to recoup our outlays on designing, reconnoitring and organising this remote area program, plus a share of the group leader s travel costs, various hidden costs like local permits and insurances, retainers for local guides, air-freighting of gear and supplies from Port Moresby etc.
TOUR COST USD 7550 / AUD 9450 per person based on twin-share or willing-to-share, includes internal air and most meals. Single supplement is USD 900 / AUD 1125 (guaranteed single room at Wewak, Mt Hagen and Goroka only, possible single room at Simbai and Sepik River). The tour price is subject to change at any time prior to final payment if there are unexpected increases in costs of package components or any major deterioration in exchange rates. TOUR INCLUSIONS (10 nights) Port Moresby airport meet and greet, ad hoc city tour if time allows Port Moresby - scheduled domestic flight to Wewak Wewak 2 nights 3.75 star twin share accommodation at In-Wewak Boutique Hotel, includes 3 course dinners and hot breakfasts Wewak overnight excursion to Middle Sepik including road and motor canoe transfers, village tours, basic village hut accommodation, local style food and bottled water, private sing-sing performance as per itinerary or similar Wewak - scheduled domestic flight to Mt Hagen Mt Hagen bus tour of town and surrounds, local village Mt Hagen - 1 night 4 star twin share accommodation at Highlander Hotel, includes arrival lunch, buffet dinner, hot breakfast Mt Hagen return charter flights to Simbai Simbai - 2 nights 1.5-star twin-share accommodation at Kalam Guest House, Simbai including local style meals and bottled or boiled drinking water Simbai 1.5 days village tours and hiking, including all village entry fees and gratuities Mt Hagen road transfer to Goroka with stops, includes pizza or sandwich lunch en route Goroka - 4 nights twin-share 2.5 star budget motel accommodation, includes dine-out dinners and continental breakfasts Goroka half day bus tour of Goroka town and surrounds (lunch not included) Goroka - 2 x full day escorted excursions to the Goroka Show with entry pass, fruit, bottled water, pizza lunch Goroka scheduled domestic flight to Port Moresby Port Moresby departure day ad hoc shopping or sightseeing Port Moresby - departure check-in assistance and farewell at airport Throughout the tour we provide: - services of a local guide at each destination en route - all fees and gratuities for local villages, assistant guides, demonstrators and helpers - all airport/hotel transfers - all road travel by late model mini bus or four wheel drive vehicle with bottled water on board - all water travel by open speed boat, skiff or motor canoe with life vests supplied and bottled water on board - various additional gear that may be required for your safety and comfort in remote areas such as mobile satellite phone, tropical first aid kit, mosquito net, clean bedding, supplementary supplies - daily reconfirmation of flights and arrangements coordinated by our Port Moresby office - 24 hour assistance from our Port Moresby office (phone 7204 6950 or 7604 8347) EXCLUSIONS international airfares bar drinks and bottled water at hotels tips (not expected, and only appropriate for exceptional service) souvenirs and items of a personal nature airline excess baggage charges. (The free domestic allowance is 16kg + 5 kg. On days when you are connecting off or onto an international flight your international allowance will be honoured on the domestic flight. Allowance on the light aircraft charter flights is also 16kg + 5kg). Personal items. Bring your own personal medications and first aid kit, personal hygiene requirements, brimmed hat or cap, amphibious footwear (sandals or quick-dry canvas shoes), insect repellent, sunscreen, battery-operated personal fan. Please note that pressurised aerosol spray cans are not permitted on domestic flights in PNG bring pump-action sprays or roll-ons.
TOUR ITINERARY DAY 1: FRI 07 SEP 2018 PORT MORESBY / WEWAK On arrival at Port Moresby airport you will be met by staff from Ecotourism Melanesia who will assist you to check in for your connecting flight to Wewak. Lunch today is not included in the package because some group members may arrive on later flights. A short city tour will be offered if you have time between flights. 15:10 Air Niugini flight PX126 departs Port Moresby for Wewak via Madang, arriving 17:20 (aircraft: F100 jet with 98 seats) Transfer by hotel shuttle to Wewak s best hotel, the Boutique. Overnight 4 star accommodation at In-Wewak Boutique Hotel includes set-menu dinner and tropical breakfast. See TOUR NOTE: About In-Wewak Boutique Hotel DAY 2: SAT 08 SEP 2018 WEWAK / SEPIK RIVER (Middle Sepik villages) 08:00 The group departs Wewak by private four wheel drive vehicle to Pagwi, the jumping-off point to the Middle Sepik. The road is tar sealed most of the way and quite a scenic four hour journey. First we climb steep winding curves from the steamy coastal strip to the cool forests of the undulating Prince Alexander Range. Two hours into the trip we will stop at a roadside market to buy tropical fruits, cooked vegetables and delicious green coconuts to drink (pay as you go). A packed lunch is also provided by the hotel. Descending onto the savannah grasslands of the Sepik Basin, we pass through a number of villages before arriving at Pagwi station on the Middle Sepik by midday. At Pagwi the group will board two or three waiting motor canoes and head down-river approximately two hours to the twin crocodile cult villages of Kanganaman and Palembei. The two villages are located on opposite banks of the river and both villages are around 30 minutes walk inland from the water. The spirit houses in the Middle Sepik are very large and contain a variety of artifacts produced by the initiated men, many of whom are skilled traditional carvers. Anything new-looking is usually for sale whereas anything old and dusty is usually a cultural artefact and not for sale. As the daylight dwindles we will use the rest of this afternoon to explore Kanganaman and leave Palimbei for tomorrow. A cultural group will perform a Sepik River sing-sing in front of the Kanganaman spirit house before sunset and after dinner in the evening we will hear the elder men beat their large slit-gong drums (garamuts) and play their traditional bamboo flutes unique in Papua New Guinea. See TOUR NOTE: About the Middle Sepik crocodile cult Overnight 1 star village guest house accommodation, Kanganaman - includes local style meals and bottled water. DAY 3: SUN 09 SEP 2018 SEPIK RIVER / WEWAK This morning the group will leave the Kanganaman village guest house and cross the river by canoe then walk 30 minutes inland through the grasslands and lily ponds to Palembei. Like many Sepik villages, Palembei was originally built right on the river bank but over the years the river has changed its course leaving the village some distance inland. Palembei is known as the heart of the Middle Sepik, being geographically central and also the venue for many of the regional elders meetings and the annual Middle Sepik Culture Festival.
Being a Sunday no cultural dancing will be permitted today but we will still be able to explore the village, visit the spirit houses and meet with some of the villagers and inspect the crocodile skin scars of some of the initiated men. A local style lunch of fresh fruit, sago and smoked fish will be served then we will be on our way back to Wewak, first retracing our steps to the river then canoeing two and a half hours upstream (against the current this time) to Pagwi then four hours by road back to Wewak. By ordering ahead we will be able to arrange with the hotel restaurant to have our dinner ready shortly after our late arrival. Overnight 4 star accommodation at In-Wewak Boutique Hotel includes set-menu dinner and tropical breakfast. DAY 4: MON 10 SEP 2018 WEWAK / MT HAGEN (local tour) 06:00 Early breakfast, check out and transfer to Wewak airport. 07:35 Airlines PNG flight CG1605/1420 departs Wewak for Mt Hagen (via Lae), arriving 12:00 (aircraft: Dash 8) On arrival in Mt Hagen we check in at the Highlander Hotel in time for late lunch at the poolside (included). After lunch we will take an afternoon tour of Mt Hagen including the city market (the biggest in PNG), a drive through a coffee plantation and a stop at Moika village which is a typical cluster village. Overnight 4 star Highlander Hotel, Mt Hagen (includes buffet dinner and hot breakfast). DAY 5: TUE 11 SEP 2018 MT HAGEN / SIMBAI (exploring Simbai) 07:30 Breakfast 08:00 We check out of the hotel and transfer to the Mt Hagen airport. 09:00 Our charter flight departs for Simbai, a 45-minute flight north of Mt Hagen. On arrival at Simbai airstrip we will be met by local guides with plenty of helpful hands to carry our bags for the 30 minute walk to the Kalam Guest House, a basic but comfortable facility built in local style. On arrival we will be met by a traditional dance group with a welcome singsing then have time to settle into our accommodation until lunch. Lunch at the Kalam guest will likely consist of a tray of salad vegetables and tinned meat or fish with locally baked bread buns make your own sandwiches. This afternoon we will explore the immediate surrounds, walking to some of the satellite hamlets around Simbai and meet local people, tour the magnificent community orchid gardens and inspect the Kalam tribal culture museum. Overnight 1.5 star Kalam Guest House (twin share - includes all meals). See TOUR NOTE: About Kalam Guest House
DAY 6: WED 12 SEP 2018 SIMBAI (day hike to remote village) Today is the most physically challenging yet culturally stimulating day of the tour. This morning we hike 3 hours to Fundum, a small village south of Simbai where the people live an even more self-sufficient lifestyle than those hamlets closer to Simbai station. The walking track to Fundum is very scenic with mountain vistas and endless wildflowers. The village itself sits on a hilltop with views towards Simbai station to the east and the Kaironk River valley to the west. Fundum has only a dozen families and several community huts where visitors are welcomed and feted as you will be today. For your lunch the people have prepared traditional foods wrapped in leaf parcels and roasted under hot stones there may even be a roast wild pig as well. After lunch and an intimate village tour, hike back to Simbai. The walking pace is relaxed with frequent stops. Note that you will only need to bring a bum-bag or small day pack with you today your main duffel bag or rucksack will be safe at Kalam Guest House. If you are unable to undertake this hike you may elect to remain at Kalam Guest House for the day and take shorter walks around the area with a guide. Overnight 1.5 star Kalam Guest House (twin share - includes all meals). DAY 7: THU 13 SEP 2018 SIMBAI / MT HAGEN / GOROKA 07:00 After breakfast at the guest house, we check out and walk to the airstrip and commence the rural PNG ritual of desperately searching the sky for that tiny black speck that will grow into the welcome sight of an aircraft. Once our charter flight touches down in Mt Hagen we will pick up a pizza or sandwich lunch and immediately commence our 6 hour drive to Goroka, arriving late afternoon. The Highlands Highway takes us east, passing first through the market gardens, coffee and tea plantations of the Waghi Valley. This valley is often called the food bowl of PNG because of the intensive agricultural activities and in fact at the village of Kuk near Mt Hagen archaeologists have found evidence that the area has been planted with food crops for thousands of years. From the Waghi Valley the highway passes through the small towns of Kudjip and Minj then climbs into the alpine Chimbu Province with its precipitous ravines and steep mountainsides amazingly covered in furrowed gardens with people working away in them one foot uphill and one foot downhill to steady themselves. PNG s highest peak, Mt Wilhelm, passes us slowly on our left as we wind our way to Kundiawa town, capital of Chimbu, for a comfort stop at the hotel. One hour further on we come to the snake village where the people keep a variety of native pythons and other non-venomous snakes in semi-captivity for visitors to see and handle. There are also some poisonous species like the Papuan black and the taipan kept in cages. The taipan is the most venomous snake in PNG. If we are travelling on time we will make a stop here. If you are not a snake person you can huddle in the mini-bus
From the snake village we continue another thirty minutes to the peak of the Daulo Pass, a high altitude biodiversity hotspot where the road winds through swirling mists past giant tree ferns and trickling waterfalls. Local children sell flowers on the side of the road here. If we still have adequate daylight and fine weather we will leave our vehicle at the road side and some local villagers will lead us on a walk through the moss forest. The moss forest is populated by flowering and non-flowering trees and ferns which form a substrate for the growth of a wide variety of saprophytic native orchids, green mosses and colourful fungi, lichens, liverworts and leafy epiphytes: real Lord of the Rings stuff. Birds of paradise also frequent this area. From the Daulo Pass the road descends through the fertile Asaro Valley (Goroka s answer to Mt Hagen s Waghi Valley) and finally into Goroka town. TOUR NOTE The two tourist hotels in Goroka (Pacific Gardens Hotel and Bird of Paradise Hotel) are always fully booked out one year in advance for the Goroka Show weekend. Ecotourism Melanesia instead books clean budget motel accommodation and we bus our tour group to the larger hotels for dinner each night. DAY 8: FRI 14 SEP 2018 GOROKA This morning is a free morning to explore the Goroka town area on foot with your guide or on your own. Unlike Mt Hagen and Lae, Goroka is a safe town to walk around in daytime. Although the crowds can be daunting and sometimes rowdy, the Goroka people are very welcoming and protective of tourists. Lunch today is not included in the tour package, in order to give you some flexibility to try some food from the market, from a snack bar attached to one of the supermarket, noodles in the Chinese café or a bistro lunch at one of the hotels. 13:00 Members of Ecotourism Melanesia s three Goroka Show tour groups will coalesce for a combined bus tour of Goroka town and surrounds. This will be your opportunity to meet other travellers just arriving for the start of their PNG adventure while you are nearing the end of yours. First stop is a drive up to the Mt Kiss lookout from where you will be able to see most of Goroka town and the adjacent Asaro Valley. Next stop is a 30- minute visit to the JK McCarthy Museum of Highlands Culture which has informative displays of highlands artifacts, traditional dress and customs, then a guided tour of the Goroka fresh food and handicrafts markets. From Goroka town you will drive out through the picturesque Bena Bena district. The unsealed back road twists and turns through hills and valleys, passing over creeks with little bridges. There will be impromptu stops at little villages to shake hands with local people and pose for photographs, buy bananas from roadside stalls, see ladies weaving bilum bags etc. NB 16 September is PNG Independence Day so today will be a public holiday banks and post office closed, schools closed, most government offices and private companies closed but shops will be open. There will be a small parade through the streets and review of the disciplined forces (police, jail warders etc) at the town square opposite the main market.
DAY 9: SAT 15 SEP 2018 GOROKA (Goroka Show) 08:00 We will transfer by mini bus from our accommodation to the show venue (usually the National Sports Institute playing field) in time to settle into our seats before the commencement of the sing-sing performances around 09:00. The tourist seating area has good views of the performance arena and your tourist pass (provided as part of your tour package) gives you blanket permission to enter the performance area if you wish to take close-up photographs. Special toilets for tourists are situated nearby. A number of our local guides and helpers will accompany the group today to interpret the performances for you. We will also be joined by some other Ecotourism Melanesia clients taking other tour packages following slightly different itineraries and moving around in their own vehicles. Fruit and bottled water will supplied for Ecotourism Melanesia clients at the Show venue today, and pizza will be delivered for lunch. You are also free to poke around the handicraft and food stalls during the day to sample the local fare. Our tour vehicle will make three or four comfort runs to the motel during the day to enable you to freshen up if you wish, but due to the crowds and traffic it may not be possible to make individual trips on demand. DAY 10: SUN 16 SEP 2018 GOROKA (Goroka Show) A second day at the Goroka Show today. Different cultural groups will perform today and the judging will be in the afternoon. After the conclusion of the dances and judging there will be opportunities to arrange posed photo shoots with your selected individuals and groups our guides will assist in organising this for you on request. Usually the groups or individuals expect a tip if being photographed in portrait after the Show, but there is no photography fee for capturing them while performing in the arena during the main program. If you have grown bored of the show today, after lunch an optional village excursion will be available: EITHER (1) a scenic drive south of Goroka to Gasaroka village - no activities are arranged at the village, simply an opportunity to walk around and meet the people, and cross the rickety suspension bridge over the river if you dare. (2) a visit to Asaro village to see a small staged mudman performance in their village environment which makes for better photography with no crowds and fences in the background. Other guides will remain at the Show ground to assist those group members who prefer to stay and continue photographing the Show performers. DAY 11: MON 17 SEP 2018 GOROKA / PORT MORESBY / FLY OUT 08:00 Check out of your accommodation and transfer to the airport 10:10 Airlines PNG flight CG1561 departs Goroka for Port Moresby, arriving 11:25 (aircraft: Dash 8) Complimentary sightseeing or souvenir shopping is available in Port Moresby if you have time before your international flight. TOUR ENDS