Papua New Guinea info part 2

Just another thing before I continue with more information - this has already been answered before but I will touch on it again- Merely by visiting PNG you are travelling off the beaten track - so any idea that you will meet lots of other travellers is way wide of the mark. Aside from the Goroka show I met fewer than 7-8 backpackers in the 7 weeks I was out there - most of the other tourists I met were on packages booked outside PNG but they were very few as well. On two occasions one in Chambri in the Sepik and the other in the Shortlands in the Solomons I slept in places where the villagers claimed although they had regularly had contact with "white men" they had never had foreigners actually stay with them before.

Sepik - We loved it and it is well worth doing some aspect of it even if it costs you a bit. Purely my view but I think you could get a little bored doing the classic Pagwe to Angoram trip as the Sepik is wide and therefore personally I think the scenery is a lot better taking the narrow channels which link the sepik with the likes of Chambri. Both Chambri and so I have heard the Blackwater area are superb
Several different ways to do it
1) Book in advance through the likes of Alois Mateos -based on four people you are likely to pay up to $700 + per person(this figure is based on 4 people travelling if there are only 1or 2 of you it is likely to cost a whole lot more) for 4-5 days and thats only going up to Ambunti and around, possibly across to Chambri, and then down to Palimbei and back to Pagwe. If you want to do the whole thing from Pagwe to Angoram with the significant increase in fuel you are likely to pay a lot more

2) If you arrive without anything booked head to the Wewak guest house they often have locals staying there who could guide you or advise you and because the guest house knows them they are more likely to be reliable.

3)Do it yourself- this will involve taking a PMV to Pagwe (they strangely all seemed to leave wewak at 10pm arriving at about 4am which is safe as they will pick you up from your guesthouse and you can sleep inside them until its light on arrival in Pagwe- returning they came back about 6am -cost was 30k). On arrival see which villages the canoes are heading to- (on the day we arrived they were all heading to Ambunti) - go to whatever village takes your fancy and then hire a captain from there for day trips - only good if you have a fair bit of time as of course you can't guarantee on getting back to Pagwe when you want without chartering a boat.

4) Do what we did and combine above approach with a tour - we basically took the passenger boat to Ambunti (20k) per person , stayed in a locals house. Feeling a little frustrated about the unreliability of local transport and not having that much money or time we got the guide we had picked up at Wewak guest house to find a captain and we then proceeded to do a lovely 2 and half day trip taking a shortcut across to Chambri and then cut through the channels to the likes of Palembei and then back to Pagwe stopping at various villages mentioned in the guide. Your biggest cost will be fuel therefore you can save quite a bit of money if you can get a captain to use a 15hp engine rather than 40hp. (If you can find out how much fuel they have in each container before you set off then you can see how much they actually use rather than just relying on their word- I have a feeling most of them exaggarate how much they use and it is easy enough for them to sell it back if they take too much). If you want a longer trip but without increasing costs too much then you could base yourself somewhere like Chambri for another day or so you will hardly use any fuel as distances are relatively small but I felt what you see here is just as good as the Sepik and the people are absolutely charming When we were there the lake was an extraordinary red colour which no-one seemed to be able to explain. If you found a captain in Wewak that might work out cheaper as Fuel was 18k a gallon there whereas it was 24k a gallon in Ambunti. From the time we left Ambunti to getting back to Pagwe it was about 250k each for everything. For pretty reliable guide try Tobby Wadi - his number in Ambunti is 8585114 (this is not actually his number but you could get a message to him this way)

So overall its not an easy place to do cheap particularly if you are single traveller but what you see is outstanding. If I had one criticism I would say some of the Haus Tamboran have more a feel of a museum or souvenir store cupboard than a real living cultural event. Much of the initiation and other events seem to have died out in many areas. We spoke to an anthropologist who said it was tragic at how much had been lost in the last 20 years and how there was a real conflict in some villages between the church and the spirit houses - either way by visiting and paying to see them and possibly buying souvenirs you will be encouraging a continuation of this extraordinary tradition.

Maprik- The actual town is soulless but around there are some lovely villages we stayed at Apangai village 2 about 15kms beyond Maprik with a guy called Peter Yipimi. He has a lovely house on stilts with amazing views - its the kind of place the whole village will stop to watch you - for a small amount of money you can stay with him and he will show you around the area - the spirit houses are quite different from the Sepik so definitely worth a look - there are also reports of birds of Paradise in the area but many seem to have been shot.

Back in Wewak if you happen to be there early September they have the Garamut festival - this is on a much smaller scale than in the Highlands with only about 20-30 sing sings but incrediably personal - whereas at Goroka the majority of groups come from within a 100mile radius at the Wewak event they seemed to have got groups from all over the country and so arguably there was even more variety- we saw the Baining Fire Dancers who come from Rabaul and they are simply extraordinary - (they have their own festival around the 10th July give or take a day or so and from the pictures I have seen this looks to be one of the most spectacular festivals in PNG)- so don't assume just because its not Goroka or Hagen its not going to be very good - any sing sing you can get to is usually fantastic.

Madang- Another overnight ferry 80-90k - Prices CWA now 110k for twin, Lutheran 77k for twin- We did some diving here superb but the standards of equipment are poor - I met 2 separate travellers who had problems with equipment at Madang Resort Hotel- Jaisaben was similarly priced and better run from memory about 240k for two dives including equip hire. This kind of price is fairly normal for PNG - a lot of places were charging more than this around the country. Personally I dont think either of Siah or Krangket islands are as good as Muschu off Wewak but they are still pretty nice - Siah was 50k including meals per person. I have heard that Karkar is very good and there are boats most days from Madang.

The Highlands-
I was due to fly from Hagen to Tari - because my flight was cancelled on the morning itself I took a PMV up to Mendi(4 hours) one night there and then onto Tari 6-7 hours. There is such a significant police presence now in the region that as one of the officers told me the "rascols" have gone into hiding which is probably true as Mendi did seem fairly quiet - they did warn me that things could get tetchy here come June 2007 when there is due to be an election and I think it would pay to be pretty clued up if you are going to be travelling by PMV around Mendi at this time.
I stayed at Warili lodge including meals per day is about 100k per person. The place is basic but pretty nice but the owner Stephen I would have to say is one of the more dishonest people I met in PNG. Although it is a budget place he tries to charge Ambua Lodge prices for his tours. Two Greeks who were there when I was there completely lost the plot with him. Things like giving you an itemised bill for a 2 day series of tours in which he adds 300k service charge for him setting it up even though the price already includes the cost of a guide. Also charging 400k to meet a group of Huli's he claimed to the greeks that he has to pay each Huli 80k - however my guide told me it only cost him 10k - cost of transfers to the airport can be exhorbitant even though it is only 15kms away.
However the problem you have is that there are few other options apart from this and Ambua - if you stay in Tari there is very little transport up to the Tari Gap 20kms away where most of the Birds of Paradise are - I met one guy one the PMV up to Tari who claimed he had a lodge called Kakanalu Lodge about 30mins before Tari on the road from Mendi - his name was Elijah Manu and he seemed quite a nice guy and the place was definitely cheap but I didn't actually see it. You could also try and find a guy called Perry Yabe from Wali Wali village he was my guide in this area - he is very good (he is actually empoyed some of the time by Stephen from Warili Lodge ) but if you got to him direct you would save a lot of the bullshit you have to go through at the Warili Lodge- neither of these ideas is perfect but if you have a little time it might be worth pursuing.
By the way in case anyone is thinking of going to Lake Kutubi i saw PMv's in Mendi heading out to Moro so this is definitely an option.

Goroka Show
Fantastic unmissable if you are in the area. I stayed at the National sports Institute which is located right behind the venue for the festival prices as per guidebook - fairly easy to get availability here they even had rooms avail this year on the day of the festival itself. Great festival but can get edgy and pickpockets are rife - at one point this year a sizeable crowd starting lobbing rocks at police as they wouldn't let them in. You pay 100k per day - is it worth it ? good question - the park is split into 2 parts and inner ring and outer ring - with a 5-10k ticket you can get into the outer ring see the processions in which is impressive. The people who pay the extra will have til about 11.30 inside the inner ring with the various tribes which makes it slightly easier for photography - after that time everyone is allowed inside the inner area - I thought one of the most atmospheric areas was outside of the park when all the groups are lining up at about 8am as there is so much singing and dancing going on. If I was going again I would certainly only buy the expensive ticket for a max of 1 day - many tourists were sneaking into the inner area before 11.30 without the correct tickets anyway and even if you can't get in before this time the fence that encloses the inner ring is very low and you are still so close to the dancers you can get a lot of the photography you want anyway.

Hope this helps some people I will add some more in the coming days including Mt Wilhelm, Lae, Rabaul, New Ireland and the Solomons....

Fantastic thanks for the detailed info! I absolutly love hearing peoples experiences and opinions about PNG.... getting me super pumped up for my trip! I am looking forward to reading your opinions on the rest of your trip as I am still deciding allot of the details of my trip...5 weeks does not seem long enough for PNG!

I will make sure to post my trip details once I get back since the thorn tree has helped me with allot of varied info... seems like almost an addendum to the guidebook :)

kip

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<hr>5 weeks does not seem long enough for PNG!<hr></blockquote>It definitely isn't!

Excellent first hand info!

I am heading myself to PNG in the next 3 month or so, so this info is very welcome. Thanks again!

The only question I have is about finding certain places like" ...we stayed at Apangai village 2 about 15kms beyond Maprik" how do you get there?
Are the locals knowledgeable and willing to direct you to those places..or you just need luck?:) (I remember that in Indonesia I was getting VERY wrong directions all the time..)

Vdq in in answer to your question its easy to find Apangai - when you get in the truck in Wewak heading for Maprik mention this place they may either take you straight there or take you to Maprik where you will change. Once you get near it mention Apangai village "2" if you get off at Apangai its a bit of a walk - Peter Yipimi is well known so it will be not that difficult to find him. Both you and Kip66 will love PNG it is one of the most sensational countries i have ever been to!

I guess I should've put it in different words: do the locals in PNG give reliable info, in general, or due their culture..etc, they will give directions regardless if they really know the destination or not.
It did happen to me in South America and Indonesia to be given totally wrong info just because the locals where just ashamed to say "no, I don't know what you talking about it"...

mike

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<hr>the Sepik is wide and therefore personally I think the scenery is a lot better taking the narrow channels which link the sepik with the likes of Chambri. Both Chambri and so I have heard the Blackwater area are superb<hr></blockquote>

Yes, this is right. I went to the Blackwater Lakes about 6 weeks ago and it was just stunning. Pristine wilderness, with beautiful little villages tucked into the valleys. I stayed in a guesthouse in Govermas village for a couple of days. You will need a guide who knows his way though as you must pass through a miriad of small channels that all looked the same to me. It takes one day in a dinghy to go from Kanganaman to Govermas.

.... and by the way, a great report. Thanks. It is always good to read about other people's experiences. I look forward to your other posts.

Hi there, I also stayed in Apangai and you can easily catch a bus from Maprik - just ask around. Maprik has some little food stores, but it's not a very exciting place. In Apangai, there are some "sample" houses made by Habitat for Humanity and last I heard, it might be possible to stay there. There was some talk about turning it into a guesthouse. There are no sheets, but there are mattresses and mosquito nets - and also a tank for catching rain water. Tinny was cooking while I was there and she is amazing - very careful about cleanliness of food. I happened to be there during a yam festival - it was fun!