Papua New Guinea info

I spent 7 weeks in PNG in August/September last year and people looking to backpack around might find some of this info interesting- thanks in particular to Laszlo - the advice he gave was invaluable and this info might add to his a bit : I travelled basically Jayapura- Vanimo-Wewak-Madang-Mt Hagen- Tari- Goroka-Mt Wilhelm-Madang-Lae-Rabaul-New Ireland-Rabaul-Buka-Solomons
First of all a few thoughts on general issues:

Costs: I think over an extended period of time it is very hard to keep a budget much below $50 a day and thats if there is two of you travelling together - it is possible to if you are say trekking for example and staying in local villages but if you are taking a mainstream itinerary staying in towns like Madang, Goroka etc thats pretty well what you have to pay - there are ATM's in most of the towns i visited with the exception of Tari,, Vanimo and from memory Kavieng and not sure about Buka but so you won't need to take as much in the way of US dollars as you would a few years ago- Shop around when you change money as the exchange rates between the major banks varied my as much as 10% - average exchange rate I was getting was about 2.7-2.8 kina per dollar so things have become more expensive from the guidebook - also if you have to take flights you can generally add about 30% etc to the kina price in the guidebook. Accommodation with the exception of places like Wewak which I will mention later often cost in the 70-100 kina per room category at the budget end. Food in Kai bars was pretty cheap but in a mainstream hotel could often cost $8-9 for a main course some of the missionary guest houses would often serve it to guests for about $4-5
In addition as a general rule (and this is very general) if you use most of the guides mentioned in the LP expect to pay western prices - not many of them cater for thrifty backpackers you'll have to organise them locally.
Fuel costs in places like the Sepik have increased markedly and on boat trips this is by far your single biggest cost factor

Transport- Maybe we were lucky but things have improved in terms of the ferry service - the hardest part was from Vanimo to Wewak - we got lucky but ferries were only running once a week at best last august - possibly only every 2 weeks - you might be able to get banana boats down the coast to Aitape or else you will have to fly (remember add 30% to guidebook cost) VERY VERY IMPORTANT WHILST I THINK OF IT GET HOLD OF AN ISIC STUDENT CARD REAL OR FAKE AS BOTH ON FLIGHTS WITH AIR NUIGINI AND ON SOME FERRIES YOU CAN GET 20-30% DISCOUNT. From Wewak-Madang on the week we travelled there on 5 days out of 7 we had options of ferries (both Star and Lutheran do it)not sure whether this was because it was august or whether they have increased the ferries but this shouldn't be too difficult now - Madang to Lae is easier by PMV-
From Lae to Rabaul - there were two ferries on Monday and Friday (i dont think both of them will go via Kimbe-
From Rabaul-Kavieng and back it is once a week i think thursday out friday back and from rabaul to Buka it iss once a week on a wednesday- the ferry offices are pretty helpful so if when you arrive in PNG you are trying plan a route just give them a call.
From Moresby round to Rabaul - there was at least one boat a week making a series of stops - I didn't do this route but going on what i heard it leaves Moresby on Friday say via Alotau, Tufi etc arriving sunday/mon in lae and then returning back. In addition when I was out there were reports of a new massive ferry starting up also doing this run so you may well have options.
Most of the ferries we travelled on only seemed to have one class - you slept on the floor but inside the ship and undercover and seemed fairly safe - from Lae to Rabaul - there was either this class or first class which was deserted and had kind of run down airline seats

Safety and Women Travellers - First of all I am not female so my views are slanted - however the majority of maybe half a dozen girls I met out there would not have been happy travelling on their own- only one I can remember said she was fine with it certainly if you are on your own it would be easier in the coastal areas rather than the Highlands. Crime is a genuine risk for both male and female (I have lived in Jo'burg for a year and travelled extensively in Africa but felt the risks were greater in PNG). I was held up my amateurs in the Sepik( on a backwater route between the ambunti and Chambri) they slammed their machete against our boat to show they meant business but eventually apologised for holding me up and I negociated the amount I lost down to $20 - a friend who I was travelling with for 3 weeks was held up in broad daylight in Goroka by two guys with machetes who clearly meant business (the following day in the main national newspaper the front page story was of a japanese guy also held up in goroka who was in intensive care with slashed wrists) So without trying to sensationalise things there is a genuine risk - the majority of tourists travel around without problems but its important to be aware of things before you go there and even taking all precautions like not wandering around at night does not make you immune to the threat. However I felt the Highlands, Lae and Moresby was where these kind of slighty random attacks was heightened -elsewhere it was a bit more relaxed.

I came across from Jayapura - few basic pointers - you can get a visa there - the embassy has moved its now about 3kms out of town - it may be possible to get a visa in a day there but don't count on it (we did but we had extenuating circumstances - namely the embassy had been closed for a few days due to national holidays and our indo visa was running out) most tourists were taking 24-48 hours to get it. The border is a shambles - it closed early the day we got there 3.45pm rather than 4pm and even though it was the last day of my indo visa they still refused to let me through - the issue of where you should get your stamp done (in jayapura or at the border) varies constantly - we were told in the immigration office in Jayapura that it had to be done at the border - however when we arrived at 3-45pm and were sent back to Jayapura it seemed to me our problems were increased by not having had it done in Jayapura - so the following morning I went back into the office in Jayapura and insisted they did it there which after a great deal of cajoling they eventually did- Abepura bus station is the gateway to the border - and even from there relatively little transport(at a guess maybe 1-2 buses a day if at all so you may have to charter a vehicle)- the journey takes longer than you think so don't leave it late - it can easily take 2 hours from Jayapura to get to the border.
Once on the PNG side well run and efficient and pretty easy to get shared transport to Vanimo (10k)

Vanimo- hotels all similarly priced to the guidebook - for transport see my earlier section cost of ferry about 80-90k -

Wewak- wewak guest house is run by a charming lady Mrs Berry - a serbian lady who always seems to have a frown on her face but once you get to know her she is lovely - cost is 25k per person very cheap for png rooms are basic and not ensuite - they will cook for you as well often 5-10k per meal and do laundry and they might even have a reliable internet service by now - the might have ideas for guides for the Sepik
One of the best things we did in Wewak was go to Muschu island- this island is absolutely stunning - you will prob be the only tourists there it has ww2 wrecks, stunning beaches, you can do boat trips across to Kairuru island for the hot springs ( we had 50 dolphins jumping in and out the water on our trip) - only one fairly basic guesthouse run by a guy called George everyone in wewak knows him- he is great - cost is about 30k for the hut or so meals also can be sorted but you will probably need to give him warning for this - if in doubt take your own and his family will cook it for you - there are the occasional public boats across to the island (15k) if you get a message to george he will pick you up and again only charge you the 15k even if you are the only people on the boat - (if you have to charter a boat not through him it will prob cost 150k) apparently he usually comes across most days - the trips he can organise for you are all pretty good value and defo catering towards the backpacker end of the market

This info is already too long - will add some more ref sepik, Goroka show, Mendi/tari, Rabaul and New Ireland in the next few days

James

Nice one!
Do keep adding as this is one of the most informative travel reports I have seen here.
You seem to have done much the same route I covered a year earlier.
Curious to hear about how crossing to the Solomons worked for you.

Thanks for your comments Laszlo I will add some more in the coming days - I completely agree with you and have even commented to friends of mine who work for LP that I feel the guidebook has sold out from its backpacking routes- anyone can find expensive accom in PNG so why cut out some of the cheaper guest houses. At least put them in and let me make a choice about whether they are up to scratch or not.
I have a website www.onlinetraveldiary.co.uk/downjim which has photos of both PNG and Irian Jaya amongst others - also in the postcards section within PNG there are 6 different towns mentioned on the left hand side - each one has a report on that section of the trip + the Solomons section has reports on how I got across there
Its written more as amusing anecdotes for friends so I will continue more about the logistics involved in the next few days

James

..looking forward for some other info on PNG. Thanks for all the tips!

I think the border crossing is one of the worst I have experienced. Its such a difficult one as things constantly changed but also everyone I have met who has gone to the border without stamp has either been sent back or has been delayed for a period of hours so thats why overall I think its best to stand your ground in Jayapura - even make up a lie and say you have already been to the border and been sent back. Its not that difficult for them to stamp your passport but they don't seem to like doing it so only by insisting and probably I would suggest being quite stubborn about it will you make the border crossing trouble free.

I crossed the border from Sentani to Vanimo last week. I did get my exit stamp at the border without any fuss. I heard however that going from PNG to Indonesia you definitely have to go to the Kantor Imigrasi in Jayapura (downtown) for your entry stamp.