Papua New Guinea September 2012

In September 2012 I traveled to Papua New Guinea to attend the Goroka Festival and see some other parts of the country, especially where there would be Birds of Paradise, and also to visit the Sepik River area.
I booked through Nuigini Eco Tours, but would not do so again. Part of the itinerary was cancelled at the last minute, and any attempt to have a refund has been ignored. However, that aside the country is beautiful, very mountainous and that makes travel difficult. The roads, where there are some, are in bad shape. The Highway from Goroka to Mt Hagen is shocking - requires drivers to weave all across the road to avoid the continuous potholes. It becomes a slow, 5 hour drive. Flying is the obvious choice but very expensive, and all Air Nuigini flights are via Port Moresby to connect to another flight. No flights go from one town to another. There is a newer airline offering a lower fare structure and also some flights across the country but I do not have the details.
The Goroka Festival is held the weekend nearest Independence Day and is put on for the locals - not a tourist show. There were about 85 different tribes present, all in their gear and makeup. Some of the face painting took ages, as did their headgear. Many dead parrots were seen in the head decorations, also cassowary feathers, as well as feathers from Birds of Paradise. Faces were painted - some used natural clays and pigments, others were less traditional. One group we watched in preparation used correction ink for typists as their white paint!! Some darkened their skin using sump oil, but many stuck to natural and traditional sources. It certainly was as interesting as I had thought it would be.
Following the festival I traveled to Mt Hagen, stayed a night there then spent two nights at Kumul Lodge. That was disappointing. There was no information available about the lodge. No information about times for meals, what was on offer for bird watching tours, or other activities that could have been taken up. In general - there was often too little food, cleaning was barely adequate, and potential completely missed. The birds do come down to the feeding area, so seeing ribbon tailed Birds of Paradise is easy. There were Sickle Bills, and a number of other birds to see, so as a birding site it is fine.
My itinerary included a flight to Tari and a visit to the Huli tribe where the women care for their pigs in a very intimate way. This had been on my list of interesting places to visit for many years following a documentary I had seen. The stay at Ambua Lodge was another highlight as it is also a good birding site. However, the morning of the flight to Tari I was told that there would be no visit to Tari and Ambua etc. Instead another night in Mt Hagen - which to me offered little, and a flight to Port Moresby the following day was the alternative. Pity there has been no response to my complaints or request for a refund for itinerary items not fulfilled.
Following that I flew to Wewak, stayed at In-Wewak Boutique Hotel. Very nice!! Next day was collected by my guide and driven to Pagwi where I was transported by motorised dugout canoe to Kamanabit. The Sepik River is an area largely changed since the arrival of Europeans. Life is still basic, reliant on the river, and without any of the mod cons which we are so used to. However, for an experience of living with nature and without material wealth this is certainly a place worthy of a visit. I was lucky to have as my guide Ronnie Bowie, who owned the 'water taxi' and transported me down the river. I stayed at his village of Kamanabit where he has a shop displaying his beautiful art works. I was especially taken by his carved masks. He is also a crocodile hunter, and very knowledgeable guy. He made sure that anything which was on the itinerary was met, plus a trip to an idyllic village as an extra. He is building some guest accommodation and would make an excellent host. He, like all on the river, has a cell phone, but no internet connection. Anyone who wishes to contact him can ask for his cell phone number which I will more than happily give. Strange to see cell towers where there is no electricity, running water, roads or cars. Such a remote area is still able to be connected by phone - a huge benefit to the local villages.
The country does have a general security problem, but that was absent from the Sepik region. Well worth a visit.
On return to Wewak I stayed another night at In-Wewak Boutique Hotel. It was a very suitable hotel after the four days without a shower. (I was able to sluice myself with water at a spot outside the house where I was staying on the river, but on the second day the mosquitoes were many and hungry. As it is a malaria area I did not spend much time in a state of semi undress for the benefit of the mossies.) The In-Wewak Hotel has a pool, and some very nice art work on display in the restaurant. Although it seems expensive it is good value for money in relation to other hotels of similar price in this very expensive but third world country.
If you are going to venture into this interesting country do make sure you observe the 2 hour check in prior to departure as domestic flights are often over booked, and those arriving late get bumped.