PNG guides & guesthouses; finding them?

Hello all!

Alright, I have been on this and tripadvisor allllll day, and have found a lot of partial answers to my questions, so I figured I would just post my exact questions. My friend and I are traveling to PNG this Dec to Jan, 10 days total, so we have to go quickly. I want to hit Wewak just to do Sepik (I have found the contact info for a Mathew Kaka in Wagu and emailed him), Madang, and Mt Wilhelm or Hagen. Then hop over to an island (I'm thinking New Britain, for a few dives). Now, we both try to do everything as cheaply as possible, so I'm trying to DIY this instead of booking a crazy expensive tour. I would like to know 2 things mainly:
1) These local guides I keep reading about, how do you find them? Do they just approach you at the airport, or should I be recording phones numbers to call now? Basically, can I find these people when I arrive or do I have to prearrange them all?
2) When finding a local guesthouse, is that something also I can just arrange when I get there? If so, again, do people just come up and approach me with the offer to stay & price?

Ok, I think those are my major concerns at this point.
Thanks a mill in advance!

Cheers,
K

greetings,the 10 day trip from what you describe and where you want to go,maybe too much to pull off in that period!
it would be crazy type of travel with no time to actually get there and soak up the culture...not counting on planes that may not arrive/depart.
the sepik trip is by itself lengthy to and from wewak,most people allow 7 days for this part.
yes you can just arrive in most places and find guides(sepik,mt wilhelm)but you actually have to get there!
these are very remote areas,time is the killer when you want to fit all this in a small time frame.
around madang there are some pretty ok dive spots....so going to new britain maybe wasteful.
to get to mt wilhelm you would need to fly into goroka/mt hagen and travel for a day each way,if your lucky.
depending on what part of the sepik river you want to visit...the same situation applies.

having made 2 long trips to png i agree - see my trip reports - all that expense for just 7 days is crazy - go somewhere else in SE asia and save PNG until you have the time/money to really enjoy it

aside form the few cities nowhere in png is really setup for tourists - no hotels no internet cafes no hawkers - you can find guides and guesthouses as you go but it will take time and you need to be careful - ask other people to verify the trustworthiness of anyone who offers any services - the more you get off the beaten track the more interesting things become but the more you need a guide to get the best of it

equally arranging guides and guesthouses ahead of time can be hard as people dont answer phones texts or emails even if they have them - a good travel agent with proper direct local connections can help

there is excellent diving in madang - the madang resort has a good dive shop and boats - there is no dive shop in wewak although there is good snorkling from the shore or islands

hi!!

Thanks so much for your feedback. I know it's a retarded amount of stuff to "fit in", but it's more a wish list. I will never get to all of it, but I'll try to do what I can. If the diving/snorkeling is good in Wewak, than I'll just stay there is it saves us one less flight (time and $$). I've been in touch with a Mathew Kaka for Sepik and would love some suggestions for guides/guesthouses in other areas.

Thanks again for the help!