Sepik (again) / Angoram

I know, this is my second post on the Sepik river, but this seems to be the most complicated part of my travel planning. As even tour operators warn me how expensive a tour of the Sepik river is, and I don't feel like wasting a good part of my time on looking for transport and specific local guides I am wondering whether it would be a good idea to head for Angoram from Wewak individually and make day trips from there.
Has anyone done that and can thus give me some advice on how to get / where to stay there and what kind of trip would be a good way to get an impression of the Sepik region?

Any help appreciated!

Gaston, I would suggest you give Roni Bowie a call +67573463253 he has a motorised canoe and I am sure he would arrange for transport to Pagwi from Wewak. The costs are high as fuel is shipped by truck to Pagwi in 40 gallon drums! Not a cheap way to get this item.
Roni was my guide back in September and was excellent. I recommend him with every confidence! He lives on the river in Kamanabit where he also has a shop for his carvings etc, also has accommodation I understand. Good luck - it is worth seeing the Sepik as it is very different from the Highlands etc.

That is not a good idea ,to go only to Angoram. That is to short ,to see the original countryside and life of the Sepik region .
The most interesting parts of the Sepik region is the Upper Sepik and the middle Sepik for the house of Tambaran.

So the best point for starting is Pagwi ,from there you can make a boat tour to Wagu lake with watching birds of paradise and on the way back you can drive down Yentchen or to Palambei

The telephone connection is now very good in the Sepik region ,so it is easy to get a connection to a guide in the Sepik region before arriving in Wewak . So you can inform about all ,what you want to know. So you can reach the guide and the owner of Wagu lake guesthouse ,who other travellers have recommended in this forum .Phone number of Mathew ++675 7378 6776 ( the best time for calling
is the evening at local time

Thanks!

I will try and get connected to them. I guess there's no e-mail address...

Hi Gaston, Yes agree - Sepik is one of the most difficult parts. I tracked down a local guide but difficult to communicate and hard to know exactly what was included or not. I had booked some diving and a few other things through Niugini Holidays and they ended up being my "minder" on the Sepik and looked after the communications and payments (deposit/pre-trip payment/end trip payment). That worked well and I didn't feel as though I was alone in there, or that I could end up with a hefty fuel bill in order to get out. They were pretty fair about it, they checked the essential items were included, charged more or less what I had been quoted and kept in touch by SMS throughout my trip which was qute reassuring. Their email is info@ngholidays.com. Sepik was really worth the effort of travelling there. Recommend 3-4 nights only, after that the villages all start to look the same. Got some great photos. Best of luck ! Ciao

yes the area is remote,and there are many options....it is a hard trip....depends what part of the sepik you want to see and experience.....angorum will give you the lower sepik region.....pagwi will put you in the middle sepik....see my travel spot on how to do it......donstravelstories.blogspot.com

Thanks for the tips.

The website of Niugini Holidays appears to be http://www.nghols.com.

Just to add some hard facts to this topic :

I was made an offer for a 4 night / 4 day Sepik tour out of Wewak by an established operator. They seemed reliable and quick but the cost of A$4750 (= US $ 4900 = €3800) is ridiculous. Petrol's expensive and I am on my own, o.k. - but come on!

Though I am lucky enough not to be on a very tight budget at the moment, this would be the most expensive remote river trip I have ever done and just seems disproportionate.

So I'm looking forward to getting an offer by the local guides...

Hi Gaston,

I was there at the beginning of January this year and did an 8 day trip to the upper sepik with my girlfriend. We went with a guide named Joseph Kone and he was fantastic. It is not cheap, but it was no where near what you have already been quoted. Joseph is based at Ambunti, but will meet you in Wewak and get you to the river. Food, accomodation, transfers and petrol were all included and we were very well looked after and thoroughly enjoyed the trip as well as Joe's knowledge and hospitality as we made our way up the river. His details are as follows:

Ph: +675 7121 4829
Email: joseph.kone6@gmail.com

Thanks,

Ben

That is well known that tour operator are very expensive for nothing ,so you have to search the direct contact to a guide of the Sepik region . All tours from Ambunti to the upper Sepik visit Wagu lake ,to watch the birds of paradise and stay only one night in Wagu guesthouse.The guides prefer boat driving ,but that makes the Sepik tour expensiv . In Wagu lake you have all the kinds of countryside of the Sepik region ,hills lakes and wetlands

Therefor it is an advantage ,to take Mathew ,the ownner of Wagu lake guesthouse , as guide and he can meet you in Ambunti, or Pagwi or Wewak . His phone number is ++675 7378 6776 - best time is evening local time PNG to reach him ,to discuss with him in which way the tour shall be

Take loads of malaria tablets!

I am glad to hear that Joseph Kone is still guiding. Twenty years ago he took me, my g.f. of the time, and some random German we adopted on a wonderful trip upriver. A good man: reliable, honest and flexible, with excellent political instincts for dealing with the various language groups, cultures and traditions along the way.

At that time, Joseph was no more expensive than anyone else, although there were only two or three others catering to backpackers. I think about him often, and in a lot of ways he's set the standard by which I measure other guides in very distant areas of the world. Anyone meeting him would be entirely welcome to pass on my fond regards.

Mark

I can vouch for Joe Kone having just spent 5 days on the Middle Sepik with him.
He is a local living on the river at Ambunti. He has a long history of working in the local tourist industry having been a steward on one of the Sepik river cruise boats - so he has a lot of local knowledge and contacts.
He organised to pick me up from Wewak and took me to Pagwi for the start of the river trip by his long dugout canoe with outboard motor.
It was a great trip seeing the unique wetlands of the Sepik area, the Haus Tambarans etc.
Yes it was expensive - but cheaper than going through an travel agency. I was quoted K1000 per day for one person; K600 each for two persons per day going down to K500 for four people. You must remember that you are on the fringes of the tourist trail.
Joe is interested in organising tours of the upper Sepik river with some hiking to get to see more isolated villages - a trip that would take about 2 weeks.
Joe is easily contacted via his mobile phone especially using text messaging - the Middle Sepik has good phone coverage. He only checks his email infrequently.
joseph.kone6@gmail.com +675 71214829

We unfortunately had a very bad experience with Joseph Kone, and met other tourists who said the same. I wish someone had warned us. Seems like only those with positive experiences post here on Thorn Tree. :(
Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions or want recommendations on the good guesthouses & villages to visit in the Sepik River.

Private messages don't exist here on the Thorntree forums, so I'll ask here instead. Joseph was so reliable, trustworthy and agreeable during my trip back in 1996 that I can't imagine why you and "other tourists" would have found otherwise. You'd perhaps be doing a service if you offered details. If not, your post isn't much use.

Mark

Dear Mark, I agree. The problem is, I tried offering some details on a previous thread and they were removed because of libel issues. Lonely Planet legal department has advised me to keep warnings general to avoid libel issues. I understand them, but at the same time it makes it difficult to provide important feedback and warnings to other travellers... I was unaware that Lonely Planet has disabled private messaging. I now learned that the function will be back, but we don't know when.
Even though I cannot offer information about Joseph Kone, I can offer information about me: I've travelled to over 70 countries, I work with development issues and children's rights, I have learned to speak seven languages because I love communicating with people while travelling, I often travel and live under what some may call simple/basic circumstances (so I have very few convenience issues). Having travelled around southern Ethiopia, lived in Mali, marvelled in Madagascar, explored Mongolia, I was very much looking forward to Papua New Guinea.
I can accept many things and overlook mistakes, knowing that many things cannot be planned or controlled. However, when I travel, I will not forgive a guide (or anyone else) for yelling and threatening me and my elderly mother, for being really drunk and aggressive around us and others, for cheating us and others out of money. That is beyond unacceptable.

Sorry you had such a bad experience with Joseph. You experience was so drastically different from mine that it put me in mind of an area of West Africa in which the most popular guiding family was so successful that others started using their names, along with fake ID cards. Lots of people thought they were hiring the best, but ended up frustrated and disappointed.

There are plenty of other explanations, too.

As to your posts being removed: people post negative reviews about guide agencies here. As long as it's clear they're genuine and constructive, they remain. You might think about your presentation--remember, both genuine and constructive.

best,

Mark

Hello Mark,
Thank you for your reply. I contacted Joseph Kone through the various contact details others have provided on ThornTree. Also, while in the different villages, we met lots of wonderful people who all knew Joseph. This includes many situations when we were not with Joseph, so I do not believe it is a case of fake identity.
In my initial negative review, I wrote about all the things he had done, but I know from a legal point of view, even if it is true, it can be considered libel.
I also wrote constructively about how he took us and other tourists to a guesthouse which was really bad, had a difficult-to-reach and dirty toilet, surrounded by a swamp which meant there were crazy amount of mosquitoes + we were isolated from the rest of the village ie could not walk around. We all assumed this is what it's like to travel along the Sepik river = nothing to complain about. However, I thought it strange that another guide (wonderful man, who was also the cook and contracted by Joseph) and the men driving the boats were unhappy about the mosquitoes. When the following day we visited lots of lovely (mosquito-free) villages with supercute guesthouses, we were surprised when we learned that they were even cheaper than our guesthouse. When asked why we were staying in the inferior guesthouse (we could see no reason for it) people told us that Joseph is close friends with the owner and doesn't let his clients stay elsewhere. We did not bring it up with Joseph because we knew everything had been paid for already. But the guesthouse issue was the least of our problems. To us personally, he ruined our trip.

I warmly recommend the guide Johannes Teven
He also happens to be an excellent cook and has the most wonderful positive outlook on things.
He can be reached at +675-73637760. He has no e-mail. Might take a few days before he answers. I only wish we had only gone with him. Such a sweetheart and knows so much.

I can't get Ronie Bowie to respond, does he have SMS or has anyone contacted him lately?