Sepik Crocodile Festival and Wabag Cultural Show Dates/Location

Hi,

I am planning to visit Papua New Guinea between 26 July and 12 August of this year. I would like to attend a festival or two during my stay. I have two specific questions:

(1) According to the cultural events calendar of the Papua New Guinea Official Tourism Website, the Sepik Crocodile Festival will take place on 6 and 7 August. However, the location is posted as Wewak. I thought that the Crocodile Festival was held in Ambunti. Does anybody know if the location has changed? And can anybody confirm if the dates posted on the tourism website are accurate?

(2) Since I will not be able to stay long enough to attend the Mt Hagen show, the Wabag Cultural Show in Enga Province sounds like an interesting runner-up. However, I cannot find anyting on the internet that indicates when it is going to be held, other than a vague "in August". The Tourism Website does not even mention the show. Can anybody confirm the dates?

Thanks very much,
Brad

the annual puk puk festival is being held in ambunti august 6/7 this year........the other festivals in that week are the men's haus opening at tongwijamb village upper Sepik on august 5th/the yam festival at maprik august 9/10
as for the enga festival no confirmed dates but generally the second weekend of august

I am going to have exactly the same route as you in the same period. Have you figured out how to buy ticket to the crocodile show and how to stay?

Mai

Thanks, Don. My apologies for not replying sooner. I diligently checked for a week after posting, and then lost hope that anybody would reply. I have not visited Thorntree site since April, but remembered to do so today as travel time is fast approaching. It was only after seeing your profile photo of the flip-flops that I realized you are Don Trenery. During the course of my initial research, I stumbled upon your blog. I have been carrying around "Don's Travel Stories" with your tips on PNG for the past three months. Very helpful.

One question. You mention a Haus Tambaran festival on 5 August in Upper Sepik. I was planning to be around Wagu Lagoon at that time, so that I could make my way to Ambunti the next morning. How far is the "Haus Tambaran" village in Upper Sepik from Wagu? You mentioned the name of the village, but I could not find it on the maps I have. In your experience, is such a festival worth going out of our way, or will we probably be saturated after two days of Crocodile Festival in Ambunti?

Again, thanks so much for your reply.

Brad

Hi Mai,

I am not really worried about buying a ticket to the festival. My impression is that they make space for whoever wants to attend, so I am sure that we can buy our tickets there, the day of the festival. As for where to stay, I am in the process now of getting in touch with various guides who have been recommended in either the LP guidebook or by other travelers who posted on this forum. Not sure how easy it will be to get in touch with them, so stay tuned.

Brad