Sepik river tour contacts pls.

Hello
we are a group of friends (7 people) going to PNG organizing ourself our trip.
Do we need guide there or we just go to the river and negotiate with someone?
or
Is anyone can recommend us reliable boat man (guide), who speaks english, has tel. or email, and you had good experience with him? How much dollar?
Do you think Pagwi - Angoram downriver 3 days is enough? (including visits in villages). Or 4 days?
What was your highlight there? (f.e. going upstream to Ambunti is more interesting?)
Thanks for your 1 cent..:)
Gabor

i would recommend arriving with something arranged with a good agent who works directly with local guides and skippers - even if you do find someone quickly there will be a delay whilst they get canoe, motor, fuel, food etc
for 7 which is a big party - they also need to arrange accommodation although downriver things are a bit more organised for visitors

you will need to pay for the crew and canoe to return to pagwi even if you do not

see my other posts for an agent recommendation

you could get to angoram in 3 days but taking 4 would give you more time in the villages

My question still on -
Is anyone has any contact person there? f.e. wewak or Pagwi?
(Food we can bring from the Maprik market.)
Thanks
G

my wife and i spent five days on the upper sepik river at wagu lake guesthouse with matthew "kaku" as our guide. we had an amazing experience and i would highly recommend matthew as a guide. he speaks excellent english, is very knowledgeable, cares about the environment and is safe. a trip on the sepik is expensive, but you get what you pay for and trying to cut corners money wise could compromise your enjoyment and safety. matthew picked us up in weak and a driver drove us to pagwi. i highly recommend this. it is much safer and less tiresome. the boat ride to wagu lake is spectacular, and the setting is primeval. the guesthouse is very basic and rough, but safe. and the village is very friendly. short trips to good fishing and to see the birds of paradise are right there. longer trips require petrol which is very expensive but worth it. our favorite was a visit to the village of swagup and to tongwinjamb. we loved being in the boat. matthew is extremely knowledgeable and very likable. a great guy all around. i highly recommend him as a guide. his phone number is(removed) . he doesn't have email. if you have specific questions. email me at (removed

Hi Gabor,

Like the previous reply, I also highly recommend Matthew (removed) for a guide to the Upper Sepik and stay in Wagu village.
But you seem to want to stay in mid and lower Sepik, so there are other guides like Chris and Philip, call Alois Mateos and ask what's the current situation, he likes to help.

Trying to take all the food from Maprik market for 7 persons and carry all with you while negotiating with guides in Pagwi is not what I would recommend. While this is definitely possible, you will need to take some time in Pagwi to get to know your whereabouts and know whom to trust to ask. start on the small shop on the opposite side of the river that the PMV leave you. The owner can recommend guides and he owns a guesthouse in Pagwi.

To do this on your own, plan a couple of days in Pagwi. Once you discussed and agreed prices with a guide, he will have to get a canoe and buy fuel and call in advance to persons in the villages to check if it's okay for you to stay there. In a big party like yours, I would recommend that you choose in advance the villages you want to stay and contact a guide of that village.

What makes the Sepik river travel expensive, is the fuel, not so much the food. As you propose 4 days from Pagwi to Angoram seems reasonable, you'll stop probably at Palembei and take a detour to Yamok, so it should be fine to be around or less than 2000 K per person (party of 7). To do it alone would be more around 4000 K.