| skovso12:06 UTC29 Oct 2017 | Mosby:
If you arrive during the weekend, make sure to change money at the international terminal since all banks are closed. We changed 2000 euro because we didn’t want to take any chances with malfunctioning ATMs along the way. Sure, travelling with cash is always a risk, but we’ve done the same in West Africa and had no problems. Indeed, I would argue that it gives you peace of mind knowing that you’re not running low on cash in the near future. Most importantly upon arrival: get a local sim card. At arrivals there’s a Digicel shop selling these for 60K incl. 2GB data plus talk + sms valid for 14 days. 7 and 30 days are available as well. We would have been utterly lost without a local number; you will need to call people and places ahead to check not only availability but if they’re indeed still operating.
Accommodation wise we’d organized Airbnb. This worked wonderfully and costs half of the hotels in town. We’d arranged airport pickup for 30K and the same guy took us around the city for 150K. We went to the Nature Park next to the university, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Entrance 14K per foreigner, open until 4pm. Afterwards, our driver drove us to Ela Beach and downtown, but there’s absolutely nothing to see. The city seemed empty and desolate and strolling made little sense. We didn’t feel afraid or threatened at all; there simply wasn’t anything to do. We did some grocery shopping (actually makes good sense to do in PNG as restaurant and food prices are exorbitant). Upon our return to Mosby, we stayed at the Raintree Lodge (100€ online), which was amazing.
Tari:
We hadn’t booked any accommodation in Tari; communication is solely via phone/SMS. The day before arriving in Tari, we contacted the two options we had (Ambua Lodge wasn’t within our budget): Lakwanda Guest House and Steven Wari from the now closed Warili Lodge (71598104/6978018). Steven referred us to the Istap Guest House run by Alben Bosco (Tel 71405549) and Mapsi (Tel 70104741). Unfortunately, we couldn’t get through to either, but Steven confirmed the validity of their numbers, so the guesthouse should be operating. Thomas from Lakwanda GH (71405705) was fast to reply – in fact, he bombarded us with calls/texts, which was somewhat unpleasant. Here are his prices (reduced for two people):
- Bird watching: 130K
- Car for bird watching (going to the Gap): 550K
- Wigmen singsing: 350K
- Fortune teller: 200K
- Skull cave: 150K
- Girls initiation: 150K
- Wedding ceremony: 120K
- Bachelor boys: 300K
- Guide per day: 50K
- 4x4 airport/town transport: 100K (you can easily take the PMV towards Koroba, stops outside the GH in Hedemari village)
- Accommodation: 160K/night/room
- Food: 60K/per day/2 people
We chose to simply fly to Tari without booking anything and then reassess the situation upon arrival. The decision was made for us, though: Thomas was standing at the arrivals area and we ended up simply going with him. Probably saved us a lot of hassle, but it was still a bit of a weird situation.
The guesthouse itself is quite basic and the description in LP doesn’t match anymore (probably did 5 years ago or so). The natural material huts are damaged, so guests sleep in timber and tin rooms. Bed is reasonably comfortable, but make sure you bring your own sleeping bag/inlay as the hygiene of the blankets is dubious. Also bring box shaped moz net. There’s electricity from 6-9pm and bathroom is shared (flush toilet and cold dripple shower). If you’re expecting regular hotel standard, this will be too basic for you. Food was good, dining hall not cozy. They ran out of drinking water and made us pay for bottles they’d bought. Despite promising to boil and cool water for us, that didn’t happen either. Not cool.
Activity-wise we chose to go on a day hike with guides Howard (71578198) and Tony in the local area. This was the highlight of our entire trip. Despite the slash and burn logging, the landscape is still very beautiful and varied and meeting the local villagers was interesting. The next day we did a quick hike to the nearby waterfall and went to see the bachelor boys. Very nice activities both. I would’ve loved to go birding at the Gap, but our budget didn’t allow it.
All in all, our stay at Lawkanda Lodge was pleasant enough. However, I would try to get in touch with Istap GH as an alternative.
Mt. Hagen:
We went by PMV from Tari (50K) to Mt. Hagen where we were picked up by Tanya (72604161), the caretaker of Kumul Lodge. She’s incredibly friendly, responsive and accommodating. The PMV trip took 9hrs, which seems to be the standard and includes road blocks and tribal disputes (we experienced both, but it wasn’t dangerous and we were taken great care of by the bus crew and our fellow passengers). It took two hours to fill the bus in Tari, and we left Hedemari with PMV at 6am, so in total we spent 12hrs on the road.
Kumul Lodge is great and another highlight. Due to the elevation (2700m) it’s chilly during the day and cold at night. The lodge is surrounded by amazing cloud forest and on-site guide Wilson will take you on free walks to go look for birds. We saw no BoP, but lorikees. The forest is an attraction in itself. Serious birders will want to take half or full day tours, all prices can be found at http://kumul-lodge.com/. If you don’t wanna get a meal package, prices are as follows: B: 38K, L: 52K, D: 75K. Meals are big and hearty! Accommodation is 250K/night/room and there’s hot water and warm blankets. The biggest draw is probably the lodge’s on-site birdwatching veranda, which attracts a range of birds incl. some BoP. We definitely recommend staying at Kumul Lodge.
Madang:
We decided to take the PMV from Hagen to Madang estimating that it could be done within a day if we were lucky (100K - they said 50K at first, then changed it when we were already on our way!). We were not. This PMV trip is without a doubt the most horrific bus ride I have ever been on (not even going 140 km/hr on the roads of Gabon comes close). We left Kumul Lodge with 4x4 at 6.30am and arrived in Madang at 3.30am. It took three hours for the bus to fill up and it turns out that the bus was not legit – make sure to get one with blue number plates! This meant that the crew was bribing their way through all police blocks (there are a lot) taking up valuable time. Moreover, the crew would stop every hour or so to take long breaks to buy their disgusting betel nut, which they chew for euphoric reasons. It took a staggering 7hrs to get to Goroka. From there it was a horrific drive in the dark with constant stops at insanely dodgy rest stops. At one, the crew was even involved in a fight and people had machetes and knives. If you wanna go with PMV from Hagen to Madang, I strongly recommend staying overnight in Goroka. We arrived safely in Madang, but it was an unsettling experience. At no point did we see other dim dims (whites), but again, our fellow passengers took good care of us (many found the trip uncomfortable as well, so I’m hoping this means that it’s not always so).
We’d called the Lutheran Guesthouse (422 2589) ahead and despite the late hour we were welcomed by incredibly friendly staff and a nice room with private bathroom (195K/room incl. bfast). The next morning, we took advantage of the fact that it was Saturday and went to stay at the very nice resort, Jais Aben 20 km north of Madang (423 3111). Weekend rate is 250K/room incl. bfast (two nights minimum) and there’s free pickup at noon (drop off leaves the resort at 9am). There’s no beach at the resort. The snorkeling directly off the resort is good, but don’t cheat yourself for a snorkeling trip (200K/boat) to nearby Pig Island – this is the best place where the day tours from Madang go too. Reef is pristine with an abundance of clown fish and sea anemones. Scuba diving from the resort is not possible.
After Jais Aben, our plan was to go to Krangket Island at the Krangket Island Lodge for our remaining days, but the tourist desk in Madang said they were closed for maintenance. So we gave up and ended up staying one night at Madang Lodge (422 3395, 79298468, http://www.madanglodge.com/). LP speaks the truth when they say that this place is wonderful. Budget twin with shared bathroom is on 130K if you book online (210K elsewise). They have free shuttle pickup from the town. We chose to move to the Madang Resort as we got a good deal online incl. bfast for a “proper” room. MR is OK – its best feature is location. Be aware that they have trafficked tree kangaroos and hornbills in small enclosures on their premises. The staff bluntly explained that they had bought the kangaroos from the locals, who had caught them in the wild. When pressing the manager about the issue, he explained that the animals are there to amuse guests and that had the resort not bought them at a high price, the animals would have been sold cheaply or been someone’s dinner. For this careless and uninformed view on animal welfare alone, I would advise anyone to refrain from staying with at the MR.
We did a half day kayak excursion from MR (50K boat hire for three hours) and explored the mangroves; recommendable if you have the time. The next day we made a day trip to Krangket Island (1K, 20K if you want to get dropped off at Krangket Island Lodge where the laguna and snorkeling is) and to our surprise we learned that the lodge is indeed NOT closed (as we were incorrectly informed by the tourist office), but currently has one bungalow operating. The rest are being renovated and they’re building new ones. It’s bring-your-own-everything, there’s a kitchen in the bungalow with gas and electricity. New price is 100K/bungalow/night. The place is beautiful and peaceful, the garden/lawn well taken care off, but besides snorkeling there’s nothing to do. If you’re a group of people (you can bring your own tents too) setting camp here would be fun, I reckon. Here’s the correct number to Diane Thomas, who’s running the place: 73025959.
Madang was the only city which invited to take a stroll – Mt Hagen and Tari are basically comprised of scattered buildings on a bed of mud with nothing to see or do. We didn’t go to the local beaches and were informed by hotel staff that Madang has no proper sandy ones. So if you’re coming here looking for a beach paradise, look elsewhere.
Everyone, including the locals, will tell you that PNG is incredibly dangerous. Besides our daunting PMV trip, we didn’t feel uneasy or unsafe once. All locals we met were very friendly and sincere and their forthcoming nature doesn’t match the village and city architecture, which basically revolves around shutting and fencing your property off to your surroundings using steel fences, concrete walls topped off with barbwire. Even the smallest of kiosks will be entirely rammed and closed up to – presumably – prevent theft. Being constantly reminded that PNG is dangerous and having to look at these unwelcoming buildings does affect you and it applies a sense of hopelessness to everywhere you visit.
We have enjoyed our trip for the great adventure it was, but will not be coming back again. Excluding international flights, we ended up spending 2700 euro incl. two domestic flights. For pictures etc, feel free to visit my blog https://sarassavanna.wordpress.com/.
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