Day 3 • Friday, August 13

Port Moresby

Arrive in Port Moresby, where we are met and transferred to Airways Hotel. (Meals Aloft,D)

 

Days 4 & 5 • Saturday & Sunday, August 14 & 15

Port Moresby / Mount Hagen Show

Fly to Mount Hagen, in the upper Wahgi Valley. In this valley, researchers have found some of the oldest evidence of agriculture in the world. We will travel straight to the Mount Hagen Show for two full days at this renowned spectacle. The “Show” offers us a chance to see one unbelievable sight after another. You can photograph people putting on their decorations, rehearsing, and taking part in the competition. The dancers’ bodies are colored with earth and paint in every shade of the rainbow. Noses are pierced with feathers and bones. The dances have powerful meaning to the participants. We stay at the Airport Resort. (B,L,D Daily)

 

Day 6 • Monday, August 16

Mount Hagen / Madang

This morning take a chartered flight to Madang, where we stay at the Malolo Plantation Lodge. The area is alive with a diversity of plant, animal and marine life both above and below these tropical waters. The entire coastline is full of discoveries for snorkelers, divers and those interested in marine ecology. This afternoon, we take a traditional canoe ride over crystal waters teeming with fish and blanketed in coral to an uninhabited island for a guided nature walk. Marvel at the plant life and tree species growing on ancient volcanic rocks swept by ocean spray. (B,L,D)

 

Day 7 • Tuesday, August 17

Madang

Traveling only a short distance reveals a traditional village where the people still make use of and live in harmony with their natural surrounds. These gentle people guide us through the forest to show how they use the plants and fruits for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. We watch women as they work dressed in skirts made as they have been for centuries from local grasses and colored from the natural dyes of forest plants, berries and earthen clays. Idle coconut plantations, where the palms and cocoa shade trees are laden with giant, magnificent stag-horn ferns, are home to hundreds of colorful birds. Spend tonight back at the Malolo Plantation Lodge. (B,L,D)

 

Day 8 • Wednesday, August 18

Siar / Bilbil

A leisurely drive takes us past copra and cocoa plantations before arriving at Siar Village, a "modern day" village. Continuing on, we visit the main town market, Coastwatchers Memorial Lighthouse, the small Madang Cultural Museum, and drive along the waterfront harbor. After a picnic lunch, we depart for Bilbil village for a chance to view a demonstration on clay pot making before we return to Malolo Plantation Lodge. (B,L,D)

 

Day 9 • Thursday, August 19

Madang / Ambua Lodge

We fly to Tari and transfer to Ambua Lodge, our home for three nights. At 7,000 feet above sea level, Ambua offers accommodation in nicely furnished rondavels. We’ll explore the Tari Gap, set in tropical forest and meadowland. Eleven species of elusive birds of paradise have been recorded here, many with long plumes and brilliant colors. The afternoon is spent exploring the area surrounding Ambua, an area of high mountain forests and roaring waterfalls. (B,L,D)

 

Days 10 & 11 • Friday & Saturday, August 20 & 21

Ambua Lodge

We spend two full days in the Tari area, discovering the region’s rich bird life and culture. The Tari area is home to numerous orchid species. We also visit a Huli village and meet the “wigmen,” noted for their wigs of hair, flowers and bird-of-paradise feathers. Learn how the Huli live and how they interact with and use their environment. (B,L,D Daily)  

 

Days 12-14 • Sunday-Tuesday, August 22-24

Sepik Spirit

Fly to Timbunke, and take a boat to the Sepik River, where we embark our fine ship, the Sepik Spirit. Our home for three nights, the Sepik Spirit is specially designed to cruise the waterways and tributaries of the Sepik River. We’ll visit villages along the Sepik and explore some of the backwaters and lakes formed by the river. Our itinerary is kept flexible so that we can take advantage of any special events. Steeped in mystery, the people of the Sepik area have fascinated anthropologists like Margaret Mead since the area was first visited. Part of the mystery and attraction of the Sepik peoples is their amazing carvings, now famous the world over. The people of the Sepik have highly developed traditional beliefs and rituals, and villages are very different from one another. We’ll visit the “spirit houses” that are the focal points of several villages, many filled with carvings that tell the legends of the area. At some villages you may witness a traditional “sing-sing,” and in each place there is the chance to buy exquisite local art. (B,L,D Daily)

 

Day 15 • Wednesday, August 25

Mount Hagen / Port Moresby

Fly to Mount Hagen, where we spend part of our day touring the town. This evening we fly to Port Moresby and stay at the Airways Hotel. (B,L,D)

 

Day 16 • Thursday, August 26

Port Moresby / Cairns, Australia

This morning we fly to the resort town of Cairns, Australia, and transfer to the Sebel Cairns Hotel. Lunch is on your own. Then we take an afternoon and evening excursion to the Atherton Tablelands, in search of some of the unique wildlife of the mountain rainforest including tree kangaroos, possums, riflebirds, butterflies and reptiles such as Boyd’s forest dragon. The highlight, if we are lucky, will be a chance to see duck-billed platypus in the wild. We have supper at a local restaurant before returning to the hotel. (B,D)

 

Day 17 • Friday, August 27

Cairns / U.S.

Early this morning, we depart Cairns on connecting flights to the U.S. After re-crossing the International Date Line, we arrive in the U.S. the same day. (Meals Aloft)

 

Please Note: Because of Papua New Guinea’s remote location, travel there necessarily involves some inconveniences. A key reason to visit New Guinea is to see places and cultures that are different from our own, and we will certainly do just that. Please be prepared if things don’t always go 100% according to plan — you’ll enjoy your visit all the more.