Inside Papua New Guinea's Sepik River: A Whistle-Stop Visit
As our Air Niugini plane touched down on the tarmac at Wewak the rain started and I can honestly say I don't think it stopped until the day we left. But when have a few rain drops ever stopped an intrepid traveller? We headed off by road to Pagwi where we boarded our canoes just as the daylight was fading. One of the first things thatstraikes you about the Sepik is ist size, this mighty river meanders its way over 1100 kilometres. It is truly Papua New Guinea's Amazon.
The section of the river we visited between Ambunti and Tambanum is regarded as the region's cultural centre, with each village having its own artistic style. You travel everywhere by motorised canoe which lets you take in the scenery and soak up the atmosphere. By the time we arrived at Ambunti Lodge it was dark so we didn't get to appreciate the truly stunning setting. Tired and hungry, we headed to bed after a reviving bottle of PNG's finest SP beer and a plate of chicken stew. In the morning, we had an early start in search of birds of paradise and awoke to our wonderful riverside setting. Laer, we headed off to visit some of the communities which make their home along the river.
Villages in the area are notable for their carvings, spears and pottery. You'll see villages, dense forests and incredible birdlife too. Well, what a welcome, friendly locals had put on their finest and welcomed us with a sing sing. We spent a relaxed couple of hours chatting with the villagers and learning a littlle about life on the riverbank. As you can imagine, fishing and birdlife play an important part in day to day life along with growing produce foro the village and selling any surplus.
Probably the biggest 'wow' was the fabulously painted spirit houses. This part of PNG is renowned for its craving and painting and we weren't disappointed. The bright colours of the ceilings looked like they were painted yesterday and yet had been there for generations.
Our 2 night visit to the Sepak seemed to whizz by but left us all with such great memories of the communities we visited, the colourful birdlife we saw, and the splendour of the river itself. It certainly left us wanting more. Oh and by the way, just as we were boarding our flight back to Port Moresby, the sun came out!
