Papua New Guinea:
Land of Magic and Spirits

I was in Papua New Guinea, a once-in a lifetime experience. After a week exploring Papua New Guinea (PNG) in towns and villages on land, I was now experiencing PNG from the point of view of a luxury small ship. I had boarded the M/V Orion in the small town of Rabaul. And here I was on the first night at a fire dance where local village men in traditional costumes drank an herbal concoction, putting them in a trance, and then danced around and through a large fire. The music got louder, the drums beat faster, the dancers actually danced through the fire in their bare feet. It was quite a beginning to this cultural adventure.

PNG BY LAND

Papua New Guinea is a country of some 5 million inhabitants sharing an island with the Indonesian colony of Irian Jaya, just north of Australia. It is largely undeveloped country with most people living in small tribal villages. Although English is the official language in PNG, there are over 800 languages spoken, nearly 1/3 of the world’s total.  Missionaries began to arrive here in the 19^th century, but despite their best efforts, PNG culture remains strong. Some tribal rituals have especially resurfaced since tourism has begun to take hold.    Things seem to go at their own pace on this island nation. As I was planning the trip, my host for the trip had assured me that everything would fall into place, asking for my patience he points out that PNG works on island time…”it’s like manana but without the sense of urgency.

My next stop was in Madang, a short flight from Port Moresby. I stayed at the Jais Aben Resort where we were hosted by Heather and Ted Hamilton. Our diving was under the care of Lesley Schoon and Tim Rowland the owners of Aquaventures, the resident dive operation at the resort. Diving again was excellent. The resort is located in a protected bay so conditions were calm and clear. The reefs here are abundant with larger sea life. We saw large schools, hundreds of fish, of jacks and barracudas. In addition to divers, the resort handles conferences, and many missionaries from the highlands come down to the sea for holiday. The restaurant has daily specials and is very reasonably priced.

My last stop was in Rabaul where I was to meet the Orion. I stayed at the Rabaul Hotel (formerly Hamamas) hosted by Bruce and Susie Alexander. The hotel is the oldest in the New Guinea Islands dating back to the 1950’s, but rebuilt in the late 80’s after a fire burned it down. It was almost lost again in the eruptions of two volcanoes in 1994, but the owners stayed behind and shoveled ash from the roofs, saving it from collapsing. The hotel is the only remaining structure in the original town--all the other buildings were buried in ash during the eruptions. The restaurant, aptly named Phoenix, specializes in Chinese cuisine. I was also invited to an Oktoberfest at the local Yacht Club.

ORION

I boarded the Orion on Monday afternoon, and in the evening we were treated to the fire dance. The ship was under charter to Tauck World Discovery and Robin Tauck, the president, was on board with us. This morning we stayed in Rabaul and had a tour that took us to a WW II Japanese barge tunnel, a volcano monitoring station and Japanese Betty Bomber and Zero airplane wreckage. Rabaul was occupied by the Japanese in WW II and was the base of operations for their Pacific fleet. We visited Admiral Yamamoto’s main bunker site. Rabaul is surrounded by volcanoes and one of them is very active.  In the afternoon we visited a local produce market.  Some passengers went on a hike to one of the active volcano areas that also was the nesting ground for birds known as Megapods. They dig deep into the ground to bury their eggs. Local villagers then dig up the nest sites to get the eggs to sell in the markets.

The Orion is a magnificent ship. She is 318 ft. long and accommodates a maximum of 106 guests. Those guests are served by 75 crew members which is a very high guest to crew ratio, fitting for a ship of this quality. For this Tauck voyage we have 79 passengers aboard. Orion is considered an expedition ship with an Ice Class hull and 10 Zodiacs to get passengers to and from remote shore destinations. She draws only 10 ft. so can maneuver in shallow water.

I was considering calling this article “Here Comes The Dim-dim’s”. That’s the term used by the natives for stupid person. It’s not meant as a pejorative but simply to describe a person’s actions and that certainly described our bumbling tourist ways. Once we heard it we kept saying to each other “here come the dim-dims”.

After a day at sea, our first stop was a visit to Watam, a village near the mouth of the Sepik River. Watam is a village of 300 people consisting of 7 clans, each with its own leader and one chieftain. The villagers gave us a royal welcome.  As our Zodiacs approached, a boat of villagers decked out in full ceremonial garb came out to greet us. Dancers were waiting on shore.   After we made a procession led by a dragon costume, we witnessed a flag-raising ceremony with the local children reciting the Lord’s Prayer and singing the PNG National Anthem.  There was then an exchange of gifts. Tauck home office employees and Orion passengers have donated clothing and school supplies to be given to the village. Robin Tauck was given some bilum bags and necklaces in return. This is all a part of Tauck’s World of Giving philanthropic program designed to enhance the people and places they visit. Costumed dancing went on for the entire time of our visit. Representatives from other villages have come to Watam and brought their handicrafts for sale. Based on all the carvings, bags and necklaces brought back to the ship it appeared the Orion passengers made a significant contribution to the local economy today. When we left Watam we felt as though we had made some new friends. In fact, my most striking memory of PNG is how friendly the people are. Everywhere we went we were greeted with a smile and a wave, and people were eager to have their picture taken.

In the afternoon we went in the Zodiacs to enter the Sepik River. The Sepik is one of the world’s great rivers running more than 800 miles from its origin in the mountain highlands. The Sepik stains the sea brown for up to 30 miles, and we clearly saw where the river water meets the sea. We spotted several birds of prey along the river banks and in the trees. Along the river banks were sago palms, a food staple for the natives. The pulpy center of the tree is ground up and sifted through water to extract the starchy foodstuff.

The following day we visited the town of Madang. On the outskirts was the village of Bilbil, well known for their clay pots. We were first treated to a demonstration of how the pots are made entirely by hand, and fired over an open flame. Afterwards we witnessed a traditional sing-sing, a dance that is used to celebrate special occasions.

We spent the afternoon touring around Madang. At the local market produce of all types was sold as well as some handicrafts. It is one of Papua New Guineas larger markets as Madang is accessible by road to the rural areas so goods can be transported from a distance. Next we moved on to a museum of art, crafts, tools, and musical instruments, followed by a look at the Coast-watchers Memorial which commemorates the Australian coast- watchers, locals who spied against the Japanese during World War II. It was a coast-watcher who helped rescue JFK during WW II.

After dinner, we were treated to a slide presentation by one of our guests who is an award-winning photographer, and who has had work published by National Geographic

The next day was spent at sea. We were very busy.   Lest people think cruising is boring, check this schedule out. First was an orientation to snorkeling and the fitting of gear. This was followed by a slide show lecture on Indo Pacific coral reef biology. After a buffet lunch, Robin Tauck presented a preview of next year’s Tauck programs throughout the world. Following was a presentation on Papua New Guinea history and culture, one on Douglas McArthur’s campaigns in Papua and New Guinea, and finally a briefing on tomorrow’s activities and a short talk on the Bird of Paradise. It was like being back in school, going to so many classes in one day.

The next day we visited Tufi Village. We were transported by local boat to the end of a fjord and then into a mangrove by outrigger canoe to the village where we were greeted by angry villagers who would not let us pass without knowing why we had come. When we informed them that we were only here to see the making of Sago we were allowed to enter the village where we were greeted with fragrant floral necklaces. Of course the challenge to our entering was just symbolic. We were shown demonstrations of the various stages of Sago-making from the chopping of the tree core into sawdust-like flour on to the filtering and finally the cooking of the paste. We then got to taste the finished product.  Also demonstrated were facial tattooing, string bag making, and the traditional making of fire. Later we went by canoe to another village where we saw dancing and singing by the school children as a thank-you for the support the village had received from the Orion. Later in the afternoon we headed to the beach for swimming and snorkeling.

Monday we visited the island of Kitava, one of the Trobriand Islands, which is an archipelago of several low-lying coral islands situated to the northeast of New Guinea. Again we had a warm welcome from the locals and again delivered aid in the form of clothing, shoes, first-aid supplies, fishing gear, and school supplies, and again were treated to an elaborate cultural dance presentation. Some guests joined an hour-long uphill walk to the village to see the famous Trobriand yam houses. Next we went by Zodiac to the adjacent small island of Nuratu for a beach barbeque and snorkeling. It rained a little, but for the most part our weather has been fantastic for this entire trip, albeit a little warm.

 In the afternoon we began our cruise to the next destination, Nivani, which is part of Deboyne Lagoon in the Louisiade Archipelago. At Panapompom, an adjacent island, we visited a small village of only 20 people and we got a glimpse of what the simple life is like in Papua New Guinea. For food they grow their own and fish. There is a garden, mostly yams and taro. For cash to send the kids to school and receive medical care, they collect and dry copra (dried coconut to make coconut oil) and fish for sea cucumbers to sell to the Asian market. When we arrived Robin Tauck gave the usual aid supplies plus knapsacks for the children.  Later we swam and snorkeled. There was an intact sunken Japanese Zero visible in only 6-10 ft. of water.   
                                                                               
Wednesday we arrived early in Alotau, the capital of Milne Bay Province. Many of the population of around 10,000 rely on the sea for their livelihood and the busy harbor is the focal point of the town. Colorful cargo vessels were everywhere. We had a surprise at breakfast as a group of local dancers performed for us aboard the ship.

We boarded buses for a tour to a site of the rusty remains of some WW II American landing barges and  to a tiny village where we are welcomed with some fresh fruit and a tour of the houses. Cooking is done in a separate house as wood fires are used. In the afternoon we took a guided walking tour around the town including a memorial of the Battle of Milne Bay and the local market.

This was our last day in Papua New Guinea -- Halloween -- and we were already getting a little nostalgic and sad. The dining room was decorated with carved pumpkins which the crew members had carved as part of a contest. The waiters were in costume. Later we were treated to a performance by our multi-talented crew ranging from singing and dancing to magic. On our day at sea on our return to Cairns we were given tours of the galley and bridge, lectures were held on mammal life in the Pacific and an overview of WW II in the Pacific. Last night there was a presentation on JFK and PT 109. The seas were a little rough on our crossing and some passengers felt queasy.

Papua New Guinea is truly unspoiled by tourism and indeed it seems that tourism may be helping to preserve some of its traditional culture. I hope that as tourism increases, that this land can keep its magic sense of self.

                                                                                                                                                              -- Scott Linde
                                                                                                                                                                 www.SmallShipCruises.com  
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The Orion, in just her third year of operation, recently was awarded the Berlitz ranking of #2 in the world in the Expedition Cruise category.  Orion also has cruises in Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, Melanesia and Antarctica. This particular cruise was a joint venture with Tauck World Discovery. Tauck had planned activities for their guests before and after the cruise in Cairns and Port Douglas, Australia.