SEPIK RIVER

The mighty Sepik is one of the world's largest rivers. It is home to ancient tribes who have maintained their colourful and highly artistic cultures for millennia. The people of the Middle Sepik, for instance, are the producers of the elaborate masks and carvings that have come to be known by many as ''typical" P.N.G. art. In recent years, tours and expeditions into the Sepik region have become popular amongst travelers seeking an authentic interaction with tribal cultures. These trips have focused on the Middle Sepik with its iconic art and relatively dense scattering of villages.

The Middle Sepik, however, represents just a few tens of Kilometers of a river system that is many hundreds of kilometers in length. It supports tribal communities along its entire length.

The Upper Sepik , whilst more sparsely populated than downstream, is home to some of the most traditional lifestyles to be found anywhere.

The Upper Sepik is where our journey starts. After a spectacular Highlands introduction to P. N. G. at the beautiful Haus Poroman Lodge in Mount Hagen , the expedition makes its way into the Sepik Basin . Flying into the supply and administration town of Ambunti , our first leg heads upstream and deep into the region. We travel up tributaries into the sandalwood country amongst the feet of the Highlands . You will visit, and stay in the villages of, people who still use friction to light fires.

The region boasts a whole new world of beautiful artifacts, which collectors of tribal art will be unable to find in galleries or tribal art shops.

After a week in the Upper Sepik , we travel downstream to spend another week exploring the diverse cultural playground of the Middle Sepik. The Giant Spirit Houses seen in many documentaries on P. N.G. are found along the banks of the river in this area. The opportunity exists to visit many of these, and to overnight in some, on our way to the Mission Station of Timbunki, where we fly out of the Sepik Basin .

A chilly night by the lounge room fire in the highlands at Haus Poroman will lower us gently back into civilization before our return the next day via the capital city, Port Moresby .

This expedition is designed to expose the adventurous to a very pristine culture, in a vast wilderness in one of the remotest places on earth. Your imersion amongst the people of the Sepik will be great, so be sensitive as to what aspects of your own culture you expose them to regarding foods and gifts.