Circumnavigation of New Guinea - Part II (Port Moresby to Wewak)

Itinerary

Day 1: USA

Board your independent flight to Australia.

Day 2: Travel

Cross the International Date Line, losing a day.

Day 3: Brisbane, Australia

Arrive in Brisbane in the morning, check in to your hotel, and enjoy the rest of the day at leisure. This evening enjoy an introduction dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 4: Brisbane / Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG) / Embark Clipper Odyssey

This morning you fly to Port Moresby, capital of PNG, where you enjoy a brief tour, visiting the National Museum and Art Center. You may also view fine-quality carvings and handcrafts at a local gallery. This afternoon, embark the Clipper Odyssey and set sail south-eastward at sunset.

Day 5: Bonarua Island

As you follow the coast of Papua New Guinea, the peaks of the dramatic Stanley Owens Range soar to 13,000 feet. After an introductory lecture on regional marine life you arrive at the island of Bonarua (officially: Badila Bedda Bedda Bonarua Island). A local choir welcomes you ashore where fishing and weaving demonstrations are on display. Wander through the enchanting village, sampling local delicacies made from sweet potatoes, taro, and yams. Birders trek into the thicket for their first sightings, and the warm inviting waters of the Coral Sea offer a perfect introduction to the undersea wonders on your first snorkel and dive of many to come.

Day 6: Fergusson & Dobu Islands, D'Entrecasteaux Islands

Today you make expedition stops in the Solomon Sea at these soaring, jewel-like islands marked by active volcanoes and thermal pools. Only 600 islanders call this tiny atoll home and you visit tranquil, traditional seaside villages where fishermen cast nets and children play in the surf. Here women and children continue to wear traditional dress. Ferguson Island, the largest of the group, is notable for its hot springs, bubbling mud pools, spouting geysers, and extinct volcanoes. Tiny Dobu, made famous by its ancient sorcery practices, is matrilineal and matriarchal as women have kept their prominent provider roles in the island society.

Day 7: Kitava and Narutu Islands, Trobriand Islands

Today you arrive in the Trobriands. The yam cults, Kula Ring of trading, and overwhelming friendliness toward visitors characterize this island group. Watch on deck as you are greeted by war canoes and the hearty sound of conch-shell “trumpets.” You come ashore on Kitava, an upthrust island clearly showing the staircase levels of coralline limestone rising from the ocean floor. Walk up gentle slopes to an immaculate village bordered by fragrant frangipani trees. Dancers greet you with performances that are among the best of the South Pacific. Spend the afternoon at the nearby idyllic island of Narutu, with superb opportunities for snorkeling, diving, swimming, and beachcombing from the palm-lined white-sand beach. Your expert naturalists lead a hike around the island and through the forest where you have the chance to spot flying fox (fruit bats), helmeted friarbirds, and channel-billed cuckoos.

Day 8: Gawa Island, Marshall Bennett Islands

Gawa is a makatea island—a coral atoll uplifted by geologic activity. Its fertile high plateau, atop steep cliffs, is populated by several villages. Hike up the hillside to Kweupa where the village chief and elders welcome you with ceremonial greeting dances in the town square. During your visit observe enclosed canoe houses which store the island’s great trading canoes, elaborately decorated with pearl shells and carvings. Gawa, tied culturally and commercially to the Trobriands and Woodlarks, sends soulava (necklaces) to the Trobriands and receive mwali (armbands) from the Woodlarks as part of the Kula Ring of reciprocal gift exchange. View intriguing handicrafts and artifacts, including lime pots made from gourds and intricately carved coconut shells and drums.

Day 9: Rabaul Island, East New Britain Islands

Six cone-shaped volcanoes, some of which remain active, ring Rabaul’s dramatic flooded caldera harbor. In 1994 a thick blanket of ash from the joint eruptions of two volcanoes inundated the city. At the hilltop seismology station, witness the fascinating reminders of the havoc caused by these powerful eruptions. Your exploration also reveals the history of WWII; the Japanese under Admiral Yamamoto made Rabaul their headquarters in the South Pacific theater. Visit the war museum in Kokopo as well as the network of barge tunnels dug by the Japanese to shelter barracks, weapons, tanks, and even aircraft and barges. The Baining people, the original settlers of northeastern New Britain, have retained many of their cultural traditions. Tonight, in what is surely an unforgettable trip highlight, watch an astonishing— and rarely seen—performance of the Baining tribe’s fire dance. The eerie wailing and rhythmic drumbeats of a bamboo band penetrate the quiet night as the male tribe members leap and dance over crackling, red-hot coals in a centuries-old ritual honoring ancestral spirits and demonstrating the importance of masculine courage. A black soot-like substance coats the dancers’ bodies, and magnificently crafted masks cover their upper torsos and heads.

Day 10: Cruising the Steffan Strait / Expedition Stop

Cruise the region that lies between New Hanover and New Ireland with the opportunity for amazing snorkling and diving in the waters near Selapiu Island.

Day 11: Tingwon Islands

The ship moors off the reef that completely surrounds this small group of three wooded islets. Walk inland along an avenue of coconut palms to meet the 360 inhabitants of charming Tingwon—a postcard-perfect village. After a lively cultural performance, you are introduced to daily life here through displays of traditional house-building, basket and mat weaving, sago making, dug-out canoe artisanship, fire-building, and cassava and sweet potato gardening. There is ample opportunity to explore the underwater wonders by Zodiac or glass bottom boat. Some of the finest snorkeling and diving of your trip—along the coral reef that drops off dramatically to great depths—highlights spectacular gorgonian fan corals and ripple-lipped giant tridacna clams, along with possible sightings of many large pelagic fish.

Day 12: Nauna Island, Admiralty Islands

One of PNG’s most remote islands, Nauna greets you with waving palms and ribbons of sand, and a cultural world different from any you have experienced thus far. Nauna is the first male-dominated (patrilineal and patriarchal) island of the trip. Enjoy an expedition stop here and visit with local villagers who fish using spider web lures and a traditional kite-flying technique. In the afternoon, snorkel or dive the exceptionally clear waters of the area.

Day 13: Baluan Island

The lowland tropical rainforest of Admiralty island is the habitat of endemic mammal and bird species, including the mosaic-tailed rat, the Manus fantail, superb pitta, and white-naped friarbird. Visit two contiguous but competing small villages, Mouk and Lipan, each with about 400 inhabitants. The Mouk people are mariners, dependent on fish and sea cucumbers, whereas the Lipan people are farmers and fishermen. You are greeted with a rhythmic drum and dance exhibition, then have the opportunity to walk up to the crater for stunning views, or along the shore to visit another village. Snorkeling and diving excursions are excellent.

Day 14: Murik Lakes, Sepik River Delta / Wewak

Entering the Sepik River region, a 700-mile-long river whose tribes are famous for their traditional carvings linked to spiritual beliefs. In the Murik Lakes area, you explore a series of lagoons, mangrove-and-grass-covered islets, and sago wetlands forming the delta of the mighty river. The Sepik carries down great quantities of silt, creating a constantly changing landscape of river bars; the tides of the day determine Zodiac access. Plan to visit the village of Kopar, where a women’s chorus welcomes you ashore. The 300 residents of this typical Lower Sepik village subsist on sago, cultivated in nearby swamps, and fish, caught by the local women.

Day 15: Wewak / Disembark / Cairns, Australia

Disembark this morning for a brief city tour. Wewak is an attractive town, lying under a headland and surrounded by golden beaches and palm trees. The region is steeped in the history of WWII; at nearby Cape Wom, a Japanese general surrendered to the Allies, ending the war in the South Pacific. Memorials to the Australians and Japanese who died in the conflict honor the valiant men of both sides. In the afternoon board your flight to Cairns for dinner and overnight.

Day 16: Cairns / Brisbane / USA

Depart on your independent flight to Brisbane this morning and connect with flights homeward. Arrive in the USA on the same day after crossing the International Date Line.

Trip Details

Ship	The Odyssey (charter)
Highlights	Luxury ship with fantastic service and gourmet cuisine, all cabins with ocean view, reefs teeming with marine life, world class diving & snorkeling, Trobriand Islands, WWII historic sites and memorials.
Trip Notes	Included:Accommodations in hotels and on board Clipper Odyssey as outlined in the itinerary; all onboard meals; all group meals on land; group transfers; services of the expedition staff, including lectures, briefings, slide/film shows; all group activities and excursions; landing and port fees; all gratuities. Pre- and post-voyage extensions include all of the above.Not Included:All air transportation; excess baggage charges; airport arrival and departure taxes; transfers for independent arrivals and departures; passport and/or visa fees; travel insurance; items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar charges, alcoholic beverages, e-mail/fax/telephone charges; scuba diving fees and equipment where required.
Payment Policy	A deposit of 25% per person is required to confirm your reservation. Final payment is due 120 days prior to departure. Payment Methods: Deposit: credit cards are accepted (VISA, MC, AmEx, Discover). Final payment: check or wire.WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS FOR FINAL PAYMENT.

When can I go?

Start Date	Finish Date	Places Available
2009-03-29	2009-04-13	+

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