Overview

After thirty visits to PNG over the last two decades, photographer Michele Westmorland considers it her “second home.” She and co-leader Karen Kasmauski, one of the world’s most highly respected photojournalists with over two dozen feature assignments for National Geographic magazine to her name, invite you to experience this incredible photographic journey in some of the most remote and beautiful areas of Papua New Guinea, featuring the best accommodations available and charter flight transfers between our various locations.

On her first visit to Papua New Guinea in 1991, Westmorland was immediately hooked:

“I was completely taken by the beauty and diversity of the underwater world,” she says. “It was on my third or fourth trip that I raised my head above the water and realized how diverse the landscape and the people are.”

PNG is home to the most linguistically diverse population on Earth with around 800 different languages spoken in a country with a population of around 5 million people. It is a land of traditional cultures living a subsistence hunter-gatherer lifestyle, and small villages and small-scale farming are the norm. The colorful wigmen of the Huli tribe of the southern highlands use multi-colored clays, feathers, and flowers for traditional body decoration. Birds of Paradise grace the forests with their dramatic color and form.

In contrast the young men of the Sepik region, formerly the home of a head-hunting culture, undergo painful decorative scarring on their backs. Life in the Sepik area revolves around the river, with men paddling narrow dugout canoes full of goods for trade, women fishing or making sago, and children joyfully swinging from trees to splash down in the river. Crocodiles are the manifestation of the local river spirits. The Sepik is a gallery of tribal art – each village boasts a unique style and every villager is an artisan.

Through the song, dance, and pageantry of “sing-sings,” proud local people showcase their traditional customs and artistry. It’s a wonderful opportunity for us to photograph the various cultures of Papua New Guinea together in an array of color and passion.

The Cape Nelson in Oro Province of Papua New Guinea is full of mystery as we approach from the air.   The short one-hour flight from Port Moresby reveals the green fingers of land stretched out into the turquoise waters of the Solomon Sea.  Arriving in the morning, we will settle into our charming accommodations and prepare for the next 3 days of a rich cultural experience in a stunning coastal environment. Our group will experience the beauty of the fjord areas by traditional canoe allowing for exceptional photography, or a bit of video, as exotic birds swoop overhead.  Hornbills, parrots and cockatoos are common in this area.

Our village hosts will not only share their daily lives with our group of photographers, but prepare for another sing-sing where we will capture the extensive body décor that reveals the sense of pride these warm and friendly people have in their tradition.  In addition to the dance, there will be demonstrations of facial tattooing, fire making and sago preparation.  Sago is a staple food source that comes from the pulp of a endemic palm.Other activities will include a trip to waterfalls or hikes to vistas overlooking the fjord areas.  And if you are willing to put your camera down, you can snorkel along the mangroves and forest growth in the shallow reef areas.

PACKAGE
This trip is packaged as single-occupancy by default (double-occupancy guests save $1250 each), and includes all lodging, meals, beverages (including beer or wine with dinner), air and ground transfers (including six internal charter flights), excursions, special performances and cultural photo-ops, and of course expert photographic instruction and guiding throughout by Michele Westmorland and Karen Kasmauski.

 
ITINERARY: Click “read more” below right…

ITINERARY

Fri 15 May, 2015

Upon arrival in Port Moresby from your international flight you will be met and transferred to our group hotel for our initial meeting and orientation, followed by a group dinner.

Overnight: Airways Hotel (–D)

Sat 16 May, 2015

In the morning, we will transfer to our Air Niugini flight from Port Moresby to Tari. The Tari Valley is home to the Huli, a colorful and proud people still largely living the traditional manner of their ancestors, ornamenting themselves with human hair wigs adorned with brilliant feathers and flowers. Ambua Lodge is an inspired mixture of local architecture, spectacular views and modest luxury off the beaten track at 7000 feet (2100 meters) in the PNG Southern Highlands.

Afternoon guided nature walk through the highland forest looking for birds of paradise.

Overnight: Ambua Lodge (B,L,D)

Sun 17 & Mon 18 May, 2015

Enjoy two full days of exploration and cultural photography. 

Overnight: Ambua Lodge (B,L,D)

Tue 19 May, 2015

Fly by charter aircraft to Karawari airstrip over some of the most rugged and impressive landscapes in the world. The country between Ambua and the Sepik region is an amazing array of jagged limestone that seems to rise and drop at impossible angles. From the airstrip, you will be transferred by river boat to Karawari Lodge. Sitting on a ridge above the Karawari River, the lodge boasts a spectacular view over hundreds of kilometers of dense tropical jungle. Inspired by local architecture and built with traditional materials, Karawari Lodge nevertheless provides modern comforts.  It is the perfect base for some old-fashioned jungle, river, and village exploration. You are in the middle of Arambak country – locals pole dug-out canoes, the drums throb, the wild birds call, and traditional village lifestyles continue largely unchanged. You’ll feel like a participant in a classic National Geographic expedition: no roads, thick jungle, locals poling dugouts, and crocodiles.

Proceed with lunch then follow by an afternoon visit to Kundiman village for sago making demonstration.  Sago is the staple food for the river people.

Overnight: Karawari Lodge (B,L,D)

Wed 20 May, 2015

A day excursion along the jungle-fringed waterways of the Karawari River where boatmen, standing upright, paddle their slender dugout canoes with sculpted silhouettes of crocodile masks.  Village life, including carved totems, drums, woodcarvings and different expressions of art are also experienced.  Photograph bountiful bird life along the rivers and nearby lakes.  Excursions will enhance your understanding of traditional village culture in the Sepik region.

Overnight: Karawari Lodge (B,L,D)

Thu 21 May,  2015

Transfer from Karawari Lodge to the airstrip for our charter flight to Mount Hagen. During the flight, mountains rise up to startling heights out of the flat lands of the Sepik Basin. Mount Hagen Town is in the upper Wahgi Valley, featuring the oldest evidence of agriculture in the world.  Transfer from airport to Highlander Hotel and proceed to Mount Hagen Town and main market area.

Overnight: Highlander Hotel (B,L,D)

Fri 22 May, 2015

Today, a full day is spent at the Tumbuna sing-sing. Photograph traditional dancers, interact with cultures dating back to the stone age, and hear stories about “Taim bilong Tumbuna” (time of the ancestors).  Picnic lunch will be provided at the show grounds.

Overnight: Highlander Hotel (B,L,D)

Sat 23 May, 2015

Morning excursion, then transfer from Highlander Hotel to airport for flight back to Port Moresby.

Overnight: Airways Hotel (B,L,D)

Sun 24 May, 2015

Early morning transfer to airport for our flight to Tufi Resort on Cape Nelson. Afternoon excursion.

Overnight: Tufi Resort (B,L,D)

Mon 25 & Tues 26 May, 2015

Daily excursions exploring the overwhelming opportunities presented by the local ecology, landscape, and cultures.

Weds 27 May, 2015

Morning excursion, then transfer to airport for late afternoon flight back to Port Moresby.

Overnight: Airways Hotel (B,L,D)

Thurs 28 May, 2015

Transfer to airport for flights home. (B–)