EM205 2010 MOROBE SHOW TOUR – 12-25 OCTOBER 2010 13 nights Madang, Wewak, Kairiru Island, Middle Sepik, Simbai, Mt Hagen, Goroka, Lae (Morobe Show) Fully escorted sign-up small group soft adventure tour, minimum 8 maximum 16 pax. The tour program will commence with some brief sightseeing in Madang, PNG’s “tourist town” so named because it attracts many tourists to its beautiful foreshores, gardens and satellite villages. Next stop will be Wewak, gateway to the Sepik River, with a side trip to exotic Kairiru Island. We will spend two nights on the Sepik River, exploring the culturally rich Middle Sepik area. A charter flight from the Sepik will bring us to Simbai, a remote mountainous district with no roads in or out, where the people of the Kalam tribe still live a primitive subsistence lifestyle and maintain an ancient tribal culture featuring elaborate head-dresses that are so large they require an internal frame to support them. From Simbai we are airlifted to Mt Hagen, the starting point for our drive down the Highlands Highway, one of the world’s remarkable road journeys. At Goroka we will stop to explore the eastern highlands culture including a visit to the Asaro mudmen and the Kemase village ossuary where children dressed only in moss and bark coverings out of respect for their ancestors will lead us into the cave where the skulls and bones of the dead are stored and revered. From Goroka we take another scenic drive, down through the thermal inversion layer separating the cool highlands from the steamy tropical coast, to PNG’s second largest city, Lae, the venue for the Morobe Show. The Morobe Show is one of Papua New Guinea’s major annual festivals. The weekend event begins with a full day of agricultural and trade displays and awarding of prizes to the growers of the biggest and best of everything – from coffee to cattle to cut flowers. This is a marvellous opportunity to view a cross section of rural commerce in contemporary Papua New Guinea and rub shoulders with the locals who flood into town to show their wares and to see what everybody else is making, growing and selling. The second day of the show, known as the Morobe Sing-sing, features traditional dancing performances by over 60 sing-sing groups from all over Papua New Guinea. This line-up is second only to the Mt Hagen Show in size and variety, attracting cultural groups from as far away as Bougainville and the Trobriand Islands to compete for prizes. The local crowd of 50,000 flocks in mainly from the villages around Lae, down the highway from the Highlands provinces, and across from Madang. In contrast, less than 100 overseas visitors attended the last Morobe Show, so it is definitely a “local” festival and not created for tourists. There are also health awareness programs, sideshow alley and all manner of other activities at the Show which make it the highlight of the annual event calendar for the people of Morobe Province and their capital city, Lae. Some very remote villagers come to town only once a year, for the Show, so you will see quite a kaleidoscope of faces just in the spectator crowd, even before you turn your attention to the sing-sing arena. Tourists and locals with cameras are given special seats with the best views, and you will also have permission to enter the performance arena to take close-ups of the dancers. We will arrive early to watch the performers dressing up in their traditional finery and applying their body paints and ornaments before the sing-sing. Click here to download a detailed itinerary for EM205 with tour price, tour inclusions and trip notes (PDF format, opens in a new window)
Air Niugini F100 jet operates most domestic routes	2010 ITINERARY DAY 1: TUE 12 OCT 2010 PORT MORESBY / MADANG Arrive Port Moresby and connect through to Madang. See www.airniugini.com.pg or www.apng.com for details of international flights arriving today from Cairns and Singapore (the flight from Singapore departs on the evening of Monday 11 October and arrives early Tuesday morning in Port Moresby). On arrival in Port Moresby Ecotourism Melanesia staff will greet you with a smile and a surprise gift and you will be transferred to check in for your connecting flight to Madang. If time allows between flights, our staff will take you on a complimentary sightseeing tour of Port Moresby. NB Your domestic air tickets are provided by Ecotourism Melanesia as part of the tour package and will be delivered to you on arrival or e-mailed in advance. On arrival in Madang, you will be met by our tour escort and transfer 15 minutes to your hotel. If you arrive in Madang on an early flight our local guide will be available to take you on a walking tour of the Coastwatchers Lighthouse and foreshore area near the hotel, and as far as the town markets. Overnight Coastwatchers Hotel, Madang
Small islands paddling distance from Jais Aben Madang handicraft market	DAY 2: WED 13 OCT MADANG / WEWAK Today we explore beautiful Madang before taking a late afternoon flight to Wewak. Beginning with a drive around town we’ll visit the local markets and carver’s hut, the Madang cultural museum, Nobnob scenic lookout and the German colonial cemetery on the seaside at Alexishafen Catholic Mission. Towards lunchtime we will drive inland to Hobe village, a small local community on the edge of a rainforest. After a walk through the village and a short nature tour in the forest we’ll be treated too a traditional style lunch featuring local fruit and vegetables cooked in coconut milk. Mid-afternoon we head for the airport and check in for our flight to Wewak. 17:05 Air Niugini flight PX126 departs Madang for Wewak. 17:45 On arrival in Wewak we transfer to our hotel and bunker down for a pleasant evening in what we rate as Papua New Guinea’s most delightful little hotel. The In-Wewak Boutique Hotel is less than 10 years old, built in tropical plantation style with only 40 rooms. Everything is brilliant white, dazzling clean and shiny, and the food and service impeccable. There are two long wide verandahs with colonial style sitting furniture facing out to sea and the onshore breezes are most refreshing ? Overnight In-Wewak Boutique Hotel, Wewak
Muschu Island beach Blowing the welcome conch, Kairiru Island Traditional dancing, Kairiru Island Village guest house, Kairiru Island	DAY 3: THU 14 OCT WEWAK / KAIRIRU ISLAND 09:00 After breakfast we check out of the hotel and take a pleasant 20 minute walk down the hill from the hotel to the foreshore (luggage follows by car). At the foreshore we board an open speed boat for a 30 minute boat ride to beautiful Muschu Island. Muschu is a luscious tropical isle, flat and low and covered in coconut plantations and light rainforest. The island is fringed with beautiful white sandy beaches and colourful coral reefs. We will spend about 2 hours at Muschu Island, enough time for some swimming and snorkelling, beachcombing or a stroll through the coconut plantations. Snorkelling masks are provided. Bottled water, fresh drinking coconuts and fruit are provided. Don’t forget to ask our hosts for a demonstration of climbing a coconut tree! Late morning we depart Muschu and continue further offshore to Kairiu Island. Unlike Muschu, Kairiru Is a volcanic island with mountainous interior and small crater lake at the summit. The island takes about 1 hour to circumnavigate by speed boat, but today we will travel around only the east side of the island to get to Shagur village on the seaward (north) side of Kairiru Island. From Shagur you cannot see the PNG mainland – only the Bismarck Sea to the north. At Shagur village the people will await us with an enthusiastic traditional welcome and a tropical feast for lunch. Shagur village is literally a tropical paradise situated in luscious green rainforest. The houses are all traditional style, made of bush materials only. This contrasts with the inland areas of the Sepik River where the topography is fairly flat and dry, despite the presence of the watercourse, and cultural entertainment is not as energetic due to the more regular tourist visits. As Ecotourism Melanesia is currently the only tour company arranging visits to Shagur, the number of visitors coming here is small and each visit is special for both the village people and the visitor. The people here have a well-prepared repertoire of bona fide cultural dances, songs and drama to perform for visitors – one of the best village cultural experiences anywhere in PNG. After lunch we take a familiarisation walk around the village and a half hour hike to the waterfall for a refreshing splash. Beginning mid-afternoon and continuing into the evening, we will be treated to a cultural entertainment extravaganza with all manner of traditional singing, dancing and drama skits portraying the island legends – be prepared to split your sides over some great slapstick comedy even if you can’t understand a word of what’s going on! Dinner tonight will be a traditional-style “mumu” where food is wrapped with coconut cream in banana leaves and slow-cooked in under hot stones. Overnight Polen guest house, Shagur village, Kairiru Island
Motorised Sepik River canoes Sing-sing extravaganza, Yamok village Julie with dancers at Yamok Girls paddling on the Sepik	DAY 4: FRI 15 OCT KAIRIRU ISLAND / WEWAK / SEPIK RIVER (YAMOK) A lot of travelling today, so we start with an early breakfast at 6.00am then depart Shagur at 7:00am by open speed boat for Wewak. This time we will skirt the eastern coast of Kairiru Island and make a brief stop at the hot springs at Victoria Bay. By 9:00am our boats will come ashore on the beach in front of the Windjammer Beach Hotel which is a convenient place to rendezvous with our waiting vehicles. The hotel bar will be open by this time so you can have quick beer and a bowl of fries while we load up if you wish. By 10:00am we’ll board our 25-seater bus (with trailing luggage vehicle), and commence our 4-hour drive from Wewak to the Sepik River. The road from Wewak to Pagwi on the Sepik River is bitumen sealed most of the way and quite a pleasant journey. First we climb steep winding curves from the steamy coastal strip to the cool forests of the undulating Prince Alexander Range. Two hours into the trip we will stop at a roadside market for a lunch of tropical fruits, cooked vegetables and delicious green coconuts to drink (pay as you go). Back on the road, we soon see fleeting views through the trees of the Sepik plains, with the river itself a fuzzy brown ribbon on the horizon. Descending onto the savannah grasslands of the Sepik basin, we pass through a number of villages before arriving at Pagwi mission station on the Middle Sepik by early afternoon. At Pagwi we transfer to our waiting motor canoes and head down-river approximately one hour to the Korogo Fishing Lake, an ox-bow lake formed by a cut-off river bend. Here we leave our canoes and walk for an hour through light rainforest to Yamok village. In the past, Yamok was a riverside village but changes in the course of the Sepik River over the past century have now left Yamok well inland. The hike to Yamok is easy walking, mainly flat ground, and mud will be the only inconvenience if the ground is wet but this is the dry season. Porters will hump your bags and our other supplies so you won’t have to carry anything. Visiting Yamok is well worth it as this village is probably the most beautiful on the Sepik and has seven Haus Tambarans (mens spirit houses) which is more than any other Sepik village. Very few tourists visit this village so we are assured of a warm welcome. On arrival at Yamok, we will be welcomed by a traditional “sing-sing” and then tour the village. Special permission will be given for the women in our tour party to enter the Haus Tambarans, which are strictly off-limits to local women. Overnight village guest house, Yamok
Kanganaman spirit house: largest on the Sepik Middle Sepik girls Kanganaman village guest house	DAY 5: SAT 16 OCT SEPIK RIVER (YAMOK / KANGANAMAN) This morning we spend a little more time looking around Yamok then we hike back to the Korogo Fishing Lake and board our motor canoes, and continue motoring downstream to Kanganaman village (about half an hour’s ride) where fresh fruit, dried fish and cooked sago will be awaiting us for lunch. After leaving our bags at the village guest house we take a tour around Kanganaman, especially the Haus Tambaran which has sacred artefacts. In the afternoon we will scoot across the river in our canoes to Kanganaman’s sister village, Palembei. Kanganaman and Palembei are the heart of the Middle Sepik “crocodile cult”. Crocodiles play a major part in the cultural heritage of the Middle Sepik people. Crocodiles are animal totems symbolising strength and power. In the Middle Sepik crocodile cult villages of Yentchen, Palembei and Kanganaman, the attributes of the crocodile are so envied that the men even try to make themselves look like crocodiles. The initiation of boys into adulthood involves a painful scarification ritual during which dozens of small cuts are made all over the back from shoulders to hips, and pockets of skin are lifted away from the flesh. Upon healing, this leaves raised scars that resemble the bumpy back of the crocodile. Such initiations are carried out in secret only once or twice a year and outsiders are not normally allowed to witness the cutting ceremony. Back at Kanganaman, in the late afternoon we will observe sago being extracted from the pith of sago palms, and learn 20 ways to cook sago. In the evening we will sit around the men’s spirit house and hear the elders recount tribal legends and play their bamboo flutes and garamut drums. Overnight village guest house, Kanganaman
Simbai men with bows and arrows for hunting Simbai man sporting his green beetle-shell head-dress Simbai family with stone axe Trademark head-dresses decorated with thousands of brilliant green beetle shells Simbai initiated boy proudly wears his head dress and nose ornament	DAY 6: SUN 17 OCT SEPIK RIVER / SIMBAI This morning our motorised canoe will transport us through narrow waterways that connect the main Sepik River to the Chambri Lakes. The Lakes may be semi-dry in the middle of the dry season (July/August) or filled to capacity and even flooded during the wet season (December to February). We will see a lot of bird life today, and locals fishing with nets. One of the lakeside villages, Aibom, is renowned for its clay pottery. You can see potters at work and purchase fired pottery. The villages along the shores of the Chambri Lakes have a distinct culture and artistic style – you will be able to purchase some of the unique local art. Few tourists visit the Chambri Lakes as it is off the main river so our visit will be a novelty for the locals. Exiting the Chambri Lakes and rejoining the main Sepik River we will arrive at Timbunke Mission by midday. At Timbunke we meet up with our charter aircraft which will up lift us approximately 40 minutes flying time direct to Simbai. On arrival at Simbai airstrip we will be met by local guides with plenty of helpful hands to carry our bags for the 30 minute walk to the Kalam Guest House, a basic but comfortable facility built in local style. Simbai government station is the district headquarters. It is just a remote outpost, not a town. There is a two-man district office, a primary school, a small trade store, a couple of little churches, and a dozen prefabricated houses for the small number of provincial government staff, local missionaries and school teachers. Thirty to sixty minutes walking time from the “station” are the first Kalam tribal villages, constructed of bush materials. More villages are located deeper in the surrounding hills. The village people live subsistence lifestyles: hunting, gathering and gardening. Apart from a few coffee plots there is very little commercial agriculture here because there is no vehicular access for transporting crops out. For more information on Simbai and the Kalam tribe go to our web site www.em.com.pg, click on “PNG TOURIST INFORMATION” at the bottom of the left hand menu bar then follow the links to “Madang” then “Simbai”. The weather at Simbai will be warm by day (20-25 Celcius) and cool at night (10-15 celcius). After checking in at the guest house we will begin a program of village tours and cultural activities. Today we expect to: - visit the Kalam tribal cultural museum (a quaint display of tribal artifacts including weapons, elaborate head-dresses, bride price ornaments, traditional gardening and cooking implements, and nose pieces) - visit the exotic orchid gardens where wild orchids and other native flowers are in bloom - visit a local hamlet not far from the guest house and meet locals going about their daily business - sit with initiated men and hear them explain the importance of their tribal head-dresses and explain how these are made - witness a Kalam tribal sing-sing with head-dress parade Overnight Kalam Guest House
Men of the Kalam tribe, Simbai Simbai woman watches hubby do the work: mashing red fruits gathered from the forest	DAY 7: MON 18 OCT SIMBAI (Waim village experience) Today’s activity involves hiking 2 hours to a more remote village south of Simbai (Waim) for a full day village experience focused on the preparation of a traditional feast. The hike passes through open grasslands and forested areas with waterfalls - a beautiful experience of nature with many photo opportunities. The terrain is undulating but not difficult. At Waim we will watch (and join) the village people preparing food to be cooked in an earth oven for our lunch. A pig will be slaughtered and butchered before our eyes although the locals will not be offended if we stick to the vegetables when it comes time to eat! The whole village is involved in preparing this traditional feast and we rub shoulders with children, old people and everyone in between. When the food is ready we will sit on the ground with the locals and share the meal with them. Everything is rather primitive at Waim but that, of course, is what we have come to see. Mid-afternoon we hike another 2 hours back to the guest house at Simbai. (If you are unable to hike today, alternative activities will be arranged for you closer to the guest house). Overnight Kalam Guest House
Departing Simbai airstrip The chief of Paiya village and his three wives	DAY 8: TUE 19 OCT SIMBAI / MT HAGEN After breakfast we will walk from the guest house to the airfield to wait for our charter aircraft to arrive from Mt Hagen at approximately 09:00 From Simbai to Mt Hagen is a half hour flight. We will be met at Mt Hagen airport by the hotel shuttle bus and transfer to the Highlander Hotel in time for lunch (pay as you go). After lunch we will take a half day tour of the Waghi Valley which is the agricultural powerhouse of the highlands. We’ll see tea and coffee plantations, market gardens and a tropical orchid display. Our tour will include a stop at Paiya village to meet the chief and his three wives, visit the ancestors skull house and initiated men’s house, and see demonstrations of courtship ritual (karim leg) and wig making. Overnight Highlander Hotel, Mt Hagen
Highlands Highway Roadside greenery, Daulo Pass Roadside barbeque Asaro mudmen Bird of Paradise Hotel, Goroka	DAY 9: WED 20 OCT MT HAGEN / GOROKA Today we will undertake one of the world’s remarkable road journeys: the eight hour drive from Mt Hagen to Goroka via the Highlands Highway passing through the Chimbu Province. We will travel by comfortable mini-coach with a cooler of refreshments on board. Our local guide will provide a verbal commentary as we drive the route. Departing our hotel we first pass through the patchwork Waghi Valley with its tea and coffee plantations and market gardens. This is some of the most naturally fertile land in the world. As we pass into the Chimbu Province the scenery becomes more alpine and PNG’s highest mountains, Mt Wilhelm, looms on our left but probably covered in cloud. There is very little snow on the PNG alps and the distant mountains appear grey-green. You will marvel at the way the local people are able to plant gardens on the impossibly steep mountain slopes. Along the highway there are numerous village markets and food stalls with opportunities to stop and talk to local people. The highway is tar sealed but rough and pot-holed in places where water has flooded over the road or landslides have eroded the road shoulder and forced traffic to divert onto side roads. Animals on the road is a common sight, and it is not unusual to see local tribes people using the highway as a “neutral venue” for holding meetings, conducting bride price negotiations and even fighting to resolve conflicts. Local people in this part of Papua New Guinea still have a relatively primitive tribal psyche. The road twists and winds around numerous hairpin bends affording excellent panoramic views in all directions along the route. There are several high mountains passes where the road weaves through beautiful forested areas with gushing waterfalls and amazing plant diversity. About two thirds of the way we will make a stop at the hotel in Kundiawa for lunch. Kundiawa is the “capital” of the Chimbu province but just a small town. The hotel restaurant serves basic fare including fish and chips, steak and vegetables, toasted sandwiches and salads. Pay as you go. From Kundiawa the highway descends to Goroka via the verdant Daulo Pass. Visible from your vehicle through the swirling mists of the Pass is a magnificent variety of flowering trees and non-flowering ferns and palms, bubbling brooks and tiny waterfalls. Children sell fresh flower garlands on the roadside. As we pass by Asaro village we will stop and pay a visit to the Asaro Mudmen at home before they commence their journey to Lae to perform at the Morobe Show. These people have a tradition of crafting fierce looking clay helmets worn during tribal fights in the old days to frighten the enemy. The helmets are also worn for traditional dancing and drama performances demonstrating how their ancestors stalked enemy tribes. You’ll be shown how the clay helmets are made and used, and you’ll be treated to some dance and drama – a little “touristy” but entertaining. Continuing down the Asaro Valley we come to the town of Goroka nestled at the foot of Mt Kiss. Goroka is said to be the most “civilised” town in the highlands because it is a university town and there are many Papua New Guineans from other parts of the country living here as college staff and students, so there is a bit of a cosmopolitan feel. However as soon as you leave the town you step back in time to typical highlands villages where the locals live age-old subsistence lifestyles and maintain the traditions of their ancestors, as we will see tomorrow. Overnight Bird of Paradise Hotel, Goroka
Welcome at Kemase village Bones of the dead in burial cave, Kemase Kemase villagers	DAY 10: THU 21 OCT GOROKA (village experience) Today’s activity is a full day highlands village experience. A scenic drive 90 minutes from Goroka brings us to Kemase, a rural village. Here, the local people farm the land to support themselves with food, and grow cash crops such as coffee and market vegetables to raise income to buy clothing and other needs, and pay school fees for their children. On arrival at the village you will receive a traditional welcome and meet the village people. A small crowd of enthusiastic “guides” will show you around the village, including private homes, the village school, village church, and important village artifacts such as bride price ornaments and traditional money. You will be taken to the village gardens and shown how yams and other staple vegetables are cultivated. Near the village is a spooky gorge populated by large boulders. The people believe the boulders are the spirits of the dead. It is forbidden to speak while walking among the boulders. In the gorge is a burial cave where the bones of ancestors are displayed. Children dressed in traditional costume as a sign of respect for the ancestors will guide you into the cave. The caves were also used as a hiding place during tribal fights in the past. A demonstration of tribal fighting with spears and “bunara” (bow and arrow) will be performed. At the end of the gorge is a feasting ground where the village people usually gather for special occasions. Here your lunch has been prepared: chicken and vegetables stuffed into bamboo nodes and roasted under hot stones, with fresh fruit on the side. After lunch our village guides will lead us on a forest walk to show us the various plant and animals they share their habitat with. Guides will demonstrate how some parts of plants are used as building material, medicines and for food preparation. Mid-afternoon we commence our journey back to Goroka. Overnight Bird of Paradise Hotel, Goroka
Typical Goroka scenery Handicraft market, Goroka Melanesian Hotel, Lae	DAY 11: FRI 22 OCT GOROKA / LAE Before driving down to Lae we will do some sightseeing around Goroka town. We’ll visit a smallholder coffee block and learn how coffee underpins the rural economy in the highlands, and stop at the Goroka coffee factory to see how coffee beans are roasted, ground and packed. The smell is delicious. Other attractions in Goroka include the JK McCarthy Museum of Highlands Culture, the Raun Raun drama theatre where we will be treated to a short performance of a social awareness skit on HIV/AIDS or domestic violence, and the Mt Kiss scenic lookout which has sweeping views of Goroka town and the Asaro Valley. After lunch back at the hotel (pay as you go) we will commence our 6 hour drive to Lae. This is also a very scenic road trip, first passing through high montane countryside to Henganofi, Kainantu and the Yonki Dam then descending to the T-junction with the Madang-Lae road at Gusap, the small town at the top of the Markham Valley. Between Yonki and Gusap you will notice the change in temperature and humidity as you pass through the thermal inversion layer separating the temperate highlands from the steamy tropical lowlands. The Markham Valley is the economic powerhouse of the Morobe Province and is dotted with cattle and poultry farms, rice paddies, market gardens and experimental plots. Wide and flat, the valley is a marked contrast to the hemmed-in feel of road travel in the highlands. On arrival in Lae we will check in at our hotel and spend a quiet evening. Overnight The Melanesian Hotel, Lae
Faces in the crowd at the Morobe Show Woman with bird of paradise plumes, Morobe Show Electus parrot, The Rainforest Habitat, Lae	DAY 12: SAT 23 OCT LAE (Morobe Show) This morning we will make a half day excursion to the Morobe Show. Today will be mainly agricultural exhibits (cattle, pigs, poultry, horses, cash crops, cut flowers, orchids, cooked foods) and social awareness programs on HIV/AIDS, domestic violence, family planning, law and order, social responsibility etc. Various organisations will display their awareness materials and perform drama skits which are usually very funny. There will also be many handicraft stalls and all manner local foods on sale. There may be some cultural groups performing but this will be informal and just a warm-up to tomorrow’s main sing-sing program. Today is an excellent opportunity to mix with the local crowds and gain some insights into the PNG social milieu. Crowds are also an opportunity for pickpockets so today you should leave all handbags, large cameras, wallets, purses and other valuable items back at the hotel and just bring a single small camera and whatever cash you might need carried in a buttoned pocket or money belt. The main risk is from Artful Dodger-type little boys who might snake their hand into your pocket or handbag while you are busy looking at the exhibits. Tomorrow at the sing-sing program you will be sitting in a special enclosure away from the crowds which will be safe for bringing all your cameras and bags etc. After around 3 hours at the show we will return to the hotel for lunch (if you are not full of local delicacies by that time!) and a short siesta. In the afternoon we will do some sightseeing around Lae city including stops at the Melanesian Arts and Crafts Centre (basically an artifact shop – they have some quite unusual collectors items), the botanical gardens, war cemetery and the Rainforest Habitat which is a huge walk-through aviary housing a variety of native animals and birds – the closest thing to a zoo that we have here in Papua New Guinea. Overnight The Melanesian Hotel, Lae
Huli wigmen at the Morobe Show Skeleton dance at the Morobe Show	DAY 13: SUN 24 OCT LAE (Morobe Show) Today’s program at the Show is known as the Morobe Sing-Sing. Over 60 cultural groups from all over Papua New Guinea will perform. We will aim to arrive early at 8:00am in order to watch and photograph the performers dressing in their traditional costumes (“bilas”) and applying their body paints. The main program will start around 9:00am and finish around 4.00pm. We will be seated in the grandstand with clear views of the performances and you will be allowed to enter the performance enclosure to take close-up photographs of the dancers if you wish – but at your peril if you block the view of other photographers! We will have our own group supply of cold drinks and snacks in the grandstand and probably depart around 2.00pm and head straight for the Lae Yacht Club for a late lunch (pay as you go). The yacht club serves a great all-day bistro menu and affords great views of the marina and harbour. Overnight The Melanesian Hotel, Lae
Stilt village, Port Moresby harbour Bomana War Cemetery 20 minutes drive outside Port Moresby	DAY 14: MON 25 OCT LAE / PORT MORESBY This morning our main aim is to get to Port Moresby in time to connect with outgoing flights to Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane and Cairns. To avoid the discomfort of an early morning flight we will book on a mid-morning flight CG1505 departing Lae 11:10 arriving Port Moresby 12:10. If you need to travel on an earlier flight this can be arranged. Remember your Lae-Port Moresby ticket is included in the tour package. On arrival in Port Moresby our staff will be on hand to assist you with checking in for your onward flight. If you have sufficient time between flights, our staff will take you sightseeing or shopping around Port Moresby. Click here to download a detailed itinerary for EM205 with tour price, tour inclusions and trip notes (PDF format, opens in a new window)