EM207 GOROKA SHOW AND KALAM CULTURE FESTIVAL TOUR 2009 12 nights Goroka, Simbai, Madang, Port Moresby Fully escorted small group tour minimum 8 maximum 16 people TOUR COST: PGK 15,661 per person (twin-share) (twin-share - includes domestic air, all tours and many meals) Single supplement (9 nights Goroka, Madang, Port Moresby) is 20% extra. To convert the tour cost to other currencies, use the current exchange rate listed on our website home page. To download the full, detailed itinerary for EM207 with list of tour inclusions and trip notes, click here (Adobe Acrobat PDF format) The Goroka Show is partly an agricultural show and partly a highlands singsing. Since colonial days the people of the eastern highlands have come together once a year to display samples of their best crops and livestock to compete for prizes, and to show off their most colourful and energetic dance traditions. The pride of each tribe is vested in its dancing groups which vie for attention and prominence on the dance ground – often there are several groups performing at once in different parts of the arena. Sparks fly occasionally on the field as jealousy and competition fuel conflict between tribal groups. At the end of the Show, judges award prizes to the best dancing groups: cash awards have now taken the place of pigs and brides. The Kalam Culture Festival is a local festival only occasionally attended by tourists. Once a year the people of the Kalam tribe (around Simbai in the Madang highlands) come together to resolve disputes, pay bride price and other compensation payments (usually in the form of pigs), initiate boys into manhood, and feast and celebrate together the traditions of their tribe.
Jackson's International Airport, Port Moresby Stilt villages, Fairfax Harbour, Port Moresby	ITINERARY DAY 1: WED 09 SEP 2009 PORT MORESBY Arriving flights today: Airlines PNG / Pacific Blue flight DJ191 from Brisbane arrives 12:55 Air Niugini / Qantas flight PX93/QF381 from Cairns arrives 13:55 Air Niugini / Qantas flight PX4/QF349 from Brisbane arrives 16:55 (Flight PX393 from Singapore arrives previous day and requires extra night in Port Moresby pre-tour. Flight PX9 from Manila arrives next morning (Day 2) but can still connect with flight to Goroka.) On arrival in Port Moresby Ecotourism Melanesia staff will greet you with a smile and a gift J (look for somebody holding a sign with your name when you exit the Arrivals Hall – otherwise wait by the Avis counter and our guide will meet up with you there as soon as possible). From the airport, we will transfer you to the hotel to check-in and freshen up, then take you on a short familiarisation drive around Port Moresby (1 hour). If time allows, we can make a stop at the national museum (1 hour). The weather in Port Moresby will be warm tropical (30 Celcius and humid) with low possibility of rain. Overnight Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby
Cooked foods, Goroka market Traditional artifacts, Goroka	DAY 2: THU 10 SEP 2009 PORT MORESBY / GOROKA 07:00 Check out of the hotel and board our tour bus to transfer to the domestic terminal and check in for Air Niugini flight PX960 to Goroka. (Your domestic air tickets for this tour are included in the tour package and will be supplied to you on arrival.) 09:15 Flight departs for Goroka. On arrival in Goroka we transfer by mini coach to our accommodation and settle in. Note on travel: The Goroka Show does not start until Saturday but airline seats in and out of Goroka immediately before and after the Show are notoriously difficult to secure – and hold on to. Accordingly we seek to arrive a few days early and depart by road in order to avoid the usual chaos caused by overbooking and cancelling of flights during such peak periods. After lunch, we take a half day tour of Goroka town and environs including the University of Goroka (a small teacher training institution), Mt Kiss scenic lookout, JK McCarthy Highlands Culture Museum, Raun Raun Drama Theatre, Goroka Coffee factory, and the handicraft market (an opportunity for first options on artifacts brought in for sale during the Goroka Show period, before the main crowds of tourists arrive). The weather in Goroka will be cold at night (5-10 degrees Celcius) and pleasant in the day time (20-25 degrees). There is a moderate chance of rain.
Village house near Goroka Village welcome committee, Goroka Children display ancestors bones, Goroka	DAY 3: FRI 11 SEP 2009 GOROKA (VILLAGE TOUR) Today’s activity is a full day highlands village experience. A scenic drive along a bumpy track 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 be treated to a traditional welcome (have your camera ready!) 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. The spiritual connection between the village people and their gardens will be explained to you: there are many superstitions regarding the effect of people’s behaviour on the growth of the garden crops. Near the village is an interesting gorge populated by large boulders that the people believe have spiritual properties. 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 feasts. Here your lunch has been prepared, meat and vegetables stuffed into bamboo nodes and roasted under hot stones, with fruit on the side. The food is very aromatic and tasty, although rather dry and is often taken with a bowl of boiled vegetable soup. After lunch you may choose between taking a scenic hike around the base of Mt Michael, wildlife-spotting in the nearby forest, or sitting in the village and learning some of the local handicrafts. A combination of these activities may be possible if time allows. Late in the afternoon you will be transferred back to Goroka town, having made a gamut of new friends who you will surely bump into again at the Goroka Show tomorrow. Overnight Diwai Lodge, Goroka
Skeleton dance, Goroka Show Asaro mudmen, Goroka Show	DAY 4: SAT 12 SEP 2009 GOROKA SHOW 07:00 Breakfast 08:00 Transfer to the Goroka Show Ground – we enter through the tourist gate and we sit in the stands with a good view of all the action. Our local guide interprets the performances for us and gives background information on the different cultural groups. Buy your own lunch today from the food stalls at the Show – fried sweet potato and fresh fruit are “safe” options - other local take-away foods tend to be very fatty. Note on Goroka Show: the Goroka Show is partly an agricultural show and partly a highlands singsing. Since colonial days the people of the eastern highlands have come together once a year to display samples of their best crops and livestock to compete for prizes, and to show off their most colourful and energetic dance traditions. The pride of each tribe is vested in its dancing groups which vie for attention and prominence on the dance ground – often there are several groups performing at once in different parts of the arena. Sparks fly occasionally on the field as jealousy and competition fuel conflict between tribal groups. At the end of the Show, judges award prizes to the best dancing groups: cash awards have now taken the place of pigs and brides. Overnight Diwai Lodge, Goroka There may be a traditional drama performance in the evening at the nearby Raun Raun visual arts theatre, which we may be able to attend.
Bodybuilding comp sponsored by Trukai Rice at the Goroka Show	DAY 5: SUN 13 SEP 2009 GOROKA SHOW Second day at the Goroka Show. Apart from the sing-sing performances there will be a battle of the bands and the Miss Goroka Show pageant. Overnight Diwai Lodge, Goroka
The Yonki Dam en route from Goroka to Madang	DAY 6: MON 14 SEP 2009 GOROKA / MADANG This morning we travel by road to Madang and check in for two nights at the Coastwatchers Hotel. The road transfer takes about 5 hours but the drive is very scenic and there will be comfort stops en route and scenic lookouts and village markets to photograph. We expect to arrive in Madang in time for lunch at the hotel. In the afternoon, choose between a siesta or a guided walking tour of the Madang town area including the foreshore, parks and lily ponds and the central markets where a nice range of handicrafts is on sale as well as the usual fruit and vegetables. Overnight Coastwatchers Hotel, Madang
Madang foreshore market	DAY 7: TUE 15 SEP 2009 MADANG Today’s program will be a full day sightseeing tour of Madang district commencing with a burn around the harbour in an open speed boat and including a visit to the Balek Wildlife Sanctuary and Sulfur Caves where the Pearce Brosnan movie “Robinson Crusoe” was filmed, the Omili flying fox cave and the historical Alexishafen mission. In the afternoon we continue on to the Ohu Butterfly Village to learn about butterfly ranching and see local children perform a butterfly dance. Includes lunch. Overnight Coastwatchers Hotel, Madang
MAF Twin Otter aircraft unloading at Simbai Kalam tribe welcome committee, Simbai Women of the Kalam tribe, Simbai	DAY 8: WED 16 SEP 2009 MADANG / SIMBAI 06:00 Breakfast and check-out 07:00 Transfer to Madang airport and check in for light aircraft flight to Simbai. On arrival at Simbai airstrip your flight will be met by local guides with plenty of helpful hands to carry your bags for the 30 minute walk to the Kalam Guest House, a basic but comfortable facility built in local style. Today is the preparation day for the Kalam Culture Festival, an important opportunity for you to observe the village people going about preparatory tasks such as collecting firewood and leaves for wrapping food in the earth oven, harvesting food from their gardens (sweet potato, yam, cooking bananas), preparing the food for cooking, and sorting out their traditional dress which involves cutting fresh flowers, collecting fresh bird feathers for decoration, and repairing broken head-dresses. The head-dresses and helmets are very elaborate and require a lot of care. There will also be opportunities today for walking through the hamlets around Simbai, visiting the orchid gardens and vegetable gardens, and inspecting the Kalam tribal culture museum. Note about Simbai: 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 material. More villages are located deeper into the surrounding hills forest. The village people live subsistence lifestyles, hunting and gardening. There is very little commercial agriculture because there is no vehicular access for transporting crops out. For more information on Simbai and the Kalam tribe click here. The weather at Simbai will be warm by day (20-25 Celcius) and cool at night (10-15 celcius). Overnight Kalam Guest House
Kalam man with green beetle head dress Kalam man with elaborate head dress and hand drums Kalam man with nose ornament and head dress made of white cuscus skin and black cassowary feathers	DAY 9: THU 17 SEP SIMBAI – KALAM CULTURE FESTIVAL Today we attend various activities of the Kalam Culture Festival. First thing this morning will be the pig killing ritual which is part of the initiation of boys to become men. The ceremony involves clubbing a number of pigs to death and these are later butchered and cooked in the earth oven. This is not a sight for the squeamish so we suggest you give it a miss if you think you might find it disturbing or if it might put you off your pork chops. The pigs’ heads are cooked separately from the other meat overnight and taken out of the earth oven the next day – this is part of the initiation ritual. Nose-piercing of initiates also takes place today – a sharp stick or cassowary quill is used to pierce the septum of the nose to enable a nose piece or nose ornament to be worn. Note on Kalam Culture festival: The Kalam Culture festival is held in the third week of September with the highlight being the initiation of young boys between 12-15 years by nose piercing ("sutim nus" or shootim-nose). The festival traditionally features pig killing, bride price payments, debt settlement, feasting, dancing and singing. This is not a show put on for tourists (there are no tourists - yet), it is a genuine cultural phenomenon when all the surrounding village people flow into Simbai station for the occasion. Visitors simply stand and watch in amazement as Kalam men parade around the station with their huge head-dresses decorated with bright green beetle shells. Most of the festival activities are informal and do not run to a fixed schedule. You will be free to move around on your own or with a local guide in tow, mixing freely with the local people attending the event. There will be a few other tourists around but not many, probably less than 20 apart from our group. The day’s festival program will be a mixture of organised (or disorganised) and impromptu activities. Dance performances and nose-piercing ceremonies may be scheduled for particular times (and may or may not occur at those times!) and bride price and compensation payments may take place without notice. Bear in mind that the festival is a local cultural phenomenon that we have the privilege to observe, and is not staged for our benefit so we cannot expect the program to run with our Western concept of punctuality. And the fact that this festival is a bona fide cultural event not just put on for tourists is, of course, the reason why we have come to witness it! In the evening we join the locals for a traditional feast eaten on banana leaves on the ground. This will include a range of local vegetables stewed in coconut milk or roasted in banana leaves under hot stones in a shallow pit in the ground (this is called a "mumu"). You may also be offered a meat dish which may be locally raised chicken or game meat hunted from the forest (kangaroo, cassowary or possum). Your hosts will not be offended if you sample only those foods that appeal to you. There will also be plenty of fruit such as bananas, pineapples and oranges. At night there will be a bonfire with traditional story telling where the elders will remind the younger generation of their heritage. Overnight Kalam Guest House
Magnificent head-dresses	DAY 10: FRI 18 SEP 2009 SIMBAI – KALAM CULTURE FESTIVAL Second day at the Kalam Culture Festival. Be prepared for some of yesterday’s activities to be deferred till today, or vice-versa (flexible program), and be prepared for rain to wash out the program for a few hours at a time. This is when we will sit in the guest house and have hot tea and scones and chat to the locals while waiting for the rain to clear and the festival program to continue. By this time the initially shy locals will have warmed up to our presence and will begin inviting us individually or in twos and threes to accompany them to their houses around the “station” or nearby villages. You are welcome to “disappear” with locals for individualised looking around – grateful if you could let our local tour guide know when and with whom you are going so that we can keep track of everybody. Overnight Kalam Guest House, Simbai
Poolside at quiet little Jais Aben Resort Small islands in Madang Harbour, just paddling distance from Jais Aben Resort	DAY 11: SAT 19 SEP SIMBAI / MADANG Morning flight from Simbai to Madang. There will be many other passengers travelling to Madang today and it may take most of the morning to get us all transferred if only one small aircraft is available. On arrival in Madang we check in at the Jais Aben Beach Resort about 20 minute drive from the airport (hopefully in time for lunch). Jais Aben is not a large, flashy Club Med-style resort; it is a small, cosy place which never fails to delight our visitors. If you have your scuba diving ticket, you can take an afternoon dive today with a local dive operator based at the resort. Reef and wreck diving is available, both shore-based and boat-based – you may have to go along with the scheduled dives for the day or if there are no larger groups in-house on the day you may get a choice of dive sites. If you are a snorkeller you can accompany a boat dive and snorkel over the reef while the divers go deep, or snorkel the fringing reef close to the resort. If you are not a water-baby, you can keep dry while you paddle a kayak along the shoreline and explore the nearby mangrove labyrinths, or paddle out to some of the small islands in the harbour. Otherwise, engage in some serious beach walking from the resort up to nearby coastal villages. The resort also has a swimming pool, patio and sheltered little beaches perfect for lazing. If the sea air is not your thing at all, you can opt for a trip to a nearby inland village with one of our guides, for a village tour and traditional style lunch. Your choice of activities is included in your package today. Overnight Jais Aben Resort, Madang
Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby	DAY 12: SUN 20 SEP 2009 MADANG / PORT MORESBY This morning you may enjoy non-diving water activities at Jais Aben Resort. At 11:30 sharp we have early lunch at the resort, pack up and depart for the airport. At 12:30 we check in for our afternoon flight to Port Moresby which departs at 14:10. On arrival in Port Moresby at 15:10 (airline willing) we check in at the Gateway Hotel. In the evening we share a final buffet dinner and hook up a multimedia projector for viewing some of our trip photographs over a glass of wine. Overnight Gateway Hotel, Port Moresby www.coralseashotels.com.pg
a view of Port Moresby	DAY 13: MON 21 SEP 2009 PORT MORESBY / FLY OUT Departing flights today: Air Niugini / Qantas flight PX090/QF384 to Cairns departs 09:25 Airlines PNG / Pacific Blue flight DJ190 to Brisbane departs 13:45 PX3/QF310 to Brisbane departs 14:45 Air Niugini flight PX392 to Singapore departs 15:25 Airlines PNG flight CG100 to Cairns departs at 17:00 If you are departing on an afternoon flight Ecotourism Melanesia vehicles and drivers are available for your last-minute touring, shopping and errands, before we farewell you at the airport. There may be time to visit the national museum if you missed this on Day 1. Also recommended is a trip to the PNG Art artifact showroom (okay it’s a tin shed) – they have the largest range of artifacts, arts and crafts from all over the country. They will pack and ship overseas so you won’t need to carry stuff with you on the plane. TOUR ENDS To download the full, detailed itinerary for EM207 with list of tour inclusions and trip notes, click here (Adobe Acrobat PDF format)