EM208 GOROKA COFFEE FESTIVAL TOUR – 25 MAY – 07 JUNE 2010 13 nights Lae, Goroka, Mt Hagen, Simbai, Madang (escorted small group tour minimum 8 maximum 16 people) The Goroka Coffee Festival is primarily an agricultural show which aims to promote the coffee industry in the Papua New Guinea Highlands. Coffee growers display their produce – freshly picked red coffee cherries, dried black coffee beans, ground and packaged coffee – and provide an opportunity to taste the finished product. Buyers and representatives of coffee outlets like Starbucks attend the Show to form relationships with local grower cooperatives in order to assure their supplies of organic coffee from community-owned sources. Various environmental organisations mount sustainable agriculture displays and equipment dealers hawk their machines. Other agricultural produce from the Highlands is also shown – cocoa, fruit jams, market vegetables, honey – and various non-agricultural cottage industries (weaving, cooking) mount displays of their activities. It’s a big day out for the locals in Goroka and surrounding provinces and an excellent opportunity for visitors to rub shoulders with ordinary Papua New Guineans from many walks of life. But the main attraction for many visitors at the Goroka Coffee festival is the sing-sing competition, which for Goroka is the second biggest cultural performance of the year, only slightly smaller than the Goroka Show sing-sing in September. The Goroka Coffee Festival sing-sing will feature a large variety of cultural groups from all over the Highlands and some coastal areas including Lae, Madang and the Sepik. This escorted tour combines the earthy coffee festival with the natural and cultural highlights of Lae, Mt Hagen, exotic Simbai and beautiful Madang. Click here to download a detailed itinerary for EM208 with tour price, tour inclusions and trip notes (PDF format - opens in a new window)
Air Niugini F100 jet operates most domestic routes Melanesian Hotel, Lae Electus parrot, The Rainforest Habitat, Lae Orchid display	2010 ITINERARY DAY 1: TUE 25 MAY 2010 PORT MORESBY / LAE Arrive Port Moresby early morning from Singapore (Air Niugini) or Cairns (Airlines PNG) and connect through on a morning flight to Lae. (If you are flying in from other ports you need to arrive on Monday 24 May and have a transit night 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 Lae departing approximately 09:30. 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 at Lae airport you will be met by your tour escort and transfer 1 hour by road to Lae city and check in at your hotel. After lunch at the hotel (pay-as-you-go) and a short nap if you need one, your group will take an afternoon tour of Papua New Guinea’s second city. The main attraction in Lae is The Rainforest Habitat, a huge aviary and quasi-zoo which showcases PNG’s native plants and animals. We will spend several hours here with nature guides to introduce us to specific animal species and of course PNG’s magnificent flowering orchids. We’ll also visit the Lae War Cemetery where mainly Australian servicemen killed in action in WW2 are buried, and the Amelia Earhart memorial. Amelia’s plane went missing after taking off from Lae in an attempt to be the first woman pilot to fly solo across the Pacific. Overnight Melanesian Hotel, Lae (twin-share premier room, accommodation only – single supplement available). Pay-as-you-go for meals today. All urban hotels on this tour accept cash in local currency, or credit card. The weather in Port Moresby and Lae will be warm tropical (maximum 30 degrees Celcius and humid) with slight possibility of rain.
Typical Goroka scenery JK McCarthy Highlands Culture Museum, Goroka Handicraft market, Goroka Bird of Paradise Hotel, Goroka	DAY 2: WED 26 MAY 2010 LAE / GOROKA Today we will experience the other great advantage of visiting Lae which is the highway to Goroka that enables us to avoid the flight chaos that will precede the Goroka Coffee festival. Goroka airport has a short runway and only the smaller Dash-8 aircraft can land there. There just aren’t enough seats available for the large influx of visitors for festivals and the airline tends to overbook flights which means that even people who have a confirmed ticket don’t necessarily get a seat on the flight they are booked on. There are also weather problems at Goroka which result in regular flight cancellations due to heavy cloud. Accordingly we are programming this escorted group tour to arrive and depart from Goroka by road in order to reduce the risk of having the tour group split up or stranded by flight chaos. Around 08:00 we depart Lae by airconditioned minibus, first running along the Ramu Highway which joins Lae and Madang. After driving 2 hours through the humid Markham Valley which is dotted with rice and cattle farms we turn off the Ramu Highway onto the Okuk Highway to Goroka. As we climb out of the valley we pass through the thermal inversion layer which is signalled by a marked drop in the humidity and temperature as we enter “the highlands”. Another 3 hours drive from the turn-off brings us to Goroka, arriving at our hotel in time for late lunch (pay-as-you-go). After lunch, we take a half day tour of Goroka town and environs including (as time allows) 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). Overnight Bird of Paradise Hotel or Pacific Gardens Hotel, Goroka (twin share, premier room, room only – single supplement available). Pay as you go for meals - very good quality food is served at these hotels and prices are very reasonable. The weather in Goroka will be cold at night (5-10 degrees Celcius) and pleasant during the day (20-25 degrees). There is a moderate chance of rain.
Welcome at Kemase village Upright boulders at Kemase: spirits of the ancestors Bones of the dead in burial cave, Kemase Kemase villagers	DAY 3: THU 27 MAY 2010 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. The spiritual connection between the village people and their gardens will be explained to you: the locals believe that people’s behaviour affects the growth of the garden crops. 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 we walk back to the village by a different scenic route and drive back to Goroka town, having made a gamut of new friends whom we will surely bump into again at the Goroka Coffee Festival tomorrow. Overnight hotel, Goroka (twin share, room only – single supplement available).
Asaro mudmen Skeleton dance	DAY 4: FRI 28 MAY 2010 GOROKA COFFEE FESTIVAL At 8.00am we depart the hotel for the festival grounds for an early arrival to take a look at the stalls and displays and settle into the grandstand in time for the sing-sing performances. The performances will finish around 3pm. The tourist grandstand has good views of the performance area and your tourist pass (provided as part of your tour package) gives you blanket permission to enter the performance area if you wish to take close-up photographs. Special toilets for tourists are situated near the grandstand. A number of our guides will accompany our group in the grandstand today to interpret the performances for you. A packed lunch and bottled water is supplied as part of your tour package today but guides can also run errands for you to buy drinks and snacks in the show grounds. Late afternoon, we return to the hotel. Overnight hotel, Goroka (twin share, room only – single supplement available).
Enga women dancing	DAY 5: SAT 29 MAY 2010 GOROKA COFFEE FESTIVAL Second day at the Goroka Coffee Festival. Overnight hotel, Goroka (twin share, room only – single supplement available).
Highlands Highway Roadside greenery, Daulo Pass Roadside barbeque	DAY 6: SUN 30 MAY 2010 GOROKA / MT HAGEN This morning we travel by road to Mt Hagen and check in for two nights at the Highlander Hotel. The road transfer along the Highlands Highway takes about 6 hours but the drive is very scenic and is said to be one of the world’s remarkable road journeys. You’ll note the interesting juxtaposition of roadside villages with thatched huts opposite truck stops bristling with hawkers and prostitutes. The first part of the journey is the steady climb overlooking Goroka town and the Asaro Valley up to the Daulo Pass, a biodiversity hotspot often covered in cloud that appears as fog you drive through. The staggering size and greenness of the ferns and flowering trees that grow right on the roadside is impressive. From Daulo Pass we enter the Chimbu Province with its precipitous ravines and steep mountainsides amazingly covered in furrowed gardens with people working away in them… one foot uphill and one foot downhill to steady themselves. PNG’s highest peak, Mt Wilhelm, passes us slowly on our right as we snake our way through the Chimbu province. After a coffee and comfort stop at a hotel in the Chimbu capital of Kundiawa (known locally as “cowboy town”… we’ll explain later…), we continue in a westerly direction towards the small town of Minj on the border of Chimbu and Western Highlands provinces for another comfort stop then descend through the Waghi Valley tea and coffee plantations to Mt Hagen which is PNG’s third most populous town. Lunch today is BYO (bring-your-own). You can bring something with you from the hotel in Goroka (eg cold pizza or ask the reception the night before for a packed lunch) or pick up some take-out or bakery goods from the supermarket opposite the hotel which opens at 7.00am. It’s also possible to buy cooked food from barbeque stalls on the roadside along the highway (fried sweet potato and barbequed corn is a good choice, but you might want to skip the sheep tongues and other “meats”) or grab a toasted cheese sandwich or take-away fish and chips at the hotel in Kundiawa. A supply of bottled water will be provided on the bus. Overnight Highlander Hotel, Mt Hagen (twin share, room only – single supplement available).
The chief of Paiya village and his three wives View across the highlands from Magic Mountain	DAY 7: MON 31 MAY 2010 MT HAGEN (village experience and nature tour) Today we’ll drive about 30 minutes out of town to Paiya Village where we will tour a typical Western Highlands village. We’ll be privileged to visit the skull house where they keep their ancestors bones, and see demonstrations of Melpa tribe cultural practices such as courting behaviour, wig-making and tribal initiation. We’ll also meet the chief and his three wives. A short distance further on from Paiya is Magic Mountain, a peak which got this name because it is said to look the same no matter from which direction you view it. Up on Magic Mountain we’ll take a nature walk and local guides will introduce us to some native botany of the highlands. Some of the local plants will be served up as a vegetarian lunch, with a little chicken on the side for the omnivores among us. Don’t be surprised if you see your plate laden with strawberries, cantaloupe and other temperate-climate delicacies plucked fresh from the ground. Just about anything will grow in the fertile Highlands. On the way back to Mt Hagen we’ll stop at a bird-watching site where we expect to be able to view the raucous Raggiana bird of paradise which is active in the late afternoons. Overnight Highlander Hotel, Mt Hagen (twin share, room only – single supplement available).
Arrival at Simbai airstrip Simbai men with bows and arrows for hunting Simbai man sporting his green beetle-shell head-dress Simbai family with stone axe	DAY 8: TUE 01 JUNE 2010 MT HAGEN / SIMBAI 08:00 We check out from the hotel and transfer to the Mt Hagen airport. 09:00 Our charter flight departs for Simbai, a 45-minute flight north of Mt Hagen. 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 click on “PNG TOURIST INFORMATION” on the menu bar at left <--- 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 (twin share - includes all meals – single supplement not available). Kalam Guest House is built in traditional style with bush materials - each room has two beds with rubber mattresses, pillow and bed covers, protected by an insect net. The rooms have a table and chair and somewhere to hang your towel and clothes. Toilets are outdoor pit latrines and showering involves scooping water over yourself from a drum of rain water in an enclosed outdoor bathroom.
Men of the Kalam tribe, Simbai Simbai woman watches hubby do the work: mashing red fruits gathered from the forest	DAY 9: WED 02 JUNE 2010 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 (twin share - includes all meals – single supplement not available).
Hiking in the Kaironk River valley Chance encounter - kids with piglet	DAY 10: THU 03 JUNE 2010 SIMBAI (hiking in the Kaironk River valley) Today’s program will involve a full day of quite challenging hiking – this time in an easterly direction towards the Kaironk River valley. The terrain on this side of Simbai consists of steep ridges and we will be doing quite a bit of scarpering up and down hillsides to get to remote little hamlets. The village people will not know we are coming and we will enjoy chance encounters on footpaths with people on the way to and from their gardens, as well as surprising family groups in their little hamlets. Europeans are not seen very often in this area and we will be the centre of attention when we pass through each little village. “ Dr Livingstone, I presume?” We will be crossing streams and the Kaironk River several times today, climbing pig fences and straddling fallen trees across our path, so be prepared for anything. (If you are unable to hike today, alternative activities will be arranged for you closer to the guest house). Overnight Kalam Guest House, Simbai (twin share, includes all meals – single supplement not available)
s Poolside at quiet little Jais Aben Resort Madang handicraft market	DAY 11: FRI 04 JUNE 2010 SIMBAI / MADANG This morning we will fly by charter aircraft from Simbai to Madang. From Madang airport we will take the scenic route via Madang town and foreshore through to Jais Aben, a mid-range beach resort located twenty minutes drive out of town. After lunch at the resort (pay as you go) we will take a sightseeing tour of Madang including the the Madang main market, Krangket fish market, handicrafts hut at the Madang Resort, war memorials and lighthouse, parks and gardens. The tour will not take up the whole afternoon so there will be some time to relax at the resort as well. Overnight Jais Aben Resort, Madang (standard twin share bungalow, room only – single supplement available) www.jaisaben.com
Small islands paddling distance from Jais Aben village tour, Hobe village Madang Nature tour, Hobe village Madang	DAY 12: SAT 05 JUNE 2010 MADANG (village tour) Today we will again offer a choice of activities: - water activities - a village tour, or - relaxing at the resort. If you are into water activities there is plenty to do at Jais Aben. From the resort it is a short paddle by canoe or kayak to mangrove labyrinths and offshore islands. There is a pretty little beach for paddling and swimming and a motor boat available for a snorkelling or fishing trip to the lagoon reef. There is also a swimming pool with sun chairs for relaxing. Scuba diving is available if booked in advance. All activities at Jais Aben except scuba diving are included in your tour package. For those members of the group who prefer to stay dry we will take an excursion to Hobe Village for a village experience and forest nature walk. Hobe is located about 45 minutes drive inland from Madang town. It is a traditional village on the edge of a tropical rainforest full of birds. The tour includes sing-sing entertainment, a traditional-style tropical lunch and a guided nature walk through the rainforest with bird-spotting. Overnight Jais Aben Resort, Madang (standard twin share bungalow, room only – single supplement available)
German colonial cemetery, Alexishafen Madang north coast beach Madang village kids Offshore island	DAY 13: SUN 06 JUNE MADANG (North Coast Road tour) Today we again offer a choice of: - water activities at Jais Aben, or - touring. If you are a scuba diver, remember that you will have to stay above the waterline from midday today because you will be flying in a pressurised aircraft tomorrow morning. Today’s tour will be a foray along the North Coast Road from Jais Aben to Bogia. The road is sealed and smooth most of the way. First stop will be Alexishafen, a small satellite township north of Madang where the German colonial administration was based at the turn of the century. There is an old German cemetery here, an even older catholic mission, and a World War 2 airstrip built by the Japanese and later commandeered by the Americans. Further along, the road hugs the coast passing through coconut plantations and rainforest interspersed with villages, church missions, bridges over streams, beaches and ocean views. At Karim village we will stop and see the turtle nesting beach. There are many picturesque beaches and swimming spots along the coast including the Hole in The Wall, a naturally formed swimming pool in the sea. We can stop as many times as we like at villages and beaches for swimming, photographs and chatting with the locals. Lunch today will be fruit and baked fish from roadside stalls so bring along some small change. As we round Cape Gourdon just past the Malala Catholic Mission, the Manam Island volcano will come into view with its vast column of rising ash and steam. If time and weather allow, we will continue to Bogia which will afford a closer view of Manam Island. There are now settlements of Manam Islanders on the coast near Bogia following their evacuation during an eruption of the volcano a few years back. From Bogia or other turnaround point we will take fast run (2.5 hours) back to Jais Aben in time to catch the sunset from the comfort of a poolside deck chair. Overnight Jais Aben Resort, Madang (standard twin share bungalow, room only – single supplement available)
Stilt village, Port Moresby harbour Bomana War Cemetery 20 minutes drive outside Port Moresby	DAY 14: MON 07 JUNE MADANG / PORT MORESBY / FLY OUT Today we depart Madang on flight PX149 at 08:30 which arrives in Port Moresby at 09:30. This flight connects with afternoon flights to Cairns, Brisbane, Singapore and Hong Kong. If you have time in Port Moresby between flights Ecotourism Melanesia vehicles and drivers are available for your last-minute touring, souvenir shopping or errands before we farewell you at the airport. Places you might like to visit: - the national museum (mainly cultural displays and takes about 1 hour to look through) - the PNG Art artifact showroom (okay it’s a tin shed) which has the largest range of artifacts, arts and crafts from all over the country. They will fumigate, pack and ship your goods overseas so you can avoid carrying stuff with you on the plane if you wish. Especially important if you are travelling to Australia where non-fumigated artifacts may be confiscated and destroyed by Quarantine officers. - the rare books section of the University bookshop which has several cabinets of out-of-print goodies scoured from the internet including Papua New Guinea biology, anthropology, ethnomusicology, geology, sociology and modern history. Expect to pay K200-K300 per out-of-print volume. - the Bomana War Cemetery which is mainly of interest to Australians. Almost 3400 graves of mainly Australian servicemen killed in action in World War 2, including 600 on the infamous Kokoda Track. Click here to download a detailed itinerary for EM208 with tour price, tour inclusions and trip notes (PDF format - opens in a new window)