EM56 – GOROKA
AND MADANG PACKAGE FOR INDEPENDENT TRAVELLERS AND SMALL GROUPS This itinerary features two
of PNG’s
easily accessible destinations with contrasting scenery, culture
and natural and historical attractions: The package includes local guides to accompany you daily for all
activities. |
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GENERIC ITINERARY DAY 1:PORT MORESBY /
GOROKA 11:30 Make an early start to your half day tour of Goroka and district. A packed lunch is provided to eat en route. The half day tour begins
with a familiarisation drive around Goroka and surrounds, then
you’ll stop and visit the JK McCarthy Museum
of highlands culture, and the Raun Raun drama theatre where you will
be treated to a short performance of a social awareness skit on HIV/AIDS
or domestic violence. Venturing further out of town you’ll
pay a visit to a smallholder coffee block and learn how coffee underpins
the rural economy in the highlands. 18:00 Return to hotel Overnight Bird of Paradise Hotel, Goroka (premier room, accommodation only). NB Dinner and breakfast at
this hotel are not included in the tour package (ie these meals
are
pay-as-you-go
or PAYG – the hotel
accepts major credit cards, travellers cheques and local currency).
The hotel has two eateries - a bistro/pizzeria with daily specials
and a formal restaurant with a la carte dining on weekdays and a
full buffet on weekends. There is a good Chinese restaurant across
the street. Groceries for self-catering can be purchased from the
small supermarket opposite the hotel which closes at 18:30. |
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DAY
2: GOROKA (VILLAGE EXPERIENCE) AND DRIVE TO MADANG After heading south along
the busy Highlands Highway for half an hour your vehicle will
turn
off the main road
and follow a rural
feeder road for another hour to Kemase 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:
their homes, the village school, village church and of course the
all-important pig pens and vegetable gardens. Valuable tribal artifacts
traded for bride price and paraded during sing-sings will be brought
out for you to examine. 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. After lunch you will farewell the villagers and drive back to the main road, turning towards the Ramu Highway which will take you through to Madang. The drive is very scenic, passing through many roadside villages, mountain passes, wide valleys and the Yonki Dam hydro-electric complex. At one point you will notice the sudden rise in temperature as you pass through the inversion layer between the cool highlands and the tropical coastal lowlands. There will be comfort stops en route and opportunities to buy fruit and cooked foods from roadside stalls. From Kemase to Madang the drive takes about 5 hours and you will arrive in Madang early evening. Your driver and guide from Goroka will assist you to check in at your hotel and then farewell you. (They will overnight with relatives in Madang and return to Goroka tomorrow). Overnight Coastwatchers Hotel, Madang (premier room, accommodation only). |
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DAY
3:MADANG (TOWN AND HARBOUR SIGHTSEEING) 08:00 Our local Madang guide will meet up with you at the hotel reception. Today’s activity is a full day of sightseeing including a visit to the small islands in the harbour with an opportunity for some swimming and snorkelling – bring a change of clothes and plenty of sunscreen. In the morning you’ll tour
Madang town, stopping at various points of interest including: In the afternoon your guide will
take you exploring the myriad of islands in Madang Harbour by local-style “banana boat” -
a large fibreglass canoe with outboard motor (life jackets are provided
but the harbour waters are calm). Populated islands include Krangket
Island and Siar Island but smaller islets are uninhabited. After
visiting one of the villages on the islands you’ll be taken
to a quiet island beach where you can take a swim, and snorkel on
the reef. (Basic snorkelling equipment is provided but our guide
may not be trained in lifesaving so you would enter the water at
your own risk). There are no poisonous jellyfish, stingrays or other
dangerous marine life in this location. Overnight Coastwatchers Hotel, Madang (premier room, accommodation only). |
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DAY
4: MADANG (NATURE AND CULTURE ECO-TOUR) Kau WMA is an area of natural rainforest that has been undisturbed by development. In the 1960s many forest areas of Madang were heavily logged by foreign timber cutters but the Ditipa clan at Kau refused to sell out. Clan leader Kiatek resisted cash-for-logs and intense political pressure, and became a vocal anti-logging campaigner. To this day Kau remains pristine and although Kiatek is now deceased his sons support his legacy and operate the forest as a wildlife management area under government protection. The WMA features a huge variety of tropical flora and fauna including many species of rainforest birds, butterflies, exotic beetles and huge stick insects. Apart from every imaginable shade of green, the flora includes patches of bright red and orange gingers and many species of wild orchid. Bird species include some unusual species like the long tailed buzzard and the spot winged monarch, plus several different kinds of bird-of-paradise. At Kau you’ll be taken on a one hour nature walk through the rainforest by Kiatek’s sons and their family members. They will talk to you about the forest and its inhabitants, demonstrating traditional uses for various plants as food and medicine. You’ll stop at a number of bird-watching hotspots and hopefully identify several species. There is also a good scenic lookout at Kau from where you can see up and down the coastline. Moving on from Kau you’ll make a brief stop at Alexishafen, a catholic mission established in 1896 when Madang was the administrative centre of German New Guinea. Here there is a colonial cemetery with some fascinating headstones and a World War 2 airstrip that was operated by the Japanese. There are still a number of aircraft wrecks scattered around the strip, mainly parked Japanese planes that were destroyed by allied bombing. From Alexishafen, you’ll turn off the main road again to the Mudug cave and cascades. The Mudug cave is a natural wonder, created by a stream running through a subterranean tunnel that traverses the interior of the mountain and empties into a large natural water pool about 9 metres deep near Sein village. The pool acts as a natural reservoir and from here water feeds into a series of pretty cascades eventually forming into a stream that flows to the sea. The cave itself is believed to be about 1km in length but no locals have ever followed the cave right back to its origin due to superstitious beliefs. The cave is high enough to walk into and after exploring it depths as far as you dare (BYO flashlight) you can take a refreshing swim in the flow pool. Swallows and bats inhabit the cave, and there is plenty of rainforest wildlife in the immediate area, similar to Kau. From Mudug you’ll continue driving another 30 minutes out the scenic North Coast Road to Udisis, a coastal village which has a number of interesting ecotourism attractions. On arrival, lunch is ready for you at the village guest house. There will be plenty of fish, fruit and vegetables cooked in local style, and freshly opened coconut juice to drink. After lunch the rest of the afternoon is spent at Udisis before returning to Madang. The people at Udisis village have made a conscious decision to make their village tourist-friendly to enable visitors to experience the natural and cultural attractions of their place during a short day trip. While you are seated for lunch the Wadug Theatre Group will perform for you. This group consists of village youth who have researched the very old traditions of their area and produced a dance and drama routine that showcases the old culture. Their costumes are 100% traditional with not a skerrick of raffia or cloth, and apart from custom dancing they also role-play traditional activities such as courtship behaviour, bride price payment and wedding ceremony, and the initiation of boys into manhood. You’ll learn about the tribal traditions and also have a lot of laughs as the youth portray the funny side of their ancestors’ ways. After the cultural performance you’ll be taken on a walking tour of the village, and if time allows you can also take an optional rainforest walk to the Yaimat Cave (similar to Mudug cave) and the Berun Bridge, a natural limestone formation like a bridge. Late afternoon bird watching is also very good here. If you skip the rainforest walk you can opt to depart from Udidis a little earlier and make a stop for a swim or snorkel in the sea at the Hole In The Wall on the way back to Madang. The Hole In The Wall is a large natural tidal pool adjacent to a fringing reef. If you duck-dive down the side of the tidal pool you will come to a big hole that connects the tidal pool to the open sea. You can swim through the hole and surface outside the tidal pool. 18:00 Return to Madang town (1 hour drive). Overnight Coastwatchers Hotel, Madang (twin premier room, accommodation only). NB Late start, slow progress or wet weather may require one or more of today’s tour stops to be skipped. Your guide will keep you informed. |
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DAY
5: DEPART MADANG TOUR
ENDS.
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