The Kalam tribe of the remote Madang highlands are one of Papua New Guinea's last undeveloped peoples still living a subsistence lifestyle in traditional villages scattered through pristine wilderness territory barely touched by westernisation. Attractions for ecotourists including the vibrant culture, proliferative species of bird of paradise,
GETTING
THERE: Simbai airfield is 45 minutes flying
time west of Madang town and about 30 minutes northeast
of Mt
Hagen.
From Madang there are daily "freight and fares" flights
operated by Island Airways (6-seater Cessna or 9-seater
Britten-Norman Islander) and
from Mt Hagen there is a weekly flight every Friday
morning
operated
by Missionary Aviation using an 18 seat Twin Otter. There
is no road access in or out, there is only a choice of flying
or walking. Walking-wise there is a mountain-goats-only
high altitude crossing into the
Western
Highlands that even the locals avoid, and a much easier
walking track down the Aiome Valley to Aiome mission station
(2 days walk). From Aiome it is another one-day walk to
Atemble
village
on the Ramu River. From Atemble, motorised passenger canoes
run up river to the Ramu
Highway
and
down river to the Madang North
Coast
Road.
GENERAL
INFORMATION:
Simbai
bears many similarities to Woitape or Tapini in the Central Province
in that it is very isolated and hardly has any outside visitors
apart from missionaries and the occasional school inspector.
Simbai "station" consists of a trade store, a district administrator's
office and house, a tiny police post and a primary school. Simbai
is the "big smoke" for this area. Once you leave the station,
the surrounding villages are entirely traditional with not a
piece of roofing iron to be seen on any village house (who wants
to carry building materials 2 days up hill from Aiome?).
The Simbai district is home to the Kalam tribe which has magnificent traditional dress and some interesting traditions like nose-piercing for the wearing of nose ornaments made from bone, quills and other materials. Sometimes when youths are due to have their noses pierced they hold off until another special occasion is due like the opening of a new facility or the arrival of outside visitors and then the celebrations are held together.
The high-montane
forest and sub-tropical bushland in the Simbai area features
a wide range of native flora and fauna. Naturally the locals
hunt many of the wild animals for food including cassowaries
and tree kangaroos. Other species like bird of paradise are
hunted to make decorations for traditional costumes. Hunting
by the Kalam people is sustainable because they have a low
population density, large areas of rich bushland to hunt in,
and they still use traditional hunting weapons like spears
and bows and arrows to take only what they need. The forest
is still teeming with wildlife and being expert hunters the
Kalam people are also excellent wildlife guides as they know
where and how to help visitors get close enough to observe
and photograph various species.
Over the
past 50 years only the very occasional visitor has made it
to Simbai as it was never promoted as a tourism destination.
In 2004 Madang-based tour
guide Steven Mago (who passed away early in 2007) visited the
area
and enthused the people to receive eco-tourists and as a result
the Kalam Guest House and a small cultural centre were built
at Simbai and an annual culture festival was initiated. In
2005 a young Dutch couple contacted Ecotourism Melanesia asking
to
goo somewhere
completely
off
the tourist
trails and we booked them with Steven as the first pre-booked
tourists to visit Simbai. They rode with Steven down the Ramu
River to Atemble, walked via Aiome up to Simbai and flew out
to Mt Hagen. You can read the account of their trip at http://www.pngbd.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15251
ATTRACTIONS
AND ACTIVITIES:
The main attractions at Simbai are the unadulterated culture and
the pristine surroundings untouched by logging or any other major
developments.
Once a year there is a week-long culture festival in the
third week
of
September
with the highlight being the initiation of of young boys between
12-15
years by nose piercing ("sutim nus" or shootim-nose). This Kalam
Culture Festival also features plenty of 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
(or join in, if you want to kill a pig or have your nose pierced...) as Kalam
men parade around the station with their huge head-dresses decorated with bright
green beetle exoskeletons (see left).
If you are visiting Simbai with an organised group a program of activities will already be arranged.
If you are on your own you can ask the guest house to organise some activities for you. You will be expected to pay a fee for most activities so that village people who welcome you to visit their villages or walk through their bushlands will receive some benefit from your visit.
Some suggestions:
1. A walk to nearby villages
to meet the people, learn about their lifestyle
2. Wildlife watching - day or night (bring your own flashlight
for spotlighting)
3. A bush walk with a guide who will demonstrate their
use of plants for medicines, food
and
materials.
4. Accompany some locals on a hunting expedition (they may not
catch as much with visitors tagging along, of course)
5. Explore caves
6. Arrange a sing-sing performance and/or demonstration of cultural
practices
ACCOMMODATION: There are two traditional-style guest houses at Simbai, one has 9 twin rooms and the other has 4 twin rooms. Each room has two beds with rubber mattresses, pillow and bed covers, protected by an insect net. Nevertheless, bringing your own pillow-cover and favourite bed sheet is suggested. The rooms have a table and chair and somewhere to hang your towel and clothes. Toilets are outdoor pit latrines and guests can bathe in the nearby stream or scooping water over themselves in the outdoor bathroom. We suggest you bring your own soap and toilet paper as sometimes these supplies are not available in the local trade store and the guest house may not be able to provide them.
Meals
served at the guest house are based on local-style fare supplemented
with some tinned food. There won't be any seafood on the menu
this far inland ... dinner 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. Meals are always accompanied
by plenty of fruit such as bananas, pineapples and oranges. Meals
at the guest house are prepared over an open fire which adds
that "home cooked" taste to everything - scrumptious.
Of course you are also welcome to bring your own food items with
you. Lunch is usually rice with a noodle stew and some green
vegetables on the side. Breakfast is usually home-made village
scones or pancakes, with fruit. The guest house normally keeps
a plate of fruit and scones and a flask of tea available in the
dining room at all times for you to make yourself a snack any
time you get the hungries.
MORE
INFORMATION
http://www.pngbd.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15251