Off-grid in Papua New Guinea – Sepik River and Simbai Communities
Papua New Guinea - a place unlike any other; expect the unexpected and not for the fainthearted. Having recently led my 6th trip to this fascinating, little-explored destination, I wanted to share some thoughts…
Koki fish market in the capital presented us with our first opportunity to meet the wonderfully hospitable Papuan people. Late afternoon we flew onto Wewak on the northeastern coast – a stopping-off point for adventures on the remote Sepik River. Before a 4-hour bus ride from the coast to the river, we had a day to enjoy the coast and palm-fringed islands of the Bismarck Sea.
During our lunch of freshly caught barbequed mackerel and sweet potato, Village Chief, Vincent, stuffing a king-size lump of betel nut in his cheeks, became more and more animated as he recounted the survival tales of Australian soldiers. Wewak also boasts one of the best meals on the tour – mutant crustaceans, grilled crocodile and decadent chilli chocolate soup with ice cream and caramelised croutons; truly, a place unlike any other…
Crocodile remained on the menu the following day as we travelled downstream in dugout canoes, venturing into otherworldly villages and spirit houses along the Middle Sepik River. Here the crocodile is worshipped as the creator god; dances and initiations are held in honour of these prehistoric monsters. Catholic missionaries also left their influence here – the croc and the cross fascinatingly cohabit the jungle and swamps of one of the world’s most remote locations.
The second part of our programme flew us from the coast into the Western Highlands. Swapping a jet for a 10-seater charter, we climbed high into the mountains and dropped ourselves into the heart of the Simbai Community. A raucous ‘sing-sing’ by the villagers escorted us from the grassy airstrip all the way up to our homestay, dramatically perched overlooking the valley below.
We spent 3 days as guests of the Kalam people, famous for their ridiculously intricate headdresses consisting of thousands of individually woven emerald beetle heads. From our panoramic base in the heart of the village, we were privileged to gain a fascinating insight into the lives, culture and traditions of the Kalam.
We returned the favour by welcoming some of the village elders and youngsters to learn a little more about our strange world, by inviting them to sit with us one evening and exchange questions about their hopes and challenges.
Thanking our hosts for this unique experience, we procured a pig and donated it to the villagers who spent a morning preparing a traditional mumu.
Industrial amounts of vegetables along with slabs of freshly butchered meat were wrapped in leaves and steamed on hot stones in the ground. A couple of hours later the meal was shared around the village and celebrated with the spectacular Beetlehead sing-sing. Our guesthouse cooks applied a few extra food safety regulations (and some Maggi and Saxa!) so we could enjoy a slightly more sanitized version of the traditional dish for dinner.
As we venture into a more and more digitalised world, these off-grid experiences become more and more thought-provoking; witnessing the cohesion of communities affected little by outside influences and the strength of the family unit. Conversely, we see how a basic phone signal can improve (and save) lives in these same remote environments.
