Papua New Guinea may be our closest neighbour, but for most Australians it is an unknown land shrouded in mystery and intrigue and one that shouldn’t be missed according to Dallas Sherrington.
Awe-inspiring natural beauty, friendly local people, but the majority of Aussies wouldn’t have one of our closest neighbours on their travel list, and until recently, cruise ships simply did not go there. Papua New Guinea is a tropical Garden of Eden with much of it still untouched and unspoilt by mass tourism.
I would place it in the top three cruising destinations I have ever visited (the other two being the Kimberley and the Solomon Islands). Clocked in mystery, I am ready to help lift the veil and uncover what the culture of the waving, smiling, happy people.
From the moment you land ashore, there is laughter and cheerfulness. You will be led to chairs placed carefully under a giant tree or beneath a veranda of palm leaves. Then the dancing will begins, and oh, what a treat you are about to see. You will be in the company of gentle people, ever attentive, ever caring, ever wanting to share their world with yours. Traditional dancing is the national past time in Papua New Guinea. Mass drums, bamboo xylophones, whistles and cacophony of sound overtake you as the rhythm begins.
A performance of waving arms and legs all choreographed into a visually, stunning display. Divine costumes and headwear adorning the locals all adds to the excitement. The dancers range from the elderly right down to young children who are being educated in the local traditions. The dances tell the story of their village, their region, their life.
On virtually every island you visit, you will be greeted by traditional dances of that particular island. No two dances are the same. The islands may be close together but the locals have managed to develop performances that are unique to each region.
The cruise began in fascinating Rabaul, consistently shrouded in fallout from the erupting Mount Tavurvur – rated one of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes. In 1994 it destroyed old Rabaul in a massive explosion and has been bubbling away ever since.
A sunset departure from Rabaul with the horizon painted in a multitude of stunning reds, oranges and purples is possibly the greatest departure of my career.
The remote St Michael’s School just off the coast of New Britain is where the cruise docks for day 2 and it is here I fell in love with PNG and its people. They locals were genuinely excited to see us, to dance with us and to share everything they had. The elaborate head ware danced on around on top of their small bodies.
From here, we sailed across the vivid blue Bismarck Sea to Madang and up the mighty Sepik River. If you are a cruise aficionado this will be a particularly interesting piece of information – The Coral Discoverer has a shallow draft and this allowed us to travel further into the wild region than any other cruise ship.
The people of the Sepik were overwhelmingly friendly towards us. They were just as interested in learning about us as we were about them.
I have to admit at being slightly nervous about going ashore in an isolated native village where the people live completely off the land and the river. However, we were met by thousands of smiling people who were really excited about us coming to their village.
I could go on and on about PNG, but suffice to say it is one of the greatest unspoilt tourist regions anywhere on earth and the only way to see it properly is on an Expedition cruise.
They have an exciting special available for The Retiree readers until January 1 which allows clients to save 15% on the outstanding 25 night Circle New Guinea cruise aboard Coral Discoverer on October 29, 2017. The saving is up to $7434 for a balcony cabin.
Travel Feature supplied by www.wtfmedia.com.au
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