We’ve learned quickly that things do not always go as planned in PNG. On our itinerary, we only get some direction as to what will happen the next day the day before – the tour company can not really commit to anything with some certainty before that point.
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| Mumeri |
When we flew into Karawari the other day and then when we went on to the Sepik all of the guides have repeated over and over again how low the waters have been. The Chambri Lakes, a vast lake network just south of the Sepik River, had essentially become walkable, with people hiking from village to village instead of taking canoes. The receding water is an annual occurrence but this year had been really dry. That all came to an end today.
The river rose several meters throughout the course of the day – at least 3 or 4. When we woke up, it was pouring. It let up for about an hour, enough time for us to visit Mindimbit, a famed carving village on the the junction of the Sepik and the Krosmeri Rivers. The men put on a carving demonstration to show how they produce their works. I was extremely interested as the son of a carver myself. They had a beautiful Garamut drum that was almost identical to one I saw at Karawari Lodge that I had wanted earlier but we had already purchased so many large items that the shipping costs were really adding up – maybe Jen was right to have denied me the earlier drum after all.
In the afternoon we sailed down the Krosmeri and then got on the jetboat to go to Mumeri. This was actually our guide, Joe’s, village and he was very proud to take us. He showed us his large and beautiful village home (being a guide is obviously a great job) and walked us through his town. Joe is a master carver himself and you could tell – his work was much better than the other carvers. Mumeri is famed for its flutes so we picked up all of the beautiful flutes that Joe had produced. That was going to about do it for the shopping.
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| Shopping! |
The villagers were meant to perform a flute dance, but an old man had passed away in the village the day before and the villagers were in mourning. There would be no dance, but as we finished walking through the center of town and perusing the wares, the skies opened up again and in dramatic fashion. Like fools we decided nonetheless to take the full tour through the village. It was only a 20 minute walk or so but we were absolutely drenched. Beautiful village, but the rain was really something.
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| Crocodile farming |
It rained like that for the next several hours. The flood waters were really quite strong and the boat has to go against them to get us to the airstrip to take us to Mt. Hagen tomorrow. The Sepik Spirit crew, dedicated and hard working as they are, are planning to stay up all night to get us there. Let’s see how that goes. By where we are now, it is possible, but I pity the crew. It is already pitch black out and they are having to go out every few minutes to clean debris out of the rutter as it gathers from the oncoming floods. To clean out this debris, they need to bang loudly on the ship to scare away crocodiles before they dive in to remove the branches, etc. Can you imagine? All of this and the head helmsman is sick with the malaria! What! They really do aim to provide the absolute best service.
To make matters worse, there was some genuine fear that the flood waters could reach the airstrip itself, trapping us on the river. A memorable exchange:
Jen: Hey, Mary Jane (our escort), how likely do you think it is that the runway could flood before we reach it?
Mary Jane: (Uncomfortably long pause) Uh, not very likely. (She says in a tone that is not very convincing.)
So, off to bed to the sound of the engines and debris hitting the underside of the boat. I’m curious to see how far up the river we get before morning.
The Sepik has been a remarkable experience. The art has been everything it was purported to be, the spirit houses and local traditions have been as alive and vibrant as advertised and the romance of the cruise down one of the world’s legendary rivers has been amazing. All of this in this fascinating PNG setting – I learned today that not long ago a “payback” was almost wrought on one of the staff of the Sepik Spirit in front of guests as they were walking off the airstrip in Timbunke. The very capable and now initiated captain, John, was able to diffuse the situation, but what an event that must have been. One can never forget where you are in PNG.
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