Papua New Guinea with Trans Niugini Tours

As a serious amateur photographer, I had seen many portraits of the colorful painted faces of the tribal people of Papua New Guinea. Finally, I had the opportunity to go see for myself. I joined Greg Stathakis of Trans Niugini Tours (408 East Islay St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101; 800/676-1241 or www.pngtravel.com) on a 2-week tour in July ’05. An excellent leader, Greg fell in love with PNG and has led small-group trips there for over 20 years.

We started in the capital, Port Moresby, then flew to Tari in the cool highlands to visit the Huli wigmen. We had plenty of time to visit different villages and learn about their culture as well as do some hiking and bird-watching.

We then flew to Mt. Hagen to see a sing-sing, where different tribal groups get together to out-bodypaint, out-sing and out-dance the other groups. Normally, the major sing-sings occur in Mt. Hagen in August and Goroka in September, but Greg had tired of the larger crowds and hassles at these festivals and so took us to the new Tumbuna Festival.

Tumbuna was wonderful in that the new venue was shadier and smaller, so the whole event was more comfortable and intimate. There were 12 to 15 tribal groups present, including the famous mudmen, so there was no shortage of photo ops. (Did I mention that the locals are pleased to have their photos taken, given proper respect, as they are proud of their culture and honored to share it?)

In 2006, the Tumbuna trip will run May 11-23. There will be a trip including the Mt. Hagen festival with another experienced escort, Aug. 9-22, 2006.

We ended our tour in the Sepik River Valley, traveling by boat to visit villages that were similar yet different from those of the Highlanders. Still just as friendly, they have substituted body painting with the creation of colorful handicrafts.

Though it was not an inexpensive trip at $6,800 including internal air, all the tour companies seem to charge about the same. The accommodations are excellent, and the transportation in the rugged country is by air, so costs are high. The experience of visiting these remote people, with their warmth and willingness to share their culture, was a unique experience that was well worth it.

— LAURIE FRIEDMAN, Davis, CA