Papua New Guinea

Private Tour: Half-Day Port Moresby City Sightseeing Tour

Your tour begins when you are picked up from your Port Moresby accommodation. Your vehicle will be air-conditioned and the type of vehicle is dependent on your group size. From your hotel you will proceed to the first stop which is Burns Peak, a hill overlooking the harbor. Burns Peak was a key anti-aircraft defensive position during World War 2, very effectively attacking Japanese bombers flying in from Rabaul trying to sink the ships in Port Moresby harbor. From Burns Peak you will drive the back way past police headquarters into Hanuabada Village, home to about 10,000 people packed into two square kilometers. The village has been there since the pre-colonial days and the city has grown up around it. The original inhabitants of the Motu tribe have inter-married and the village is now rather a melting pot of Papua New Guinea people and has many social and health problems which your guide may elaborate on. From Hanuabada you will drive into the Central Business District which local people call “Town” as it was the site of the first colonial settlement after being claimed for Britain in 1873 by Captain John Moresby. He actually named both the "Port of Port Moresby" and the adjacent wider "Fairfax Harbour" after his father Admiral Sir Fairfax Moresby. In Town you will see the original post office building which is still used today. Most of the population no longer lives in Town, having moved out to distant suburbs to make way for office buildings. From Town your tour vehicle climbs a steep curving road up Touaguba Hill, where most of the foreign ambassadors live, to a scenic lookout viewing both sides of the promontory on which the Town area is located. Here your guide will point out the Motukea container port, the NapaNapa oil refinery, Fisherman Islands, the old Paga Hill fort and Ela Beach which is the only piece of sand in the city, popular with locals. From Town your tour vehicle passes the Koki Fish Market and climbs Two Mile Hill. Like many parts of the city, this area is named after one of the old milestones which lined the road from the post office up to Sogeri in early days. The stone posts are long gone but the names remain: the city hospital is located at Three Mile, the main shopping centre at Four Mile and the airport at Seven Mile. A short stop will be made at the handicrafts market outside the Holiday Inn (toilets available inside) and then the second half of the tour will be taken up with longer stops at the national museum (1-hour), the national parliament (30-minutes) and the Port Moresby Nature Park (1-hour). On weekday afternoon tours these three stops may be re-arranged to accommodate early closing times at the museum and parliament. On weekends when the museum and parliament are closed these stops and the Nature Park will be replaced with the Bomana War Cemetery (30-minutes), Adventure Park Papua New Guinea Zoo (1-hour) and the National Orchid Gardens (30-minutes).

Private Tour: Middle Sepik Day Trip

07:00 Meet up with our guide in your hotel lobby in Wewak and board our private vehicle for the two hour drive to Kanduanam Road-Head on the Middle Sepik. 09:00 At Kanduanam, board our waiting motor canoe and head down river to the confluence of the Sepik and Yuat Rivers. Most tourists don’t venture up the smaller tributaries like the Yuat River but here you get to see a quieter side of the Sepik Basin, off the “main drag”. Half an hour up the picturesque Yuat River – now moving at a slower pace motoring upstream against the flow of the river current – brings you to beautiful Kundima village, on a bend in the river with a large sand bar where locals gather at low tide to socialise, play sand games and scratch games of soccer, rugby and volleyball. Take a walking tour through the village, see what each household is up to and what they are cooking for lunch. This will be a totally candid cultural experience – there is no mobile phone coverage here and nobody knows you are coming, nothing is prepared or staged. 12:00 Your guide will arrange local style food for lunch which could be anything from smoked fish to sago grub stew to coconut and banana sago pudding, sago pancakes, a tropical fruit platter or just the plain old village "staple": canned fish with coconut rice. You are also welcome to bring a packed lunch from your hotel. 13:00 Depart Kundima 1 hour up the main Sepik to Tambanum, one of the largest villages on the Sepik River which has several clan spirit houses and many homes displaying carvings and woven goods available for sale.   Spend two hours here wandering through the village (local people will come out of their houses and greet you), inspecting the handicrafts for sale and the clan spirit houses. Some of the spirit houses feature a carved “orator’s stool” where the clan leader may sit when addressing the men. Much of the village is built on a riverside sandbank so the walking is mainly on firm sandy ground with no mud. 16:00 Motor back downstream to Kanduanam road-head 17:00 Board our car or bus which has waited all day for you (in case of emergency) and commence the two hour drive back to Wewak. 19:00 Arrive back at your hotel in time for dinner. (If you’re going to be late we’ll call ahead and ask them to keep some dinner for you).Life jackets and umbrellas are provided but wear long sleeves and a brimmed hat to protect your arms, face and ears from sun-burn while riding in the open canoe, and bring sun screen to cover any exposed skin. Tropical-strength mosquito repellent is also recommended although you won't encounter many mosquitoes in the day time.Unfortunately western-style toilets are not available during this day trip but a clean village-style outhouse (sit-down long drop) is available for visitors at Kundima and Tambanum (your guide carries a toilet roll) and it is acceptable to "go behind a bush" in designated areas - your guide will advise.

Private Tour: Overnight Sogeri Jungle Village Trip

This tour heads straight out of town one hour up the scenic Rouna Gorge to Sogeri, a tiny town surrounded by lush farmlands that supply much of Port Moresby's fresh produce. (If taking this tour on a Sunday during the academic year you have the option of an earlier start in order to make a stop at the weekly market at the Pacific University).From Sogeri you will continue along a side road to Lake Sirinumu, an artificial lake created by damming of the Upper Laloki River in the 1960's for hydro-electricity and the city water supply. You will be met at the dam wall by your village guide and a motor boat for the half hour trip across the lake where you'll nestle into the back of a rattletrap old truck for a bumpy journey along a bush track to a jungle village of about 500 Koiari bush people. The name of the village is kept confidential to prevent random unannounced visitor arrivals, which could be inconvenient for the village people.If arriving on a school day you'll stop first at the village school where the children will welcome you with a traditional dance in tribal dress, and take you inside to see their classrooms and projects. (If you wish to bring something for the children, one or two books for the school library that they can all enjoy would be most appreciated). From the school your guide will show you around the village to see how they live, with stops at the church and even the village store. Local style lunch (freshly picked garden vegetables cooked in coconut cream, and fresh tropical fruit) is served with green coconut juice or billy tea to drink.  After lunch you will be shown around the village gardens to see how the people cultivate yams, sweet potatoes, green vegetables and special types of bananas for cooking. There are also market gardens filled with pineapples and sweet bananas for selling in Port Moresby. Your guide will also take you along a jungle path to see some of the plants they use for different purposes eg bamboo for building houses, rough leaves for scrubbing pots and some medicinal plants, and lastly stop at the freshwater stream where the villagers bathe, to have a refreshing dip if you wish (your clothes will soon dry in the tropical heat without needing a towel).Sleep overnight in a private visitors hut built in traditional style from bush leaves and bamboo, located next to your guide's home. Clean bedding, mosquito nets and electric lights / power are fitted. A clean visitors toilet is out back and there is a raised rainwater tank for showering under. Bottled water and delicious fresh local food is provided but you are also welcome to bring your own snacks though we prefer you don't bring alcohol.Next day enjoy a candid village immersion experience, join in selected village activities, relax on the verandah of your hut, or take an extended jungle hike before returning to Port Moresby in the afternoon.

Private Tour: Full-Day Port Moresby and Sogeri

Upon pick-up from your hotel in an appropriately sized air-conditioned vehicle you will begin the tour at Burns Peak, a hill overlooking the harbor. Burns Peak was a key anti-aircraft defensive position during World War 2, then continue driving through Hanuabada Village, home to about 10,000 people packed into two square kilometers. The overcrowded urban village has many social and health problems which your guide may elaborate on. From Hanuabada you will drive into the Central Business District which local people call “Town” as it was the site of the first colonial settlement after being claimed for Britain in 1873 by Captain John Moresby. In Town you will see the original post office building which is still used today. Most of the population no longer lives in Town, having moved out to distant suburbs to make way for office buildings. From Town your tour vehicle climbs a steep curving road up Touaguba Hill, where most of the foreign ambassadors live, to a scenic lookout with a panoramic vista of the harbor. Here your guide will point out the Motukea container port, the NapaNapa oil refinery, Fisherman Islands and the harbour entrance which was previously protected by two gunnery forts.From Town, pass by the Koki Fish Market (optional stop if time permits) and climb Two Mile Hill. Like many parts of the city, this area is named after one of the old milestones which lined the road from the post office up to Sogeri in early days. The stone posts are long gone but the names remain: the city hospital is located at Three Mile, the main shopping centre at Four Mile and the airport at Seven Mile. After a short stop at the handicrafts market outside the Holiday Inn (toilets available inside), make further stops at the national museum (if open), the national parliament (if open), the Bomana War Cemetery, Adventure Park Zoo and the National Orchid Gardens before climbing the steep winding road through the Rouna Gorge to the scenic Sogeri Plateau. Explore tiny Sogeri town with just a few shops, schools and WW2 historical markers then return via the same steep road down to Port Moresby. (NB Owers Corner/Kokoda Trail and Varirata National Park are not included in this tour due to time constraints). Lunch will be either a packed picnic lunch or a hot lunch at a convenient outlet en route - the guide will pay for lunch.If taking this tour on a Sunday during the academic year you have the option of a 6am start in order to commence the tour at the weekly farm market at the Pacific Adventist University where students and staff from all over the Pacific Islands sell their traditional foods and handicrafts (Sundays only).

Private Tour: Full-Day Sogeri Plateau

This tour heads straight out of town 30 minutes to the Bomana War Cemetery which has over 3500 graves of Australian and other Commonwealth soldiers killed mainly in the Pacific War. It's a serene setting with many bird species in the surrounding trees. Next stop, the nearby Adventure Park Zoo is a popular spot for local families and has a large collection of native PNG animals, plants and exotic birds including the magnificent National Orchid Gardens.From here the road climbs steeply up the scenic Rouna Gorge to Sogeri, a tiny town surrounded by lush farmlands that supply much of Port Moresby's fresh produce. From here you may select from 4 different side trips to fill out the rest of the day (1) Owers Corner (3 hours) - this side trip to the southern end of the Kokoda Trail is only possible in dry weather when the unsealed access road is safe for small vehicles to navigate. 45 minutes drive each way from Sogeri and an hour or so on site is enough to read the informative display boards, examine the Howitzer artillery gun and, if you are fit enough, take a walk down the first steep embankment to the Golide River and up again in order to say you have walked part of the Trail. (2) Varirata National Park (2 hours) - the park is an area of rugged montane forest about 2000 metres above sea level about 30 minutes drive along sealed road from Sogeri. There is not much wildlife to be seen in the public areas of the park due to noisy cars, picnickers playing music etc so it's necessary to hike 20 minutes into bushland and sit quietly and wait for some time in order to have any chance of seeing any wildlife. The other attraction in the park is the scenic lookout which on a clear day offers panoramic views of the Papuan coastline and out to sea. (3) Crystal Rapids (1-2 hours) - this is a popular picnic and recreation spot close to Sogeri with swimming waterholes and cascading waterfalls on a pretty creek. Bring your swimming gear. (4) Lake Sirinumu (2 hours) - a side trip along a sealed access road comes to this artificial lake created by damming the Laloki River in the 1960's. Water from the lake is used twice - first it is directed at speed down high pressure pipes in the Rouna Gorge to spin turbines to create hydro-electricity and then the water continues through to a treatment plant and used for the city water supply. Anglers fish at the lake and there is good birding around the perimeter. Local people cross the lake in canoes and small boats to get to villages on the other side.   For lunch the guide will either provide a packed (boxed) lunch or pay for lunch at a convenient outlet en route.If taking this tour on a Sunday during the academic year you have the option of a 6am start in order to commence the tour at the weekly farm market at the Pacific Adventist University where students and staff from all over the Pacific Islands sell their traditional foods and handicrafts (Sundays only).

Private tour: Full day Port Moresby and Sogeri Plateau

Upon pick-up from your hotel in an appropriately sized air-conditioned vehicle you will begin the tour with a two hour city circuit including Burns Peak (a hill overlooking the harbor that was a key anti-aircraft defensive position during World War 2), Hanuabada urban stilt village (home to about 10,000 people packed into two square kilometers with resultant social and health problems) and the Central Business District (which local people call “Town” as it was the site of the first colonial settlement after being claimed for Britain in 1873 by Captain John Moresby). In Town you will see the original colonial post office building which is still used today. Most of the population no longer lives in Town, having moved out to distant suburbs to make way for office buildings.From Town your tour vehicle climbs a steep curving road up Touaguba Hill, where most of the foreign ambassadors live, to a scenic lookout with a panoramic vista of the harbor. Here your guide will point out the Motukea container port, the NapaNapa oil refinery, Fisherman Island and the harbour entrance which was previously protected by two gunnery forts.From Town, pass by the Koki Fish Market (optional stop) and climb Two Mile Hill. Like many parts of the city, this area is named after one of the old milestones which lined the road from the post office up to Sogeri in early days. The stone posts are long gone but the names remain: the city hospital is located at Three Mile, the main shopping centre at Four Mile and the airport at Seven Mile.After a short stop at the handicrafts market outside the Holiday Inn (toilets available inside), make further stops of around one hour each at the national museum (if open), the national parliament (if open), the Bomana War Cemetery, Adventure Park Zoo and the National Orchid Gardens before climbing the steep winding road through the Rouna Gorge to the scenic Sogeri Plateau. Explore tiny Sogeri town with just a few shops, schools and WW2 historical markers and Lake Sirinumu then return via the same steep road down to Port Moresby. A side trip may be possible to Owers Corner (Kokoda Trail) or Varirata National Park if time permits. Note that there are sometimes afternoon rains up on the Sogeri Plateau (even when the weather is fine down in the city) so if afternoon rain is forecast your guide may suggest reversing the itinerary to visit Sogeri in the morning while the roads are dry and leave indoor city attractions like the museum and parliament for the afternoon.Lunch will be either a boxed picnic lunch or a hot lunch at a convenient outlet en route - the guide will pay for lunch.If taking this tour on a Sunday during the academic year you have the option of a 7am start in order to commence the tour at the weekly farm market at the Pacific Adventist University where students and staff from all over the Pacific Islands sell their traditional foods and handicrafts (Sundays only).