Sepik River Secrets

Hop on in Madang. Once called the "prettiest town in the South Pacific," it sits on a peninsula with parks, waterways, plenty of shady trees, and beautiful tropical islands. The province is super diverse, with 170 languages spoken, and you can catch this diversity in action at the Madang festival, where cultural groups perform colorful "sing sings."

Paspaley Pearl is docked in Madang.

Explore the Sepik River, one of the world’s major river systems. It winds for 1100 km from the Owen Stanley ranges to New Guinea’s North Coast, where it flows into the Bismarck Sea. The river is known for its rich biodiversity, with thick, challenging terrain all around it. Since there are very few roads, the river has been the main route for trade, communication, and daily life for thousands of years.

The Sepik region is also famous for its traditional art. Indigenous tribes make detailed carvings and masks that have deep cultural and spiritual meaning, often inspired by the river and its surroundings.

Watam village is situated at the northwestern end of Broken Water Bay, making it the easternmost village in the East Sepik Province. The Watam people, along with the people of Kopar village at the mouth of the Sepik River, trace their origins to the lower sections of the Ramu River, located further east. While the Watam people have adopted Catholicism, many aspects of their traditional rituals and beliefs continue to coexist within the religious framework. As a result, Watam village provides a fascinating example of the intersection between traditional practices, migration history, and the influence of external factors on the cultural landscape of Papua New Guinea.

During World War II, Hansa Bay was a major Japanese naval base and transit station between the Wewak region and south eastern bases. Today, there are several WWII wrecks scattered along the coastline and in shallow waters. The traditional villages of Awar and Nubia seldom receive visitors from the outside world. Their culture and traditions remain strong, despite the influence of missionaries.

Crown Island is located between the Vitiaz Strait and the southern Bismarck Sea off the north coast of the Papua New Guinea mainland, about 25 kilometers from Long Island. William Dampier charted the passage now named Dampier Strait to the east in 1700, also naming several islands, including Crown Island. This eroded ancient volcanic island is home to a collection of lush valleys, steep ridges, lowlands, and sand beaches surrounded by coral reefs. The island inhabitants have only recently relocated from the nearby Long and Umboi Islands.

The Witu or Vitu Islands are volcanic ocean peaks fringed by coral reefs located in the Bismarck Sea off the north coast of New Britain Island. They were once the chief copra center of Papua New Guinea, today, cocoa is now the main crop harvested. The largest island, Garove, or Big Witu, is a volcanic caldera where the southern rim has collapsed, creating a spectacular entrance. The main village of Garove is nestled inside this scenic natural harbor.

Lying on the northern peninsula at the west end of the island of New Britain is the seldom visited location of Cape Gloucester. The Peninsula is densely vegetated with thick rainforest, and the extinct Mount Talawe volcano creates a spectacular backdrop to the south. On the eastern flank of Talawe lie the four overlapping volcanic cones of the active Langila Volcano. Langila is one of the most active volcanoes in the Bismark archipelago. Several uninhabited picture postcard islands lie just offshore, providing the ideal location for swimming and snorkeling in the warm tropical waters of the Bismarck Sea.

Madang Township was once known as the “prettiest town in the South Pacific." Its peninsula setting is a showplace of parks, waterways, luxuriant shade trees, and sparkling tropical islands. The diverse geographical nature of Madang province is reflected in the 170 different languages that are spoken. This diversity is showcased in the Madang festival with its colorful displays of “sing sings” performed by numerous cultural groups from across the Madang Province.

Disembarkation stats after breakfast.