Madang and Bilbil Village

MADANG – April 13th
Madang Province is some 300 kilometers long and 160kilometers wide encompassing four large and many small offshore islands. The province totals 27,970 square kilometers and has a population of over 240,000 people. To the south lie the towering Bismarck Ranges containing PNG’s highest mountain Mt Wilhelm (4509m). The warm Bismarck Sea laps the northern coast, and the region is drained northward by the larger Ramu, Sogeram, Gogol and Malas Rivers. The mountains are timber rich and with large stands of trees and rain forest, whilst the coastal plain is open and palm studded.

The Madang coast received its first real western exploration at the hands of the Russian explorer Nicolai Miklouha-Maclay in 1871. He introduced pineapples, mangoes, beans, pumpkins and other new foods. In 1884 the German New Guinea Kompangie started development of the region, building tobacco, cotton and coffee plantations at Bogia and around t Astrolabe Bay.
The city of Madang was occupied by the Japanese in the Second World War, on 1 May 1942. During the war Madang was destroyed in heavy fighting with much loss of life on both sides. The township was recaptured by allied soldiers on 24th April 1944. Post war developments have been few and mainly restricted to the coast and Madang town.

As we awoke today we slid into the bay with the Madang resort on our left and the stunning ranges on our right. The PNG Sport Fishing competition had just finished and there were still a number of large private fishing boats at anchor along the bay. We pulled up alongside the dock in Madang and were greeted by local dancers which I must admit is a wonderful way to start the day.

Madang is the stepping off point for the Goroka Highlands Adventure, a 30 minute flight up into the highlands to visit the amazing Mudmen of Goroka. This group departed Orion at 7:45am and shortly after the skies opened and the rain bucketed down, which caused a little reorganization of the Bilbil Village trip that I was booked on. Not a problem, we all donned rain coats and followed the Expedition Team on a tour of Madang and the Madang Resort.
Madang is famous for its Bat population and as you walk around the town you see thousands of them roosting in the trees. There are so many that flights into and out of Madang are timed around the Bats and their flight times. Basically if your flight isn’t out by dusk you are out of luck…….
The visit to the Madang Resort was great fun and this is a wonderful place to look for Ramu and Sepik masks, Bilums (bags) and other artifacts, these are located in a traditional building just inside the entrance to the Resort. Yes, I purchased two more masks, one rather large, and I am now wondering how on earth I am going to get it home. It is a stunning Sepik River mask and I can’t wait to share it with everyone. After our walk we boarded the shuttle bus for a quick tour of the city with a visit to the Coast Watchers monument, named after the few brave Australian military that stayed behind after the evacuation of Madang to watch and report on the Japanese occupation.

Apart from the guided walk there was also a Madang Scuba Dive tour available, which I understand was simply amazing. Marissa and Roland returned with stores of swimming with a pod of dolphins, diving on wrecks and stunning marine life. My friend Barbara took the opportunity to visit the Spa on board Orion for a relaxing massage and facial while I set off for Bilbil Village in the afternoon for the optional Bilbil Village Tour. BILBIL VILLAGE Overview: Prior to 1904, the Bilbil people lived on an island offshore from Madang, trading clay pots along the coast from Kar Kar Island to western Morobe. The island was too small to produce enough food for the inhabitants, and the trade therefore was an essential element of their life. They moved to the mainland to their existing village site to improve their subsistence levels.
Over the centuries the Bilbils have been great seaman, and they sailed their large two-masted canoes for hundreds of kilometers along the coast. They would call into many villages and trade their pots for food, wooden bowls, pigs and other trading goods.

The Bilbil Village Tour requires a 35 minute bus ride out of town through the lush green countryside on roads that were much more comfortable than Rabaul, but still and adventure of their own. The village is located on a beautiful black sand beach surrounded by palms and the traditional sago palm homes stand high off the ground to allow for the cool ocean breezes.
We were greeted by the local head man and after a quick walk around the village were seated for a presentation on pot making; this is what Bilbil is famous for. Local clay is mixed with the black sand and hand shaped into food and water containers. The process was very fast with the firing taking only minutes. These pots were traded for other items up and down the coast and are available for purchase. John and Colleen purchased a wonderful piece for Barbara’s Birthday gift. Did I mention how many wonderful friends we have made on board during our trip! After the pottery presentation we were treated to a traditional Sing Sing by the village and once again you wonder if it can get any better. I think I have over 300 photos of this particular group performing along with video so stand by for photo overload.

THE ASARO MUDMEN (Mudmen of Goroka) The Asaro Mudmen come from the village f Asaro just outside the town of Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea.
The legend that surrounds the reason the mud men appear the way they are, is that they were defeated by an opposing tribe and forced to flee into the Asaro River. They waited until dusk before attempting to escape. Arising from the muddy banks, the enemy saw them covered in mud and thought they were spirits. Most tribes in PNG are very scared of spirits so the enemy fled in fear and the Asaro Mudmen were victorious.

DEPARTING MADANG Like many tropical areas the heavy rain from the morning gave way to stunning blue skies in the afternoon for our Bilbil Village tour and return to Orion for departure at dusk.