KUNDU'S TRIUMPHANT

In case anyone was wondering the Kundu's were victorious in Orion Team Trivia competition. At 4:30pm on Sunday we faced the other teams including the Guinea Pigs and Silvia's Heroes. Not only did we win the final Team Trivia event, we were also victorious overall........ What was wonderful was how much fun a group that only met 11 days ago on a Charter flight from Cairns to Rabaul had become such a cohesive team, we even spent time studying the daily briefing sheets. Much thanks to Ned, Paul, Jan, Gary and Barbara for their knowledge and good humor.

Milne Bay

Samarai & Kwato Islands

Samarai Island

In the early 1900's Samarai island was the thriving colonial capital of the territory of Papua and the town's streetscape carries reminders of those bygone, halcyon days. Back then it was described as one of the most beautiful places in the South Pacific.

Despite its faded-glory atmosphere, commerce is still the lifeblood of this tiny island, just 24 ha in area, with inter-island trading ships frequenting the harbor. Our small group took a walk through the town past the Church, the Trading Company, the Pearl operation and onto the sports ground, which I understand is still the scene of fiercely contested cricket matches.

The China Strait islands surrounding Samarai have a history of witchcraft which persists despite the best efforts of missionaries to debunk stories of ghost ships and mysterious lights.

Kwato Island

Just 3 kilometers west of Samarai is Kwato Island, where European trades broke their journey en route to the South Pacific in search of gold and to trade in mother of pearl, sandalwood and sea cucumbers.

The island is peaceful, with the remnants of boat-building equipment evident amongst the trees. A shady road leads to a hilltop clearing in the centre of the island and the impressive old stone church and the stunning sweeping views of the surrounding seas is very much worth the climb. During WWII this spot was used as a strategic gun position.

Deca Deca Island

After lunch Orion was repositioned to take advantage of the fabulous snorkeling at Deca Deca

Island. The water was so wonderfully clear and the coral was amazing. There were hundreds of fish of every color and it was extremely hard to leave this glorious little island.

Fergusson Island - D'Entrecasteaux Islands

FERGUSSON ISLAND – 16th April The D’Entrecasteaux Islands are situated near the eastern tip of New Guinea in the Solomon Sea in Milne Bay province of PNG. The group spans a distance of 160km, has a total land area of approx 3100km2 and is separated from the PNG mainland by the 30km wide Ward Hunt Strait in the north and the 18km wide Goschen Strait in the south. The three principal islands are Goodenough, Fergusson, and Normanby. In addition there are numerous small islands and reefs, Sanaroa and Dobu are the most significant of the smaller islands. The highest peak in the group is the 2,566 meter Mount Vineuo on Goodenough Island. Fergusson Island has an area of just over 500 sq miles and most consists of mountainous regions covered by rain forests. There are three large volcanoes on the island. We arrived at 7:00am today under slight overcast skies that quickly cleared to the usual clear blue by 8:00am We were split into two groups, AM and PM, for our Dei Dei Hot sprints Tour and had been warned that this would be a hot walk. No kidding, as we left the shade of the beach we headed up past well tended garden plots, immaculate village buildings and along pathways boarded by orchids towards the hot springs. The walk only took about 40 minutes each way and we spent about an hour at the springs investigating the large number of geysers and mud holes. The water in these is so hot that it cooks food in seconds and is deadly if fallen into…….Dei Dei Hint – stay away from the edge
West Fergusson Island is famous for its woven baskets which can be very elaborate in their patterns. These are made from the small Sago Palm and we actually saw the fronds being dried around the Hot Springs.
Our guides Kathy and Rose were very knowledgeable and eager to share information about their home. They were very excited to show us the new bridge that has recently been built from proceeds of previous Orion Day visits.

PIDGIN WITH JUSTIN – Afternoon I am going to have Justin Friend our Expedition Coordinator and Papua New Guinea expert put together a little info on Pidgin that I will share upon my return to the US. Our crash course today was extremely educational and with Justin’s special brand of humor, very memorable. I have learned a number of words that I could not possible share in writing. However, I have listed a couple of phrases below:
Good Morning – Morning Tru Can I take your photo – mi laik kisim poto bilong yu? My name is – nem bilong mi What is your name? - wannen nem bilong you. Thank you – Tenk yu tru.

Tufi Islands 15th April

TUFI – April 15th

OVERVIEW
The Tufi area on the South east coast of Oro Province is one of PNG’s best kept secrets, and that is an understatement!!! Situated on Cape Nelson, Tufi is a spectacular place to visit. Cape Nelson, jutting out into the Solomon Sea, was formed by the eruption of three volcanoes, whose fast flowing lava created rias, or fjords . Unlike the fjords of Scandinavia, the water is always warm and the bays are home to stunning coral formations and tropical marine life. The fjords are over 90 meters deep and rise vertically out of the water to over 150 meters. Wide entrances are protected by reefs and they funnel into the mountainside where mangroves form a canopy over narrow waterways. The vertical faces of the gorges are covered with moss and orchids and waterfalls cascade directly into the sea. The province is also the home of the largest butterfly in the world, the Queen Alexandra Birdwing, which was spotted by the guests that participated in the Suicide Point walk early in the morning. Oro province has a history of drama, from the early gold rush days to the devastating Pacific campaign of World War 2. The northern end of the Kokoda train terminates at the village of Kokoda and from here to the coast, and around the beaches of Buna and Gona, some of the most violent and bitter fighting of World War 2 littered with war relics and at Jiropa Plantation on the Buna road, there is a Japanese plaque commemorating their dead. Not long after the way Mt Lamington erupted, wiping out the district headquarters at Higatura and killing nearly 3,000 people. Today the provincial capital is located a safe distance from the volcano at Popendetta.

OUR VISIT We arrived just off the beach at Tufi at 7:00am with a view of white sandy beaches and stunning Fjords. Optional tours included Scuba Diving, the Suicide Point Walk that our new friends Gary, Jan and Paul had decided to take on and the Tufi Village Experience which over 90 guests had signed up for and with good reason, it was AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE, STUNNING, you get the picture.

Due to numbers the Tufi Village Experience group was divided into two groups, this means that different clans have the opportunity to perform and the wealth is shared among the village. I guess that this has created rather a competitive environment among the Clans and they try and outdo each other.

Barbara and I were on the afternoon Tufi tour so we headed to the beach to do some snorkeling and relaxing. Once again we spent nearly our entire allotted time in the water. The reef goes on forever and we found ourselves about 150m off the beach exploring coral and chasing fish. The reef at Tufi is more hard coral so there were not as many Clown Fish but there were large numbers of blue starfish and large schools of tropical fish.

The beach is stunning with white sand and large trees leaning over the water. As always there was a blue Orion Umbrella with fresh towels, cold drinks and sunscreen. Behind the beach were mangroves and a small creek and steep hills leading up to sago covered huts overlooking the blue waters… paradise found!

We also walked along the beach and chatted with some of the Tufi Villagers who were arriving for the afternoon Sing Sing. Their canoes were loaded down with bananas, pineapples and Tapa cloth for the markets.

At 12:00 we made our way back to Orion for lunch (did I mention yet that the food is superb and never ending and that my plans of hitting the gym each day are still just that, a plan). After lunch we boarded local boats from the Tufi Resort and met our local guide a young Australian guy who was born in Papua New Guinea, schooled in Queensland and now back for the lifestyle and diving.

We headed up one of the Fjords to join our local hosts and were loaded in small groups 2 – 4 onto very small outrigger canoes festooned with tropical flowers. This took place in the middle of the Fjord and it was just as much fun watching us all scramble onto the outriggers with camera gear, backpacks and shoes in hand. The hint for this is balance and doing what you are told, no sudden movements. From here we were taken upstream under spreading mangrove trees, through the PNG rainforest. All you could hear was the sound of paddles in the water and the screeching of local parrots and birds.

As the creek became shallow we disembarked the outrigger canoes and walked up into the jungle past sago palms, strangler figs and lush tropical rainforest. This area is utilized by Tufi village as a garden area for crops such as sago and banana. These are not like our western gardening plots, at first glance you don’t even realize you are standing next to a garden as it appears as overgrown as the rest of your surroundings, however, as you become more accustomed to the region you start to pick out cultivated areas.

Our hosts provided us with a demonstration of Sago harvesting and production. This includes the shredding of the Sago palm with an axe, the washing of the Sago in a specifically designed palm sluice, which captures the sago, a cornstarch type of product, and then the cooking of the Sago loaf in a very hot fire. Imagine bubble gum with a mild smoked flavor and grit, that is Sago. This was all carried out under the bluest skies, on the edge of stream surrounded by the greenest jungle I have ever seen……I know I am running out of words to use…. TUFI VILLAGE At the beach we were greeted by Tufi Warriors who then escorted us up the hill over white sandy steps to be greeted again by a corridor of Warriors and villagers in full traditional outfits, including stunning Bird of Paradise head dresses. It was actually overwhelming, the colors, sounds and sights. We were extremely lucky to view reenactments of village life and traditional dancing followed by demonstrations of Tapa Cloth production and weaving. Many of the Tufi women still go through a painful week long face tattooing process and we actually had an opportunity to view two younger girls who had just started the process.
Many of the local villagers had set up small stalls beneath the trees featuring shells, tapa cloth and carvings. I have two wonderful examples of Tapa cloth I will be bringing back to the US. Once again, I think I was the last person on the Zodiac as I was much too busy chatting with the local children and the Head Man, it is hard to tear yourself away from these wonderfully friendly and sharing people.

TAPA CLOTH Tapa cloth is made out of the bark of a tree from the hibiscus family. The bark is beaten until all the sap has been milked out and then sun dried. It is then dyed and colored by hand. The women wear the cloth as a wrap around skirt and the men wear it in the fashion of a loin cloth know as a malo.

Trivia - Orion Style

ORION TRIVIA - Yes Team Trivia and the Kundus are 4 games up at present…… Our team the Kundu’s (drum) are doing rather well at 4:00pm trivia, so far we have won 4 bottles of Champagne. Let’s just say we have a broad range of ages, interests and a thirst for ship board knowledge. _____________________________________________________________________________________

Tami Islands

PARADISE – TAMI ISLANDS – April 14th
I am not sure that I mentioned that there is a journalist and photographer from Australian Geographic traveling on Orion. They have had the opportunity to go ashore with Justin Friend Orion’s Expedition Coordinator early each morning and everyone on board can’t wait to see the coverage of PNG as we are all wondering how they will ever select photographs from the thousands taken.

Today, April 14th, we arrived at the Tami Islands and trust me if there is a perfect set of islands that you would like to just pull up a teak deck chair, grab a cold drink and never leave this is probably them.

We boarded the Zodiacs in groups of 10 and headed across to the islands so that we could all arrive for a village welcome. The Tami Islands is a seldom visited group of islands in Morobe Province, not far from the town of Fischafen and is comprised of 3 islands, two inhabited and the other very small island used for local farming.

Tami Island is famous for its wooden bowls and we were not disappointed as we had the opportunity to visit the market set up for our visit after the official Sing Sing which was performed. There are 800 languages spoken in PNG and I can honestly say that every village Sing Sing is also unique and stunning in its own right. The village had set up a wonderful shade area for the Orion guests with sago palm and local flowers; we also had the chance to view to very large Coconut Crabs that were on display.

Once again I have purchased some fantastic items to take home, let’s just say my bags runneth over!

I don’t think I have mentioned the Children of PNG as yet. Everywhere you go you are surrounded by the most amazingly beautiful children, I have hundreds of photographs as every child wants you to take their picture and then show them, what a difference digital photography has made for all of us. Every time you turn around there is another photo……..

After our Tami welcome we jumped back into the Zodiacs and left the idyllic white sandy beaches and wooden outrigger canoes to travel the 200m to the coral cay for swimming snorkeling and kayaking. The coral was amazing and Barbara and I found ourselves hovering over anemone full of Clown Fish, I have hundreds of photos of NEMO………and that was just the start WOW! We then took the Snorkeling tour to the outer reef which was just as spectacular with soft and hard coral.

Did I mention the beach BBQ, white sandy beaches and stunning blue water………well we would be here all week just talking about Tami Island. At 4:00pm the last Zodiac was sitting on the beach and the final 6 stragglers, including Barbara and I were advised that it was now or never……it was hard to leave!


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