Hiking
is a hugely popular activity for visitors to Papua New Guinea. This is
the best way to absorb the nature and culture of PNG. You will get close
up and personal with the plants and animals native to PNG, and the people
you meet along the way will invariably be friendly and pleased to see
you. As you pass through villages you will be invited into people's homes,
given local food to try and treated to some cultural education if you
have to be around during festivities. You may even receive a marriage
proposal :)
The definitive
guide here is "Bushwalking in Papua New Guinea", published by
Lonely Planet. As far as we
know, the book is currently out of print so you may not be able to buy
a copy, but check their website in case a new edition has been published
since this page was last updated. Regardless, you may be able to obtain
a copy of the original edition from a public library, or ask around on
PNG chat sites. Trying searching for the
title on Google and see what comes up.
Exploring Papua
New Guinea on foot is a scintillating experience. There is a wide range
of walking difficulty levels available from flat, cleared walking trails
to fighting your way uphill through thick jungle. My favourite is the
half-day hike from Ononge to Woitape
in Central Province, because it's all downhill !
Other variations
on the hiking theme are beachcombing
and mountain climbing, and the most popular
trek is the Kokoda Track which is
rather a mecca for Australian visitors due to the area's wartime significance.
Most trekkable
land in PNG is owned by clans, unlike Australia and the USA where there
is a lot of public land owned by the state. In PNG, visitors need to be
careful to ensure that they stick to walking areas where permission has
been given for tourists to traverse. This may mean keeping to defined
walking tracks unless you can make special arrangements with landowners
to pass through other areas. This is not just for reasons of politeness
... some tribes have spiritual beliefs that designate certain areas of
land as "tabu for males" or "tabu for females", or
"tabu for outsiders" and they believe that bad things may happen
(eg the yam harvest will be spoiled) if somebody strays into a tabu area.
There are several
good reasons to travel with a guide, and one reason is to help ensure
you don't end up in a tabu place. A guide will help you communicate with
local people you meet along the way, and explain your presence. A guide
will also keep you company, steer you away from creepy-crawlies, and carry
you out if you break your leg :)
(If you're big,
you'll need two guides!)
It is possible
to hike in virtually every province of PNG. However, there are a few areas
where hiking has become risky due to deteriorating law-and-order problems.
These areas (such as Southern Highlands and the Wau/Bulolo area in Morobe
Province) are not included in the list of suggested treks below.
A number of village
communities have recently begun offering guided cultural treks as a standard
package, including guides and overnight accommodation at villages along
the way, giving unprecedented insight into their culture and natural environment.
Notable examples include:
Barem Village trek around Mt Masur,
Madang Province
Trekking in Omie Territoy, Oro Province
If you are the
type who prefers to take the road less travelled and carve out a trail
in the jungle with a machete to visit very remote areas, you are probably
a risk to our insurance policy :) so we suggest you seek out a copy of
"Bushwalking in Papua New Guinea" and follow your nose.
For those hikers
who prefer to travel without a guide but are happy to stick to established
walking trails and unsurfaced roads within reach of first aid facilities,
there are plenty of nice, safe treks we are happy to recommend (see below),
and Ecotourism Melanesia can design a customised tour package for you
to include all your travel, accommodation and trekking arrangements.
MAY WE SUGGEST:
Milne
Bay Province - Normanby Island (beach hiking), Goodenough Island
(mountain climb), Alotau to East Cape/Wedau trek
Oro
Province - Mt Lamington slopes (Escorted
Trekking in Omie territory), Tufi
fjords, Kokoda Track
Central
Province - Woitape missionary
trails, Tapini to coast road, Kokoda
Track
Morobe
Province - Huon Peninsula coast road (Finschhafen to Sialum), Menyamya
district walking trails
Eastern
Highlands Province - Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area
Chimbu
Province - Mt Wilhelm area
West
Sepik (Sandaun) Province - Vanimo to Wutung (coast road), Vanimo to
Aindai (inland), Aitape to Wewak (coast)
East
Sepik Province - Wewak to Aitape, Wewak to Maprik/Timbunke/Angoram
Madang
Province - south coast road, Karkar Island, Bogia to Josephstaal (inland)
Gulf
Province - Kerema to Ihu, 2-day beach hike
Manus Province
- Manus Island roads and walking trails
West
New Britain - Cape Gloucester area, Kandrian to Eseli, Talasea to
Cape Hollman
East
New Britain - Pomio coastal villages, Wide Bay villages (Milim to
Sampun), Tokua to Merai, Escorted treks along north coast
New
Ireland Province - New Ireland Island coast roads, New Hanover Island
coastal villages, Lihir Island coastal villages
