Karawari moments – Karawari pillanatok

For two days, we found ourselves in one of the most remote and unspoiled destinations of Papua New Guinea, in one of the few remaining untouched rainforests on the globe. From the spring-like weather of the highlands we arrived in the hot and humid weather of the Sepik region.

Day 46, Monday, October 21: Karawari

In the morning, before meeting our guide and driver, even though the walking paths were a bit muddy from the heavy overnight rain, we decided to check out the orchid garden around the Rondon Ridge Lodge.

Around 8, we were taken to the airfield in Mount Hagen to fly by charter flight into the deep heart of the jungle. Our destination was the Karawari Lodge. We had to wait for more than an hour before the fuel truck arrived to give fuel for the single-engine plane.

After flying for 45 minutes, we landed on the lodge’s private grassy airstrip. We felt immediately that we’d arrived in a remote location.

Then we were transported in an 18-seat motorized boat on the Karawari River to the lodge – the final leg being a truck ride on a bumpy road to the building. Our young pilot, Sam, was staying in the lodge too – we were to fly with him again in two days.

There are no roads in this area, so flying and boats are the only way in and out.

Lunch was followed by an afternoon visit to a nearby village. Of course, we went on the boat accompanied by our local guide.

There are no shops here. People of the Sepik tribes live off the land and the river. They are preparing and cooking their staple food from the sago palm and catch fish daily from the river.

We saw a sago-making demonstration. First the men get the heart of the sago from the tree trunk, then the women make it into an edible flour and cook a pancake from it over open fire. We ate a sample of it – kind of neutral (or no taste), but I liked it.

A woman also showed us how she cooks fish with local greens.

As we were going back to the lodge, we saw dug-out canoes – that’s the primary mode of transport – and children splashing in the river.

Back in the lodge just in time to enjoy the beautiful sunset over the river.

After dinner, we retired to our cottage. When we opened the door, we were horrified to see the many bugs that had invaded the room. Oops! We left the veranda light on when we went for dinner – a big mistake. But in the end the bug hunting was a success, so finally nothing prevented us from hiding in our beds under the mosquito net. We also made sure that our electronic devices were charged before the electricity was turned off at 10:30 pm until morning.

Day 47, Tuesday, October 22: Karawari

We woke up to the sounds of the jungle and the river. It was 5 am. We were ready for the early morning bird watching.

Traveled down the river to the airstrip where our guide, Paul, knew we would see the famous 12-wired Bird of Paradise, a territorial bird. Yes, it was indeed there on the top of a tree, but unfortunately too far away to enjoy his colors. But we got to see the sunrise!

In addition to that, we inadvertently collected hundreds of grass seeds from walking through the wet fields.

Back to the lodge for our breakfast, then around 9 we were on the boat again. We had the whole day to visit villages that line the shores of the river and explore the lifestyle and culture of the villagers.

We saw women fishing, visited a traditional home, and got a glimpse of village life. They live almost in the same way as their ancestors. We also got another demonstration of their cooking methods – cooking pudding from the sago palm.

Visited a spirit house decorated with carved figures. It’s a place where important decisions regarding their lives are made, where boys become men, where they practice their rich traditions and ceremonies.

Had our lovely picnic lunch on the boat.

After lunch, we visited another village and their two spirit houses. This was the place where we were followed by a group of smiling children the whole time.