Day-By-Day Itinerary

This itinerary can be fully customized; to tailor this package to your specific requirements please call one of our travel specialists at 1-800-22-SWAIN.

Day 1 Fly USA to Port Moresby (Via Sydney)

Day 2 Cross the Dateline

Day 3 Arrive Port Moresby

You will be assisted to your flight on to Mount Hagan, where you will be transferred to your hotel.

Mount Hagen is a bustling commercial center where wealth from coffee and tea plantations has brought rapid change to traditional life style.

Days 4-5 Mount Hagen Touring

Two full days are spent exploring the Hagen Area and Wahgi Valley. The Mount Hagen area is the home of the Melpa people, a people with a strong culture, who in the face of moderninity, still live largely traditional subsistence lifestyles. In the mountains surrounding the Wahgi Vally lives a stunning array of bird, orchid and plant life. The tour explores this picturesque valley with tea and coffee plantations interspersed with villages and homesteads, traditionally laid out gardens and dance grounds surrounded by feathery stands of bamboo.

Day 6 Sepik River Cruise

Board the Sepik Spirit; with its shallow draught, it allows travel to rarely visited areas of the Sepik River and its tributaries in comfort.

Days 7-8 Sepik River Cruise

Two full days are spent exploring the many waterways of the Sepik and its tributaries including visits to traditional Sepik Villages. The Sepik River is one of the largest rivers in the world – in terms of flow. Steeped in mystery, the people of the Sepik area have fascinated anthropologists like Margaret Mead since the area was first visited. Part of the mystery and attraction of the Sepik peoples is their amazing carvings, now famous the world over.

Day 9 Karawari

            Transfer by river boat to Karawari Lodge. Sitting on a ridge above the Karawari River, Karawari Lodge boasts a spectacular view over hundreds of kilometers of dense tropical jungle. Inspired by local architecture and built with traditional materials, while still providing modern comforts.

Day 10 Fly Karawari to Tari

Fly by charter aircraft to Ambua airstrip over the Central Ranges, which are some of the most rugged and impressive landscapes in the world. The country between Ambua and the Sepik region is an amazing array of jagged limestone that seem to rise and drop at impossible angles. The Tari Valley is home of the Huli, a colorful and proud people, still largely living the same way that their ancestors did. The afternoon is spent exploring the area surrounding Ambua – high mountain forests with roaring waterfalls beckon the intrepid traveler.

Day 11 Cultural and Ecological Tour

A full day of ecological and culturally based touring is sure to satiate those yearning for discovery. The Tari area is home to an incredible 13 species of birds of paradise, as well as numerous orchid species.

Days 12-13 Fly Ambua to Brisbane (Via Port Moresby)

Transfer to the airport for your departure flight. You will stop over in Brisbane for a night before continuing to the USA.