Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd The Sepik POP 530,000 / AREA 79,100 SQ KM Why Go? East Sepik Province ...... 117 The mighty Sepik is one of the great rivers of the world. In ser- Wewak ........................... 117 pentine fashion it fl ows for 1126km through a largely undis- Around Wewak...............123 turbed environment of swamplands, tropical rainforests and Sandaun Province .........124 mountains. However, the Sepik is more than just a river – it’s also a densely populated repository of complex cultures, dy- Vanimo...........................124 ing languages and the most potent art in the Pacifi c. The Sepik & Its As you motor around one of the endless river bends, the Tributaries .....................127 scale of the river, the towering facades of the haus tam- Upper Sepik ...................131 barans (spirit houses), the bird life, the eerie lagoons and Middle Sepik ..................132 the beautiful stilt villages make it all too easy to believe that Lower Sepik .................. 134 you’ve travelled clean out of the 21st century and straight Tributaries & Lakes .......135 into an adventure. The Sepik region also takes in the sleepy provincial capi- tals of Wewak and Vanimo, two beachside towns that attract a small trickle of surfers who come to tame the seasonal B e s t P l a c e s t o swells. Stay » In Wewak Boutique Hotel (p 120 ) » Auong Guesthouse (p 123 ) W h e n t o G o » Vanimo Surf Lodge (p125 ) Wewak °C/°F Te m p Rainfall inches/mm 40/104 24/600 Best of Culture 30/86 » Garamut & Mamba 16/400 Festival (p 120 ) 20/68 8/200 » Crocodile Festival (p 131 ) 10/50 » Middle Sepik Haus Tam- 0/32 0 barans (p 132 ) J FDNOSAJJMAM » Maprik Haus Tambarans (p 126 ) Jun–Oct The dry Mid-Oct–late Dec–Apr Expect season has fewer Apr Monsoon drenching rain mosquitoes but swells bring waves at any time, but temperatures between 1m and during the wet vary greatly be- 2.5m to PNG’s season it’s virtu- tween regions. northern coast. ally guaranteed. 117 History and a glut on the international market have The Sepik’s fi rst contact with the outside seen the 2004 record highs of US$500 per world was probably with Malay bird-of- kilogram nose dive to a mere US$20 per kil- paradise hunters – the feathers from these ogram in 2010, placing additional hardships beautiful birds were popular in Asia long on impoverished communities. before fashionable European millinery in- corporated them into late-19th-century women’s headwear. Wewak The fi rst European contact came in 1885, As Wewak was once the site of the largest with the arrival of the German New Guinea Japanese airbase in mainland New Guinea, Company. Dr Otto Finsch named the river it was subject to a barrage of bombs during Kaiserin Augusta, after the wife of the Ger- WWII. man emperor. A short distance inland the coastal moun- The Germans established a station at Ai- tains of the Prince Alexander Mountains tape on the coast in 1906, and in 1912 and separate the Sepik Basin from the narrow 1913 sent a huge scientifi c expedition to ex- band of fl at land and headland peninsula on plore the river and its vast, low-lying basin. which Wewak is built. They collected insects, studied local tribes Wewak itself is an attractive town, and and produced maps of such accuracy that while most people pause only long enough they’re still referred to today. Angoram, the to arrange their Sepik expedition and stock major station in the lower Sepik, was estab- up on provisions, it does have its charms. lished at this time. A series of beaches with golden sand and The early 1930s saw gold rushes in the backed by swaying palm trees start here and hills behind Wewak and around Maprik, but stretch along the coast. development and exploration ceased when WWII started. Sights 1 The Japanese held the Sepik region for Mission Point to Cape Boram WATERFRONT most of the war. Australian forces pushed SEPIK THE (Map p122 ) Near the main wharf lie the rust- along the coast from Lae and Madang, and ing remains of MV Busama. Further down the Japanese withdrew to the west. In early at Kreer, on the road to the airport, there’s 1944 the Americans seized Aitape and the the wooden hulk of a Taiwanese fi shing Australians moved west from there. When junk. On the beach between Kreer Market a huge American force captured Hollandia PROVINCE SEPIK EAST SIGHTSWEWAK and the hospital are some rapidly disappear- (now Jayapura in West Papua) in April, the ing rusting Japanese landing barges. The Japanese in Wewak were completely isolat- Japanese War Memorial marks the mass ed. A year later, in May 1945, Wewak fell and grave of many troops. The soldiers’ bodies the remaining Japanese withdrew into the were later exhumed and returned to Japan. hills. Finally, with the war in its last days, General Adachi surrendered near Yangoru. Japanese Memorial Peace Park PARK The formal surrender took place a few days (Map p122 ) This peace park contains a memo- later on 13 September 1945 at Wom Point rial and a fi sh pond. Tok Pisin doesn’t have near Wewak. Of 100,000 Japanese troops, a word for peace; ‘peace’ sounds like pis, only 13,000 had survived. which means fi sh. Thus, most locals refer to the park as pis park, which is perhaps ap- propriate given the fi sh pond and the gen- EAST SEPIK PROVINCE eral ambivalence that many modern Papua New Guineans have towards WWII. East Sepik Province is much more developed than Sandaun Province and includes the 2 Activities most-visited and heavily populated sections Swimming & Snorkelling BEACH of the Sepik, as well as several large tributar- Wewak’s beaches are excellent – long ies. It was here, in 1945, that the Japanese stretches of sand that fall away gently un- fi nally surrendered to the Allies and vari- der the water. The water is clean and clear, ous vehicles of war can still be seen, rotting warm and very inviting. where they were left. There’s excellent snorkelling around the Vanilla, once a lucrative crop for Sepik vil- Wewak headland, over the outer reef and lagers, has seen its price spiral downwards off the nearby islands. Like many coastal in the last few years. A scarcity of buyers .

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