PAPUA NEW GUINEA RIVERS & OCEANS DATES/PRICES 2018 Dates: Sat 6 Oct > Fri 19 Oct Duration: 14 Days £4075 GBP $5350 USD €4695 Euro Arrival Airport: Cairns (CNS) Departure Airport: Cairns (CNS) Please note: Your return flights from Australia to Papua New Guinea are included in the cost of the trip. EXPLORE FASCINATING PAPUA NEW GUINEA YOUR ITINERARY! Join Hamish and his crew on this brand new expedition to Papua New Guinea. A Day One fascinating and unique culture, this adventure explores the tribal element of this friendly Arrival into Cairns, Australia. You will be met by country, along with rafting the incredible Watut River in the Morobe Province, followed your Trip Leader who will escort you to your hotel in the heart of Cairns. The remainder of by incredible sea kayaking to remote islands in the crystal clear waters off New Ireland the day is yours to explore this wonderful and New Hanover. With so many destinations, now over run by trips and tourists, we destination, or perhaps catch up with some offer you a journey back in time to this wonderful outpost. If you are after a vacation rest after your journey. well off the tourist trail, welcome to our new adventure exploring the gorgeous rivers Included: Dinner and oceans of Papua New Guinea. Day Two We get up early and depart by bus to raft the Tully River. This incredible and iconic trip is a wonderful day trip to what is arguably Australia’s best river. We’ll raft this technical THE DETAILS and fun river, before returning by bus back to Cairns. What Is Included All meals • Transfers to and from Cairns Airport to the hotel. If you provide us with your arrival details we will Included: be happy to meet you at the airport. Day Three • Flights between Cairns (Australia) and Lae (Papua New Guinea) and Kavieng and Cairns on your We depart after breakfast for the airport, for return journey. our flight to Port Moresby and onto Lae. We’ll • Accommodation on nights one, two three, eight, nine and thirteen in a tourist hotel. This will be arrive late afternoon and transported to Lae on a share twin basis with somebody else on the trip International Hotel. Tonight prior to our evening meal together, we’ll have a pre- • All transfers to and from the river in Cairns to and from the Tully River and in Papua New Guinea departure meeting and some of your to and from the Watut River to Lae. equipment for the river trip will be handed out • All meals from lunch on Day Two to lunch on Day Eleven. including your drybags and pelicases. Excess • All rafting and sea kayaking equipment, including the best in buoyancy aids, helmets and spray baggage for the rafting portion of your jackets. adventure, is left here whilst we are on the Watut River. • Tented accommodation whilst on the river and sea kayaking. Included: All meals • All camping equipment (sleeping bags excluded - although you can hire a sleep kit for £55). • Qualified and experienced river guides,safety kayakers and sea kayak guides. The crux of our trips, we have a mixture of local and overseas guides who are extremely professional and are some of the most experienced guides in the world. These guys and girls make every effort to make your trip memorable and fun for you whilst at the same time ensuring your safety. They all hold up to date advanced first aid qualifications and in the unlikely event of an injury they have the expertise and professionalism to deal with it. • All necessary permits and licenses. A cool Water By Nature t shirt or travel bag or alternate gift if you are a return guest. Please Note: Not included are International flights, visas, departure taxes, travel insurance, inoculations, sleeping bags*, video or dvd of your trip, alcohol, personal items or gratuities. You will also need to budget for meals in town which are not included in the price and any extra accommodation outside what is provided. (* Our Sleep Kits may be hired on this trip for £55. They continued overleaf > contain a sleeping bag, pillow, goundsheet, sleeping liner contained in a drybag.) continued overleaf > QUOTE: PNG-RAO EXPERIENCE THE BEST WHITE WATER RAFTING IN THE WORLD For more information visit www.waterbynature.com PAPUA NEW GUINEA RIVERS & OCEANS Day Four We leave Lae after breakfast, on the 3 hour Getting There drive bound for Mapos in the mountains, FROM THE UK: which is the source of the Watut River. We’ll The best options we have found for our clients flying to Cairns (CNS) are with Cathay Pacific via Hong meet the rest of the river crew and have our Kong. These offer the best connection times on your flight to Cairns. There are further flight options picnic lunch whilst we unload drybags from with Qantas, Singapore Airlines or Emirates to Brisbane, with a short connecting flight up to Cairns. the bus. The Cathay Pacific flights leave around 5pm two nights prior to Day One, arriving into Cairns around Once we have had a full and thorough safety 6:30am two days later. The return flight is a mid afternoon departure out of Cairns with an early and paddle instructions from our trip leader morning arrival into Heathrow the following day. Other options exist, so if you have any queries and safaty kayaker, we’ll start our journey on regarding flights, please contact our UK office on 01226 740 444 for advise on your best options. this wonderful river. We’ll stop at a village Also well worth checking www.skyscanner.net for options. where the curious locals watch us in FROM THE USA: amazement with our bright colored We suggest that whether you are a west coast or East coast resident, you depart from California to equipment. Sydney, direct. West Coast clients usually take the Los Angeles to Sydney with United, American, Delta Included: All meals or Qantas and onto Cairns with Virgin Australia or Jetstar. Our flight partners in the US at Exito Travel will be happy to assist you in your requirements. Email them on [email protected] or Days Five to Seven call in toll free at 800 655 4053. Please call our US office, for any help and advice regarding your We challenge rapids like Bikpela, BARAAHP flights on 303 261 8896. (Between a Rock and a Hard Place), Four-Part Harmony, Tombstone, and many more. Visa Requirements - Australia & Papua New Guinea Almost two full days of the trip are packed For most people entering Australia, you may enter with the minimum of formalities, providing that you with Class III and IV drops, with a couple Class have acquired your visa beforehand. British and American citizens require an Electronic Travel Vs in higher water levels. The action is Authority visa which can be applied for online. https://www.eta.immi.gov.au/ETAS3/etas . The charge constant. We’re swept through rainforest and for this is AUD$20 and can be paid for online with most major credit cards. There is no cost for New into narrow gorges. Tributaries pour into the Zealanders to enter Australia. Watut, increasing its size and creating beautiful Entry into Papua New Guinea is relatively straight forward and entry can be obtained at the airport rapids and beaches. We stop at villages to free of charge for UK and American citizens. A valid passport is also required and should have a see firsthand how the locals live, and to talk minimum of six months validity before departing on your journey. You will need at least 2 full pages with the curious locals and buy fresh fruit from in your passport, free of stamps or visas for your trip. them. We visit a pretty waterfall to bathe and swim, and camp on riverside beaches. The Airport Pick-Ups food is great and the scenery never stops. Providing you have sent us your flight arrival and departure details, we’ll collect you from Cairns and By Friday night we have navigated the Lae Airport and transfer you to your accommodation. whitewater and are on a big, slow river. We The Dreaded Jabs row downstream on Saturday to a point where we are met by a motorized dugout. We lash What is a fun raft trip without those lovely big needles that doctors love inflicting us with! We on to the 40-foot long craft and are towed to recommend a full and simple immunization program before embarking on your Papua New Guinea our last campsite not far above the junction of river journey. We are giving you guidelines however we would recommend that you contact your local the Watut with the Markham River. The cruise GP or immunization center, CDC and seek their advice. Bear in mind that some of these jabs or is a relaxing end to our adventure as we medication can take weeks to complete the course correctly so please don’t leave it until the last motor by mud cliffs and riverine forests and minute! We recommend Tetanus, Hepatitis A and Typhoid. We often get asked the situation regarding negotiating snags. mosquitos in Papua New Guinea. Seek the advice of your Doctor, but there are mosquitos present, so usual precautions should be taken with covering up, as well as bug spray. Dysentery, either amoebic Included: All meals or bacterial, can be picked up from the occasional restaurant in Lae, so be careful where and what Day Eight you eat! The standard of hygiene whilst on the river is impeccable and the guides will get on your nerves about as much as your Mum did telling you to wash your hands before you eat.