24 Oct 2022

Exploring Kopar Village and the Sepik River

As the impossibly blue waters start turning brown we know Heritage Adventurer is getting close to our next adventure - the Amazon of New Guinea, the mighty Sepik River. Following a leisurely morning on board we arrive at the enormous churning mouth of one of the world's greatest river systems. At 1,146 kilometres long, this swift-flowing serpentine waterway provides an important thoroughfare and lifeline to the villages dotted along its woven nest of tributaries.

Piling in our Zodiacs we follow the tangled jungle of the river's bank passing clumps of vegetation embarking on their own adventures bound for the Bismarck Sea and new shores as Sea Eagles (one with a freshly-caught fish in its talons), Brahminy, Whistling and Black Kites wheel overhead and Great Egrets patrol the river's edge deftly extracting silvery meals from the murky water.

Buzzing towards Kopar Village, we're greeted at the water's edge by spirited singing and drumming. Once ashore we are treated to the village's traditional Dragon Dance, a ferocious structure decorated with bird feathers from the region including Cockatoos, Hornbills, and Cassowaries, set to the jingle of cowrie shell leg adornments, rhythmic chanting and the hypnotic beat of drums. This was followed by a hilarious theatre performance which elicits screams of laughter from the local children, adults and expeditioners alike.

Following formalities there is the opportunity to explore the unique, local crafts and carvings the people of the Sepik are rightly famous for including totems, masks, carved paddles, modesty gourds, bilum bags and more. Among the first to return to the village, and first expedition ship to arrive in Papua New Guinea, we show our support to the local community by breaking the ship's bank exhausting all Kina on board, as children splash about in small dugout canoes at the river's edge.

An exploration along one of the river's many tributaries was next, our skilled Zodiac drivers navigating the narrow waterways flanked by spiky sago trees, the main plantation Kopar Village, it's an incredible journey into a time forgot landscape as we pass under an endless green canopy.

With our purchases safely back on board Heritage Adventurer, our attention turns to the smoke billowing from the huge pyramidal shape of Manam Volcano in the distance, a reminder of the region's volcanic history. As the sun spectacularly melts into the horizon, it's time for our farewell dinner and celebration of Heritage Expeditions incredible first adventure on board Heritage Adventurer - Indonesian Explorer.

Images © P.Plott, F.Wardle, I.Wilson