Expedition Cruising

Carved Papua New Guinea mask

Melanesian magicPh

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www.cruisepassenger.com.au summer 2009 27

Papua New Guinea is a wild, untamed land full of sorcery, magic and bizarre rites and practices. Some tribes are yet to see their first white man. Take this scene, add the 4.5 star rated MV Orion, and you too will fall under the spell.Words and photos: roderick eime

Expedition Cruising

Our beachhead is Fergusson Island, site of

the famous Dei Dei hot springs, just one

of numerous excursions we make during

MV Orion’s 11-night Highland Cultures

expedition along the ‘spine’ of PNG’s mainland.

‘Highland’ because one optional excursion is a charter

flight to Goroka to see the famous mud men.

“Gonna gonna bobbowarna!”

That’s ‘good morning’ in the local language of

the Dobu Islanders in the D’Entrecasteaux Group

just north of Milne Bay and one of more than 700

indigenous languages in this incredibly diverse

country. In response, we are met with broad, beaming

smiles and reciprocal greetings as the Zodiacs nudge

up to the shore.

“Please,” implores Justin Friend, our larger-than-life

expedition leader, “when we get to the springs, stay on

the paths. Do not go wandering.”

Justin’s pleas may sound melodramatic, but the

Dei Dei hot springs are more than hot – they are

boiling. Local urban myth is the story of three boys

who decided to go for a refreshing dip in the crystal-

clear waters, plunged in and were immediately cooked.

Magic and myth abound throughout PNG and

especially within the matrilineal societies of the

D’Entrecasteaux Group, where it is believed the

women are the source of all magic. What little the men

have is closely guarded in sacred ‘blokes only’ rituals.

Yes, I can see heads nodding.

Perhaps this explains why the sacred spirit of the

hot springs is called ‘Seuseulina’. The locals believe

that after a lovers’ tiff, this beautiful woman threw

herself into the boiling spring. By tossing in rocks

and calling her name, the geyser spirit erupts in anger.

“Seuseulina dasurabe udaseura sundine ama oagao

sida ital!” we all shouted as the rocks flew. It took a few

goes, but the geyser sure did erupt.

Tami men perform for Orion passengers

Going ashore by Zodiac

It’s events like this that put the adventure in

adventure cruising and why Papua New Guinea, our

nearest international neighbour (just 150 kilometres

across Torres Strait) is rapidly emerging as an exciting

and enriching expedition cruise destination. Orion,

meanwhile, puts the ‘cruise’ in adventure cruising.

It is a credit to Orion Expedition Cruises in the

way these visits are conducted. Local protocol is

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Expedition Cruising

respected, customs followed and the all members of

the villages welcome us with the sort of genuine and

heartfelt hospitality that has all but run dry in our busy,

cosmopolitan world.

Tami Island (near Finschafen) and the village of

Watam, near the mouth of the mighty Sepik River,

demonstrate a special bond between Orion and the

local communities. To smooth the path, Justin (who

speaks fluent pidgin) had previously submitted himself

to a chief’s initiation ceremony. Photos of him dressed

in the local regalia were gleefully waved about by his

new surrogate family, much to amusement of all.

Orion engages wholeheartedly in the humanitarian

aspects of the journey. Most vessels visiting PNG leave

valuable resources for the local communities such

as school materials, books, simple medical supplies,

clothing and hand tools. The company’s managing

director, Sarina Bratton, dedicated a new schoolhouse

built at Watam exclusively from corporate and

passenger support.

The itinerary culminated at the volcano-ravaged

port of Rabaul. This was my third visit to Rabaul and,

despite a new covered market being built, little has

changed. The constant downpour of gritty volcanic ash

from Mount Tavurvur offers little incentive to clean up.

Readers of Cruise Passenger magazine will be

familiar with the beautiful expedition yacht, MV Orion,

winner of numerous Readers’ Choice awards. This

Samarai Island children

Mud Man at Goroka performance

Japanese bomber wreck, Rabaul Expedition leader, Justin Friend

www.cruisepassenger.com.au summer 2009 29

Luxury Cruising

30 summer 2009 www.cruisepassenger.com.au

Expedition Cruising

See your travel agent, call 13 24 41 or visit www.cunardline.com.au.

T H E M O S T FA M O U S O CE A N L I N E R S I N T H E W O RL D™

highs: Excellent onboard facilities and suites; attentive service; superb menu and wine list; expert expedition staff; sensitive shore excursions; enriching cultural content – and the wonderful, warm and genuine people of PNG. LoWs: Some Zodiac transfers are a bit ponderous; optional excursions can add significant cost to your final bill; some bar items expensive; some included excursions cursory compared to optional offerings.

VesseL: MV Orionstar rating: HHHHtonnage: 4,000 GRTstaterooms and suites: 53max. passenger capacity: 125 totaL creW: 75entered serVice: 2004passenger decks: 5FaciLities: boutique, elevator, gymnasium, hair and beauty,

salon, hospital, internet, Jacuzzi, lecture, theatre, Leda Lounge and cocktail bar, library, marina platforms, mud room, observation lounge, outdoor, café, outdoor bar, reception, restaurant, sun deck, Vega Health Spacost exampLes: house wine $7/glass; Rabaul volcano tour

$75pp; Highland charter flight including lunch $1,300pp; 90-min beauty/spa treatment $145; internet $30/hour.

FACT FILE:

cruise attracted just over 80 passengers (capacity 106)

so we enjoyed an almost one-to-one crew ratio.

Orion Expedition Cruises burst onto the local scene

some four years ago – about the same time as rival

operators. Orion was able to nudge ahead by virtue of

her superior appointments and unchallenged ocean-

going ability. She offers guests a level of luxury and

onboard facilities in line with superior cruise ships,

while still maintaining an expedition persona. A gym,

salon, sauna and fine dining restaurant lift her above

her smaller competitors.

Having said that, her size (100 metres) and tonnage

(4,000 GRT) hinders her slightly and she is unable to

navigate the river systems the smaller vessels can.

Despite the arguments for and against, MV Orion is

the only such vessel to use the rigid inflatable Zodiac

Mk5 tenders in our waters. While certainly robust and

versatile, they are marginally less comfortable and

much slower than the V-hull centre-console aluminium

runabouts preferred by other operators and their low

freeboard means you have to be prepared for some

spray, so keep cameras stowed while in transit.

If you are planning a voyage to PNG, and I hope you

are, MV Orion certainly offers the most comfortable

and luxurious shipboard experience available and her

itineraries are at least on par with all current offerings. n

Dei Dei hot springs

Watem men’s sacred dragon dance