The MTS Discoverer set sail at 3pm from Madang and arrived at the mouth of the Sepik River early on the Tuesday morning.  The first village was Mendam located in the Murik Lakes.  The speedboats took us on a wild trip along the "barat" (canal) that leads to the Murik Lakes.  The avenue of mangrove and sago palms was a journey filled with the wonderful birdlife n the area egrets, pied herons and a baron kite were spotted along the way.

 

Here we saw the local people making sago,  This standby stabe is supplemented with mud crabs mussels and fish.  The village people smoke some of their catch for later use.  In Mendam we were welcomed by the friendly people and enjoyed a walk through the village where we watched local craftsmaen making the roofing materuial for the nbearby school.  The youth group entertained us with an amusing drama which illustrated village life and th way some young fellows make fun and tease others in the village.  Those watching had big smiles as the performers acted funny - examples of how they make fun.  The strIng band played in the background and was our first introduction to Sepik music.

On day 3 was a special day when our cruise took us to five locations beginning at the village of Parembei.  A scenic walk to the village gave opportunity for everyone to see the food gardens of cassava, taro, kaukau (sweet potato), yams, juicy watermelons which were later enjoyed later onboard ship.  The visit to the two Haus Tambarans were very spiritual anbd understanding of the significance of these buildings began to be reveealed and the importance to the people explained by the village elders.  We were treated to an impressive demonstration of how the men in this Haus Tambaran communicate to the communities with the use of the "garamut drum" which is crafted from a large log and in this village played with two sticks and two drummers.  The rythymns and beats had us absorbed as it was a unique sound that many had not experienced vefore.  The second Haus Tambaran in the village was also a peasure to see and we again enoyed another Garamut experience.  Many bilums were on sale and many could not resist another colourfulk string bag.  Next we headerd to Yentchen and learnt about the customs surrounding the problem solving of a village and how the orators chair is used to allow the clan members to have their say.  The highlight for many was our third visit to Kanganaman where we saw the largest Haus Tambaran on the Sepik River.  The people and the spiritual feelings here left many of us moved.  A specvial place and 5 garamuts played simutaenously was very impressive conclusion to the visit.

The speedboats tried to take us along a blocked barat, this required hard work by the expereinced crew who stripped and pulled the boats through the blockages.  Whilst the experience was hard on the crew, it was fund and eveyone had smiles on their faces as they drifted along.  The communit had porepared a coconut shell dance.  This was a story about how they chased the rver birds out of the long grasses to catch them for food.  The women were singing and dancing in an excited fashio,  Our guests then boarded the boats to continue the final leg of our journey.

Kopar

At Kopar our last stop for this trip our guests entertained the village people as they tried their hand at paddling a canoe some were more successful than others and Veronica was one lady who did not fall in!

Here we purchased out last artifacts befroe setting sail to Manam were we had our final dinner for the trip.

The  inside story on Sago.

To prepare sago takes many hours.  The sago palm is cut down and then the process of washing is made from the pakm stem that allows for easy washing.  The water runs the colour of tea as it is washed.  This staple food is also presevred and helps to keep the people going during the big floods in the wet season.  At times villages are under water for up two months at this time the sago and fish is the main diet as all the gardens will have been washed away.  Life on the Sepik is a challenge as the rivers personality changes with the seasons.  This picture shows how the women cook the sago pancakes.  Sago tastes quite strange and can be a bit chewy.

On day 3 the speedboat took our group to Tambanam Village which is known for its master carvers and we were not dissappointed, the pathway through the village was a mass of colour and many masks and figures lined the way tempting many to buy.  We were shown fascinating carvings including a large crococdile table, an array of paddles and bowls.  We returned to the "mens Haus" where the face painting was organised.  The artisans worked with 3 coloured clays that were mixed to a paste which they delicately applied in in tricate designs depicting the Sepik spirit of theor ancestors.  The results were sensational, look at me!