Papua New Guinea: Featuring the Goroka Show

Arrive in Papua New Guinea

Board the group flight in Brisbane, Australia to Port Moresby. Meet your guide at Jacksons International Airport, Port Moresby, and enjoy a fabulous lunch at the Gateway Hotel before catching your transfer flight to Oro Province and Tufi. Often described as "Scandinavia of the Tropics," you'll be amazed by Tufi's soaring tropical fjords as you settle in at Tufi Resort. Gather for a cocktail and a full briefing, then savor a welcome dinner surrounded by masks, sculptures, and carvings depicting village life in Papua New Guinea.

Explore Tufi's Waterfalls & Fjords

After a short boat ride down the coast, follow a goat track through thick untouched rainforest to the beautiful Boulders Waterfall. The sparkling waters of the rainforest cascade down either side of a huge boulder into a rock pool, where you can cool off with a refreshing swim. Enjoy lunch and then take a relaxing cruise through the stunning fjords — rich with breathtaking flora and fauna. Sit back and have a drink (there is an on-board bar) while the captain shares insights into the area's remote villages. Return to the resort for dinner.

Cultural Wonders of Tufi

This morning, take a McLaren Harbour cultural boat tour into one of the fjords. Here you will meet local villagers, board their traditional outrigger canoes, and head up river — deep into the inner reaches of the fjord. A rainforest walk takes you to a sacred area, where villagers share knowledge of bush medicines, fire making, mat making, traditional tattooing, and the use of sago in pancakes and puddings. After paddling back, enjoy a famous Sunday BBQ luncheon on beautiful Komoa Beach.

Journey from Tufi to Rabaul & Kokopo

Board an early-morning flight from Tufi back to Port Moresby, then check in for the flight to Kokopo. Kokopo literally rose from the ashes after Rabaul was flattened by the ever-rumbling Mt Tavurvur, which forms a dramatic backdrop to the bay. On the drive to the hotel, see vast plantations of coconut, cocoa, and balsa wood that line the road in this ultra-fertile region. Then check in at the top-rated Kokopo Beach Bungalow Resort, overlooking Saint George's Channel and Blanche Bay.

Village Stay in the Duke of York Islands

Head out of Simpson Harbour, along the edge of the smoking volcano (Mt Tavurvur), and dock at Little Pigeon Island for a snorkel in the coral gardens and a picnic lunch on the beach. Next, cast off Western ways and be prepared to live the life of a South Sea Islander in the idyllic Duke of York Islands! Sleep in a thatched bungalow, experience traditional village life, and learn skills from locals — from cooking in ground ovens to paddling outrigger canoes. It's an unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime experience.

See the Spectacular Baining Fire Dancers

Wake for a trip to the beautiful island garden of Kabakon, from where you will cruise back to the luxury bungalows in Kokopo. Later, take in the sights of Rabaul, Mt Tavurvur, local museums, and the Rabaul Volcano Observatory. There is plenty for war-history buffs too. A special treat is in store tonight: performances by the spectacular Baining fire dancers. These masked dancers don't just walk on coals — they attack the roaring fire with kicks and thrusts to create the sparks that emulate the volcanoes of the surrounding area. Be amazed!

Cultural Exploration in Port Moresby

Fly back to Port Moresby and transfer to the Gateway Hotel, our base for exploring the city. First, take is a guided walk in Port Moresby Nature Park, the nation's leading botanical and native zoological park and garden, and then explore the National Museum & Art Gallery — showcasing the history and national heritage of New Guinea. Visit PNG's Parliament House, built in the distinctive Sepik-style, and learn about Melanesian politics. Dinner tonight is at your leisure.

Encounter the Legendary Asaro Mudmen

Goroka is a bustling provincial capital and home to the annual Goroka Show, one of PNG's most famous and exciting tribal gatherings and cultural festivals. Perfectly timed by MT Sobek, you will arrive in Goroka on the eve of the two-day festival! After touching down, transfer to the hotel for lunch and then explore the Asaro Valley. Here you will find the legendary Asaro Mudmen and witness them theatrically re-create battles in their distinctive clay masks.

Experience the Goroka Show

Rise early to witness the excitement as over 1,000 Goroka Show participants from 70 tribes prepare for the highly anticipated annual event. Return to the hotel for breakfast before venturing to the showgrounds to watch the groups enter. Your special-access ticket gets you up close with performers before the crowds arrive. Dazzling preparations continue for hours as villagers from across the country jostle to enter the performance area. The sights, sounds, and diverse cultural performances of this two-day sing-sing are truly astounding.

Marvel at the Goroka Show

Celebrate the final day of the Goroka Show and see hundreds of performers vie for the show's best cultural performance title. The extraordinary sounds, kaleidoscope of colors, and electric enthusiasm of the performers and spectators are simply incredible. Later this afternoon, leave the festival and venture out to a nearby village, replete with picturesque suspension bridge, to see what contemporary life holds for the modern highlander. Enjoy a farewell dinner at the hotel tonight.

Depart for Port Moresby & Brisbane

Enjoy a farewell breakfast before traveling to the airport in Port Moresby, where we'll catch our connecting flights to Brisbane and beyond.