Papua New Guinea: Sepik River Cruising
Sepik River is the longest river in Papua New Guinea, and the second longest in the entire Oceania. It was explored by the Germans in the 19th century and was the subject of many legends and lore given the hundreds of local tribes, living here along the river, almost without any previous contact with the western civilization. The river originated in the Papuan highlands and then flows down and meanders through vast lowlands of sago and nipa palm swamps and lagoons with large floating islands. Massive amounts of sediment are carried out into the ocean by the Sepik. The river is navigable for more than 300 miles (480 km) by decent sized ships and barges. Villages with unique cultures and traditions are all along the river, as are vast slots of forests being cut out by mostly Malaysian loggers.
