Papua New Guinea Through the Lens

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If you're one of those travelers who believes a picture really is worth a thousand words...have we got a trip for you!
 
A Boulder, CO company called Asia Transpacific Journeys can take you to one of the most photogenic places in the world - Papua New Guinea. Here, where the tropical rainforests and lagoons are splashed in brilliant hues, and the native life still revolves around colorful ancient traditions, the opportunities for photographers to immortalize special places or special moments are endless. This June, Asia Transpacific Journeys will be taking photographers - both accomplished and novice - on a twelve-day journey into the heart of this land of deep jungle and unwalked beaches and volcanoes and mysterious peoples.
 
The trip will be led by renowned photographer Michele Westmorland, whose work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic Traveler and Smithsonian. Westmoreland will offer advice on lighting and composition, and will facilitate once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities with the locals, many of whom are long-time friends. (In a land of deep tribal and clan affiliation, connections are everything!)
 
Westmorland, for all practical purposes, is a clan member - she's been here 27 times.
 
This "Through the Lens" trip will explore the furthest reaches of Papua New Guinea, accessing remote tribes in which the 21st-Century - or, for that matter, the 10th Century - hasn't yet arrived. You'll see residents hunting and fishing from dugout canoes. You'll join locals at a sing-sing (festival) in the isolated village of Wahgi, where residents will compete with members of other clans to see who has the best body décor. A sing-sing is the traditional Papua New Guinea ceremony, and one that few outsiders ever see. And the sounds of beating drums and rhythmic chanting will remain with you long after you've left the village.
 
The trip will take you through three distinct eco-systems - forest, highland, and coastal. It will transport you on a trip down the mysterious Sepik River, past sacred spirit houses. You'll see performances of tribal arts and traditional warfare. You'll spend a day sea kayaking on the iridescent turquoise waters of a coastal paradise called Tufi. You'll visit - and interact with - villagers in places that are not found on the usual tourist itineraries.
 
At Kumul Lodge, altitude 8,900', you'll enjoy panoramic views of jungle and mountains, and you'll get up-close-and-personal with brilliantly-colored birds of paradise such as the ribbon-tailed astrapia...sometimes right on your own balcony! Near Mt. Hagen, you'll visit a coffee plantation surrounded by 14,000-foot peaks, and tiny villages where life is still governed by ritual, spirits, and magic. At Uramanoa Fjord, there are three spectacular waterfalls. One of them cascades down 350 feet into a pristine rain forest. Another falls straight into the fjord. And the third roars over a 30-foot drop--behind which there's a cave in which a family lives.
 
Another day, there'll be a boat ride through the jungle-fringed waterways of the Karawari River, where you'll glide past boatmen paddling dugout canoes adorned with fanciful crocodile masks. You'll stop at a village where you can see artisans crafting totem poles, drums, and textiles. (Yes, you'll have a chance to purchase them!) And you'll stay at comfortable mountain lodges with every amenity - in the middle of prehistoric wilderness.
 
This is truly a "bucket-list" trip, a sensory immersion into a land with intense sounds, shapes, colors, and smells, along with perhaps the most ancient and traditional village life on Earth. And it's a chance to learn - or improve - your photography with someone who knows the lay of this land. And who knows the ways of this craft.