Tufi, Papua New Guinea
At first light we are some miles off the coast of the Papua New Guinea ‘mainland.’ There is a bit of wind chop over much of the sea, but where we are the chop is broken by exposed reef and sand… after breakfast this is the site for SCUBA divers and snorkelers.
Here, at Cyclone Reef, the water is warm, crystal clear and full of life. The visibility seems unlimited and the fish species too numerous to count and the show was great for divers on the reef edge, as well as for snorkelers on the reef top.
We return to the Oceanic Discoverer from our water sports at about mid-morning, happy and chatty, heave anchor and set course for the Tufi ‘Fjords’ on the mainland.
These are not real fjords, not hard rock carved by glaciers, rather they were formed by lava flows, ‘like fingers into the sea.’ They are extraordinary just the same, shear cliffs and waterfalls surrounding calm waters and today, decorated outriggers with boys vigorously blowing shell horns, playing out some sort of ritual involving a young woman being led off for sacrifice(?)…okay, some of this is from my own inflamed imagination. Nonetheless, after a short time anything serious became a thing of the past as the youngsters began climbing trees and vines overhanging the water and taunting us while having too much fun.
From the fjord it is a short ride in the Xplorer to Bewame village, a ‘scary’ greeting, a small climb, and we arrive another beautiful village with a short sing sing and much shopping offered.
