09/07/2019 to 14/07/2019 - Kokopo / New Britain / Papua New Guinea

Early in the morning we went back to the airport to fly towards the island world. We landed in Rabaul in the East New Britain province on the island of New Britain on time at 12.30 p.m. We were supposed to be picked up from the airport here. After a phone call asking where someone was, we were told that there was a misunderstanding and it was assumed that we would not land until 4.30 p.m. It took about half an hour for someone to arrive. Okay, we waited. After three-quarters of an hour, the woman from Europcar arrived, who had our guest house provider on the phone. He did not have a car available at the moment and sent a taxi. That should be there soon. Soon meant after three-quarters of an hour. We finally got into the car and drove from Rabaul to Kokopo. The driver did not know exactly where he had to go and picked up two more employees of the accommodation on the way. But finding the employees also required driving up and down the road three times. Now that everyone was in the car, we left the city. The roads became narrower and the holes bigger. According to googlemaps, the accommodation is only a few meters from Kokopo. After half an hour we were in the small town of Wairiki. However, we drove further into the jungle and the roads could no longer be called roads. The holes were so deep that our car got stuck in them. After a 20-minute struggle, we managed to get it out again, but our driver refused to continue driving. We drove back to a street junction. There is a turning point for the so-called PMV's, the public transport in Papua New Guinea. We were now waiting for two more guests to arrive. The two arrived in a four-wheel drive vehicle, so we all changed to that. After another half an hour of driving and terrible road conditions, we finally arrived at about 5 p.m. The accommodation is an eco lodge where the whole family works. It is beautifully situated, surrounded by greenery, with simple bungalows, an outhouse and a bucket shower. The family is very warm-hearted and has prepared a welcome ceremony for us, in which traditional dances were performed. We experienced a lot more of that in the next few days. From July 10th to 14th, the Warwagira & Mask Festival took place in Kokopo. The start was already at 5 a.m. So on July 10th, we left at 3 a.m. to experience the arrival of the Duk-Duks with their boats on the beach on time. Duk-Duk is a secret society that represents a part of the traditional culture of the Tolai people living here. The society has its own secret signs, rituals and festivities and pursues religious and political goals. A Duk-Duk is a mysterious figure dressed in leaves. At the beginning of the Mask Festival, the Duk-Duks arrive with their boats on the beach of Kokopo at sunrise. Some tourists and locals have already watched this spectacle so early in the morning. It was supposed to continue at 9 a.m. on the festival grounds. We were there on time to get good seats. And we did. Tourists are even allowed to sit on the stage to be able to see everything. We now waited on our great seats until 10 a.m. and then the program slowly started with the different ethnic groups, traditional dances and songs. The Baining Fire Dance group gave a hot finale in the evening of the first day. The program was supposed to start at 8.30 a.m. in the next few days. So we got up early in the morning and took the public PMV's on the long and bumpy road to Kokopo to not miss anything from the program. Most of the time, the transports worked out quite well. But what we could completely rely on every morning was that the program did not start before 10 a.m. Patience is really required here. Nevertheless, we were able to see great performances with traditionally dressed locals every day. On the last evening in our accommodation, the complete family of about 50 people gave a touching farewell ceremony with singing and dancing.