argonauts of the western pacific - The Last Tuesday Society

‘Argonauts of the Western Pacific’ An Expedition to Papua New Guinea’s Remote D’Entrecasteaux Islands & The Kula Ring

10^th – 21^st January 2027 – 11 nights £3300 – excluding fights – email Viktor Wynd – [email protected] for more details

Join Viktor Wynd on his 15^th New Guinea expedition to The D’Entrecasteaux Islands, one of the remotest least visited parts of Papua New Guinea. This will be a true voyage of exploration & adventure off the beaten track, far, far from the modern world. In 2019 we went to The Trobriand Islands (Malinowski’s Islands of Love) and learnt about The Kula Ring – made famous in Bronislaw Malinowksi’s 1921 book ‘Argonauts of The Western Pacific .’ The Kula ring spans 18 island communities of the Massim archipelago, and involves thousands of individuals. Participants travel at times hundreds of miles by canoe in order to exchange Kula valuables, which consist of red shell-disc necklaces (veigun or soulava) that are traded to the north (circling the ring in clockwise direction) and white shell armbands (mwali) that are traded in the southern direction (circling counterclockwise). If the opening gift was an armband, then the closing gift must be a necklace and vice versa. The exchange of Kula valuables is also accompanied by the trade in other items known as gimwali (barter).

We will travel by boat and visit remote island communities, staying in village houses or tents, eating delicious local seafood, meeting locals and exploring the islands on foot and by boat, researching local beliefs and practices.

The expedition ends at a wonderful dive resort offering the opportunity to extend the trip for some word class diving, snorkeling or just relaxing in comfort!

Highlights

Skull caves –
– Kula Exchange demonstrations
Garden tours, sago making, basket and mat weaving
– snorkelling on some of the worlds finest coral reefs
Dolphins, lobsters and turtles
Trekking through the rain forest

Canoe making

Traditional singing, dancing and feasting
– waterfalls & Hot springs
Birdwatching – we will have an expert bird guide with us and for those interested in seeing birds of paradise such as Goldies & the Curl Crested Manucode, Papuan Frogmouth, Hornbills, parrots, boobies, Bare Owlet-nightjars – please contact us for more details
Traditional mumu – pig feast
World Class Scuba diving at Tiwali Resort
Village life

Here is the tentative tour itinerary for the proposed D’Entrecasteaux Island trip.

10^{th – 21st} January 2027 –

Day 1. Arive Alotau by plane, bus transfers to the wharf side to board the charted boat and travel Goodenough Island.

Day 2. GoodEnough/ Amphlets Island.

Day 3. Amphlets Island

Day 4. Amphlets/ Tewala Island

Day 5. Tewala/ Ferguson Island.

Boat hire finishes here. We will continue by high powered motorised dinghy.

Day 6. Ferguson Island

Day 7. Ferguson Island.

Day 8. Ferguson/Normanby

Day 9. Normanby Island