Kopar Village, Sepik River, Papua New Guinea

Today we anchored at the mouth of the Papua New Guinea’s longest river, the Sepik River.  As we approached the coast of Papua New Guinea, it was fascinating to see such an abrupt and clear line in the ocean where the water flowing from the Sepik, rich in organic matter, pushed its way out into the clear ocean water.

Our visit today was to Kopar Village, where several nearby villages combined their efforts to perform a great show of traditional dances.   Upon arrival we walked between two rows of men with colorful (and large) canoe-shaped headdresses.  While we waited for all the passengers to get ashore, we could wander around and look at the handicrafts for sale.  A group of school children stood with amazing patience until all was ready and the performances could begin with the children singing the national anthem.  After that the amazing dragon dance began, followed by a series of different dances from some different villages or groups.

For us it was one of the high points of the journey, as the dances were fascinating and the costumes colorful and elaborate, adorned with shells, beads, feathers and all sorts of things — even a toy koala.

There was a wonderful overall festive air.  The locals had lots of crafts to sell.  Families from nearby came to enjoy the performances and gawk at the sweaty foreigners.