Most people approach the Sepik river from the north coast towns of Vanimo or Wewak, or by plane into the airport at Ambunti. If you start from Vanimo, take a PMV south to the town of Green River, just north of the Sepik. From Wewak, take a PMV south to either Angoram or Pagwi. There is also a road to Timbunke, about half-way between Angoram and Pagwi, but this road is reportedly in disrepair and flooded most of the time. The other roads aren’t of great quality either though.
If you’re adventurous, you can also approach the Sepik overland (and over-water) from Madang. From Madang, take a PMV to the coastal town of Bogia, and then about 90mins further by PMV to Boroit or Borai (not sure here), a little village on the Ramu River. From here, take a dingy/banana boat to Watam. This short trip takes you out the end of the Ramu river into the surf, and then north-west along the coastline and to Watam, at the mouth of the Sepik. From Watam you can take a jungle-like boat ride up the Sepik river.
How to get ahead on the Sepik river?
The Sepik river people are reasonably familiar with tourists. You’re not the first. Regrettably a lot of Sepik people don’t think about the future and try to get everything from the white man they have before them. So don’t think that travelling by boat is cheap.
You have two options; either take a public boat or hire one. The public boat option is the best. You’ll just pay the fees like everybody else, no hassle. Unfortunately, sometimes there are no public boats or no passengers (mostly in more remote places). This is the time when you may need to hire the boat. Now things get more complicated. The price of petrol increases substantially the further away you get from the road – up to 30 Kina per gallon in some places. Boat drivers can also ask you for more money – even during the trip when a fixed price has been agreed upon. They might also want to change motors so you’ll go faster, but this also means that fuel consumption goes up. Keep an eye on the drivers when buying fuel, in case they’re tempted to pocket some of the money. Undoubtedly more ways exist. Just stick to your guns when discussing prices, and flatly refuse to give them any more money than the agreed price – otherwise you might become an ATM machine for them during the trip.
Examples when using a public boat to go UP RIVER (down river is cheaper, since the current is quite strong on most of the river).
A public boat from Boroit to Watam (±50km) will cost you 20 kina per person. It takes about 2 hours.
A public boat from Watam to Angoram (±150km) will cost you 50 kina per person. It takes between 4 and 7 hours, depending on the condition of the jungle shortcut, and on how big the motor is.
Examples when hiring a boat
Boat hire is usually 100 Kina per day, before petrol costs. Using a 25cc engine you can go from Angoram to Tambanum (±75km) in about 6 hours for about 400 kina inclusive. We nagged some more (being volunteers) and got the price down to 340 kina. This includes fuel and the rent for the boat.
Going from Angoram to Pagwi (±400km) using a 25cc engine will cost you around 1000 kina inclusive. It will take two full days. Not accounting detours obviously. Using a bigger engine will get you there faster, but will significantly increase the fuel usage, and hence your costs.