Watut rafting & sea kayaking

One EPIC trip checked off my Bucket List. Water By Nature owned by Hamish McMaster has reached a new zenith in adventure travel. My trip to PNG was nothing less than extraordinary. The main thrust of this journey was an exploratory trip down the legendary Watut River which hadn’t been run in about 20 years. So along with Hamish and 4 guides, eight wonderful guests embarked on our trip. We were completely prepared for the unexpected and were not disappointed. The whitewater was spectacular, the villagers were peaceful and plentiful, and the scenery changed from hour to hour. The second part of the trip was a sea kayaking expedition. The ocean was Azure blue and 85-90 degrees. The kayaking was challenging but crazy fun. For the last week of my trip we stayed in luxuriously rustic lodges in the Highlands and Sepik River areas visiting local tribes, villages, clans, sub-clans, and families steeped in traditions from long ago. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe this odyssey.

I joined Hamish and the WBN Team on this trip in 2017, which was the first attempt by a rafting company to raft the Watut in 10 years – we weren’t sure what to expect from the river or the local inhabitants.

We were given a great send off by the local villagers where we put into the river – lots of excitement, with kids running everywhere. It soon became clear that the trip was going to be good, with the river offering some good rapids and the locals being extremely hospitable and allowing us to camp on their land by the riverside during the night.

The WBN team took our safety extremely seriously and we had two experienced kayakers with us, acting as safety team and scouts, to ensure the river was safe for us to go down, with no surprises.

It always rained during the night, so sleeping under the stars was not possible, but the WBN Team were great, cooking some great food and we were great entertainment for the local villagers who seems transfixed with everything we were doing.

The second week saw us sea kayaking – this is not really my thing, but it was enjoyable hoping from island to Island and meeting the communities who lived on each and sharing a meal with them and having a chat around a camp fire.

This is a great trip for anyone for has an adventurous soul..!!!