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EcoVitality |
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ECOTOURISM IN PAPUA
NEW GUINEA
SUMMER 2001
Incredible, Exotic Papua New Guinea
Where the mountainous terrain, steep valleys, and dense forests isolated many clans, leading to creation of more than seven hundred separate languages, one quarter of all human languages;
Where fertile volcanic soils, ample rainfall, and a tropical climate combined to create remarkably lush vegetation and enabled the evolution of seven-percent of the world's biodiversity in a country about the size of Spain;
Where hundreds of species of colorful birds, including the famous Bird of Paradise and Bower Bird, and hundreds of butterfly species, including the world's largest, make PNG a paradise indeed for naturalists;
Where many cultures rich in myths and magic inspired the research of famous anthropologists, such as Margaret Mead and Bronislaw Malinowski;
Where there are still remote areas with cultures, geography, and ecological resources that have barely begun to be studied by scientists and have never been visited by tourist groups.
The Numba Hill Area on the Managalas
Plateau
EcoVitality is offering private group trekking tours on the Managalas Plateau in summer, 2001, the first ecotourism visits ever allowed by the clans living on the Plateau. The villagers have agreed to welcome our clients to their lands and homes as a result of the conservation and development projects EcoVitality is implementing in cooperation with the local communities. Our goal is to provide a unique experience for trekkers and to use the resulting revenues to preserve the bountiful environment of the Plateau.
The trekking tours will provide financial support for the integrated conservation and economic development projects EcoVitality is operating on the Managalas Plateau. We will, for example, be helping one clan establish a fruit-drying business, helping a second clan market their annual harvest of Okari nuts, helping a third group set up a limited, sustainable timber cutting venture, and helping several clans market their coffee crop, which is now the people's major source of income. All ten primary clan groups on the Plateau have agreed to share the income from tour employment, food sales, and campsite usage fees though each tour itinerary cannot visit all areas of the Plateau. In return for these new economic opportunities, the villagers' Community- Based Organizations and village elders have committed to prohibiting any commercial logging while using their forest and biodiversity resources sustainably in consultation with our staff and various scientific experts we intend to bring to the Plateau from time to time.
The Managalas Plateau is the habitat
of Queen Alexandra's Birdwing,
the world's largest butterfly with an 11-inch wingspan
The Managalas Plateau supports several
thousand villagers in about 100 sub-clan groups who live in small communities with
distinctive cultural traditions. The region also has extraordinary biodiversity,
with habitats ranging from Alpine heaths at 13,000 feet in the nearby mountains to
abundant lowland rainforests. The area has never
been commercially logged and agricultural activities involve small-scale gardens and
orchards rather than large farms. Our trekkers will hike through primeval forest
landscapes and then rest in secluded glades or well-maintained villages.
The verdant, corrugated landscape of the Managalas Plateau presents many outstanding vistas and scenic locales that can only be reached through trekking. For example:
The route from Goro to Natanga passes through the "Seven Steps," an area with seven climbs and descents that require crossing six rivers;
The hike up to the well-maintained village of Umbunware, sitting on a ridge, offers 360- degree views of the forests below and mountains in the distance;
The summit of Numba Hill offers breathtaking views of forests and grasslands in every direction, and the descent from Numba to Aputwara leads to several waterfalls, varied species of orchids, and likely encounters with Birds of Paradise;
The high point of the tour will be a climb up Mt. Lamington as close to the 5200 ft. summit as weather and trail conditions safely permit. Mt. Lamington is a semi-dormant volcano on the northern border of the Plateau that in 1951 erupted with enormous force, killing around 3000 people and leaving another 8000 homeless. Since that time, the volcano has been inactive except for occasional shaking and emitting clouds of steam.
Managalas Plateau PHOTO GALLERY
TOUR PRICES
The tours are designed to fit into two weeks plus an adjacent week-end, including the several days necessary to fly from the USA to Papua New Guinea and return. Many potential clients cannot take a longer period of time away from their employment. For people who can visit PNG for a longer time, other side-excursions can be arranged with sufficient advance notice.
TOUR PRICES: The cost of the 16-day tours is $4500 per person for 4 or 5 people or $4000 per person for groups of 6 to 8 people, plus international airfare. This differential is necessary to cover the fixed cost of the chartered air flights to the Managalas Plateau and the salaries of our guides, cook, and porters.
REQUIRED DEPOSIT: $1000 is due upon booking, and the balance will be due sixty days before the beginning of the applicable tour dates. We cannot hold places on any tour without the appropriate deposit. See the Terms and Conditions below for a description of our trip cancellation fees.
CLIENT SAFETY: The Managalas Plateau villagers have a major stake in the success of the EcoVitality tours because they will benefit directly from employment as guides and porters, from usage fees for campsites, from sales of locally produced food, and from substantial development assistance. EcoVitality staff have reached agreements with the villagers on various development and conservation projects, as well as on the conditions necessary for the trekking tours. For these reasons, we believe local villagers have strong personal and group incentives to protect the safety and health of our clients. Moreover, the Managalas Plateau villages still retain their traditional cultures and leadership hierarchies, and the Plateau is consequently among the safest regions in the country.
Premium Trekking Tour Features
EXCLUSIVITY:
Become one of the first trekkers in the world to experience our tour itinerary this year, the first tourist groups ever to visit the Managalas Plateau. The carefully-chosen trekking routes will be limited to our clients by agreement with the villages benefiting from EcoVitality's integrated conservation and development program.
For environmental and cultural reasons, we will take no more than 8 clients per tour and we will operate no more than 5 private group tours per year. We must have a minimum of 4 clients per tour.
COMFORTABLE TOUR ARRANGEMENTS:
We can arrange private or group consultations on appropriate equipment and clothing with American Terrain Outfitters, the leading mountaineering and trekking outfitter in the New York metropolitan area.
We will provide accommodations in one of the best hotels in Port Moresby, the capital and site of the international airport, for the nights before and after the trekking tours.
Our clients will travel to and from the Managalas Plateau by specially chartered air flights.
We will employ professional cooks on the treks who normally serve as chefs at PNG restaurants or resorts.
Meals will consist of the highest-quality PNG foods and imported American foods not available on the Managalas Plateau.
We will offer tea breaks with snacks on the trail, as well as three full meals each day at the campsites.
Our staff will be trained to ensure high-quality hygiene in food preparation.
We are hiring one porter for each client’s baggage in addition to porters for carrying group equipment and food.
We are providing roomy campsite
shelters and rest houses along the treks
in structures built especially for our tours by the nearby villages.
Our porters will carry high-tech deluxe tables and chairs that will be assembled at each campsite for client comfort.
Each client will use a ThermaRest Deluxe self-inflatable mattress.
For privacy and comfort, we will set up portable enclosed showers and pit toilets at the campsites.
Our staff will provide laundry service on the trail.
To protect the beauty of these areas and their ecological integrity, we have adopted a carry-it-in, carry-it-out policy for all garbage and solid wastes.
We will distribute extensive information packets to our clients, including lists of equipment and recommended personal items, vaccinations and other medical considerations, information on PNG visas and air travel arrangements, meal descriptions and forms for indicating individual food preferences, and other relevant material. Do not hesitate to ask us for additional information if you are uncertain about any aspect of our tours.
For additional information, please contact:
or call 212-966-8803
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please read these Terms and Conditions carefully! They contain essential information on our Booking Procedures, Cancellation Fees, Physical Fitness Requirements, Medical Emergency Procedures, and the Comprehensive Liability Waiver Provisions. This material makes clear that personal fitness and personal safety are the responsibility of individual clients.
To make Bookings now for specific tour dates, please fill out the Booking Form on the Terms and Conditions Web Page.
A typically neat village on the
Managalas Plateau
Thank you for considering EcoVitality's private group trekking tours in Papua New Guinea and the support they are providing for conservation and rural development in this extraordinary country. To learn more about EcoVitality programs and our projects in other areas, please click on the arrow below.
Most photos on this page have been provided by Russell Collier, a participant in the Managalas Plateau Mapping Project. All rights are reserved by Mr. Collier, who may be contacted at: swat@mail.bulkley.net Nancy Sullivan provided the shots of the villagers in traditional costumes and the dark PNG rainforest. The butterfly photo is from the collection of the Australian Museum in Sydney.
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