True North Mark's Blog

Here is a short video showing the wonders of the Sepik River and PNG we had over the last 10 days on True North.

A fabulous trip with wonderful people.

Last day in PNG for this year today.
Another great trip with the awesome True North crew and a fabulous group of guests.

Last day on board True North today and fly back tomorrow.
A couple of days ago we were at Tufi which is well known for its diving and we were fortunate enough to be there for their National Day celebrations.
Everyone from around the region paddled in in their dug outs to see the event.
Georgia looked very smart in one of the traditional head dresses.

Here are some more images from the stunning Lucernque Islands area where we spent the day yesterday.
The wreck dive was so good we did it twice and then the sunset drinks on the white sandy beach under the palm trees watching one of the locals show how to start a fire in the traditional way and then smoke the fish we shared with him.

Here’s a few from this morning’s wreck dive.
We believe it was a bulk carrier that fell foul of the numerous shallow reefs that surround this area.
Stunning light with it being a little overcast up top so the video lights and strobes worked a treat!

A great day diving today at 2 new locations. The middle dive was on a deep wall with heaps of fish life and clarity.
The last dive was on the outskirts of a black volcanic island where there had been numerous rock falls into the water recently which made for an interesting vista below.

We did the heli flight up to the Spirit house where they do the crocodile skin initiation for the men of the tribe when they turn 18 as part of a ritual hat turns them into a man.

They are cut all over their bodies with razor blades and the cuts are stuffed with mud and then they recover in the spirit houses next to the fires which we are told helps with the pain.

The net result is the scars resemble crocodile skin, hence their nick name of crocodile men.

We are so privileged to be able to witness such ceremonies first hand and the spirit houses themselves have stories all of their own…stay tuned for those stories!

Fabulous day in the Sepik River yesterday…in fact the best I have seen it yet as it was a bit cooler than previous times and the overcast conditions made for some awesome light in the Stilt village.

Its such a humbling experience to go down the narrow water ways to get to the village and to be greeted so warmly by these wonderful people.

Sunrise in Cairns this morning.

We are now on True North on the way to the Sepik Riverr.

Some interesting clouds caused by a bushfire I would suspect this evening.

This is a 3 layer stitch with the drone.