In early 2019, Charlie undertook a two-month journey through the interior of Papua New Guinea. The goal was to traverse from the east coast to the north coast via the country's highest peaks and the longest river, the Sepik. Challenges included dense jungle, monsoon rains, tribal violence, whitewater rapids and crocodiles in some of the world's least accessible places.
The journey was a physical challenge as the only available means of travel in one of the world's last true wildernesses is human-powered. The real interest of the journey, however, was the peoples and cultures encountered along the way. Less than 100 years ago, the ighlands of PNG were thought to be uninhabited. But in the 1930s it was discovered to have over a million people comprising hundreds of different and often-warring tribes. Modernity is seeping into the region but very slowly. What drew me to the country was the ever evolving blend of culturally intact tribal communities with outside technology and ideas. How does a nascent nation strike a balance between tradition and modernity?
In 2023, Charlie returned to Papua New Guinea to retrace much of the original journey, checking in with the remote Highlands communities he had previously visited and learning more about their varied stories and cultures.
The journey was a physical challenge as the only available means of travel in one of the world's last true wildernesses is human-powered. The real interest of the journey, however, was the peoples and cultures encountered along the way. Less than 100 years ago, the ighlands of PNG were thought to be uninhabited. But in the 1930s it was discovered to have over a million people comprising hundreds of different and often-warring tribes. Modernity is seeping into the region but very slowly. What drew me to the country was the ever evolving blend of culturally intact tribal communities with outside technology and ideas. How does a nascent nation strike a balance between tradition and modernity?
In 2023, Charlie returned to Papua New Guinea to retrace much of the original journey, checking in with the remote Highlands communities he had previously visited and learning more about their varied stories and cultures.
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