Fly River Insider
Perhaps my biggest concern for the journey is right at the beginning. The Fly River holds many mysteries for me and I've been sourcing as much information as possible. I asked Andrew Storey to share some insights from his time on the Fly as a biologist. His response, as follows, is precisely what is needed for informed planning.
The Fly River is very do-able! I’ve spent many weeks/months on the Fly in the last 10 – 15 years, so have a reasonable feel for it. In the last 2 -3 years I’ve had about 6 trips on the river, and am familiar with current conditions.
The local villagers will be interested to know what you are doing, perhaps even a little too interested at times. But on the main channel, because it is navigated by a range of craft, you should be OK. If you head off river into oxbows and lagoons you may encounter landowner issues, but usually a few kina will resolve any problems. Not sure where you intend overnighting (~ 800 km from Kiunga to the coast), some villages may rent you a hut, or you could crash at an unoccupied camp along the river. The risk is the land owner coming along and getting disgruntled, but again, a few kina should assist. Malaria is endemic so carry the right gear! Clean water is also not always available, again, be careful. River water is drinkable but is naturally very turbid (with extra sediment from the mine you will need to leave it to settle for a while). Otherwise go onto the floodplain and get water from the lagoons.
As for crocs: I also do a lot of field work in northern Australia and I am MUCH more careful and concerned about crocs in Australia. They are definitely top predator in Australia, but because they are heavily hunted in PNG they are very wary of humans and you seldom see them (at least not from noisy, motorised boats- you may see more from a kayak). As an indication, people/kids swim in the river adjacent to villages and I have never heard of someone being taken. I would be a bit more careful in the estuary, there are more crocs there, but I just spent two weeks in the estuary in November and didn’t see one! The other place you tend to see more crocs is up the Strickland River. This may be because there are fewer people up there and more room for crocs?
The locals all use dugout canoes, although there are an increasing number of dinghies around, and even some motorised canoes. The smaller dugouts are not dissimilar to kayaks it terms of freeboard etc. Canoes are very common and still the main means for transport, and they are used on the main channel and on the floodplain. There is a lot of shipping on the river, mostly copper ships from the mine, but also trade ships and various miscellaneous craft. The wake from these can be a problem sometimes although they are instructed to slow down for villages and for canoes etc. Canoes (& our work punts) do get swamped, so a small risk there.
In the estuary the canoes all have outriggers, and many have mast and sail. The estuary can be pretty rough, especially when the south-easterlies are blowing. They blow directly into the river, and combined with the outflow of the river (6000 m3/sec), you get standing waves and pretty nasty and uncomfortable conditions. Avoid the south-easterlies if possible. Also, beware of the tidal bore on spring tides, can be > 1 m high and can appear from nowhere, so watch out for spring tides in the upper estuary. If paddling around the Gulf the south-easterlies may make things pretty uncomfortable there as well. Crocs may also be more prevalent around the Gulf, not sure.
People down the river speak a range of languages. Tok Pisin will work to about Bosset/Obo, then people either talk a little English, Tok place (local language) or Motu. This last language is what you will encounter around the Gulf, and not much Pisin, if at all. In the estuary last month we mainly used English!
Food will be a problem! Not much available down river. Fish in the river and on the floodplain, barra and bass are the mouth of creeks, and catfish everywhere. A few places have trade stores which may or may not have food (Manda, Bosset, Obo). If stocked you will generally find tinned fish, meat and rice. You should get fruit (bananas, pawpaw) most places. Bosset village, about 30 mins paddle up a channel onto the floodplain, is worth a visit. There is also a mission, aid post, and airstrip there. Obo is also worth a stop. It’s on the main channel – can’t miss it – and also has a mission, airstrip, aid post and trade store. Lastly, Suki has a guest lodge and is 30 – 60 mins paddle up Suki Creek from the river.
Hope this helps.
Andrew Storey has a PhD from the Freshwater Biological Association, UK, with 25 years experience in aquatic ecology. He has worked in the UK, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, East Timor and 20 years in Australia, specialising in the ecology and management of tropical and temperate rivers and wetlands. He is currently an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at The University of Western Australia and Principal Consultant with Wetland Research & Management, a small consultancy specialising in research and management of the ecology of rivers and wetlands. He has authored over 80 project reports and 45 scientific journal articles.
From 1993 – 1995 Dr Storey was the Principal Biologist with Ok Tedi Mining Limited, coordinating biological monitoring and research on the Fly River. Since 1995 he has consulted back to Ok Tedi Mining Limited, and has conducted many research projects on the river, assessing and understanding impacts of the Ok Tedi mine on the ecology of the system. He has published many papers on various aspects of the river system, is currently co-authoring a book on the freshwater fishes of the Fly River with Gerry Allen, and is author of three chapters in a book on environmental issues relating to the Fly River, soon to be published by Elsevier.