Day 5 Tufi Resort

Today, the threatening clouds of yesterday, turned into light rain and then heavy showers.  Sunday at Tufi Resort is Beach BBQ day.  All the guests are taken by boat out of the Fjord and around the point to a lovely little beach area where can swim, snorkel, fish and then enjoy the BBQ lunch.  However with the weather the way it was, the decision was made to have the BBQ lunch back at the resort and after lunch we would board our plane and head back to Port Moresby.
Philip and I had booked ourselves on the morning "Cultural Tour" so that went ahead as planned because we would be back in plenty of time for lunch and our flight.
The tour starts at the Dive Centre below the resort where we boarded the boat that takes us out to sea and then back in to the next Fjord.

Our boat is waiting for us

but first we had to wait for the divers to leave the water.  There is a fantastic wreck, right at the jetty, that divers enjoy exploring.

We passed many villagers on our way along the magnificent Fjord

At our destination we were meet by the locals in their canoes who take us two or three at a time further into the jungle along a narrow stream.  As it was low tide we had to leave the canoe and wade quite some distance through the shallow water to our destination.

Philip and I and one other boarded this canoe for our journey upstream

 As we left the water and walked along the narrow path we were met by two "fierce" warriors who wanted to know whether we were friend or foe.  We assured them that we were indeed friends!

The path that leads to the village

We then walked through an archway where we were showered with flower petals as a welcome to the village.

As we walked along the path there were displays of fire lighting, face tattooing (not real!) and then the elaborately decorated warriors and maidens gave a dance display.  On or way back to the boat the locals had set out their wares for sale.  We bought a bark painting that I will frame as a momento.

By the time we had boarded the boat for our return journey we had become well acquainted with our fellow passengers and chatted amicably on the way home.
We arrived back at the Resort just in time for a delicious BBQ lunch and then it was time to pack our suitcases in readiness for our return flight to Port Moresby. Saying goodbye to Tufi was very hard.  I just loved the place and would return in a heartbeat.

The gang!

Flight check

We had two pilots for our return journey and a different plane but the 45 minute flight was very good despite the cloudy skies.  Back in Moresby at Tony and Linda's lovely apartment we sat around over and few drinks and talked the afternoon away.  That night everyone (apart from Kate and I) went out to dinner at a Thai Restaurant that Philip reported was very good.  In the meantime Kate and I tucked in for an early night in readiness for our flight to Singapore tomorrow morning.