Trip Reports

Wilhelm and Giluwe Trip Report 2023

Written by Leader Chris Groves (Chris Groves), June 2023

We went looking for adventure in Papua New Guinea and we found it! The fun started in Singapore when our overnight flight to Port Moresby was delayed, meaning we got a comfy hotel bed downtown. Unfortunately, this resulted in us missing our onward flight to the highlands, so we gained another unplanned hotel night in the capital. Ultimately, we arrived in Mt Hagen reasonably refreshed 24hrs late to be met by guide/cook Joshua and driver Andrew. Lunch quickly followed with a meeting with our host Pym who asked if we would like to see a “housecry”, a funeral in his village. This trip is as much about the cultures as it is about the mountains, so we said yes. Mark, our final team member who’d arrived on time the previous day would meet us there.

Feeling a bit awkward we were welcomed by a sea of smiling faces and encouraged to take lots of photos. Reluctantly, I was also required to address the crowd, something definitely not in the itinerary! 15 minutes up the road and we arrived at Magic Mountain Lodge, our base for the first half of the trip. Surrounded by dense forest and a tidy garden with plenty of sounds, it really did feel like we were a long way from home. Even more so when a Bird of Paradise flew by.

Our acclimatisation hike on Mt Hagen turned out to be quite the challenge. A narrow, steep, muddy trail required full concentration with each step. Everyone slipped at some point on the 4 hour climb out of the forest to gain the grasslands higher up at c.3300m. We couldn’t have managed without our local guides led by Samson clearing the way with his machete. It already felt like we were proper explorers.

By contrast our next adventure was cultural, visiting 3 very different groups, the Mudmen with their heavy clay masks that were more like full face helmets, the very entertaining and colourful Hulu Wigmen and finally the Skeleton People who were said to have lived in caves and protected young children when their parents were away in the forest.

A predawn departure and a 2 hour bus journey, picking up local guides on the way saw us at the Giluwe trailhead and a crowd of porters looking for work. Leaving the chaos behind the team set off into the forest. After a couple of hours we emerged into the open grasslands (or bog - think Scotland with occasional tree ferns and other exotic vegetation). Although never steep the walk into our base camp took a further 3:30 hours. Settling into tents for a rest the weather followed its usual pattern of rain from late afternoon into the evening. Meanwhile the army of porters and hanger-ons huddled in very smokey basic shelters.

Head guide Stanley led the way just before sunrise up a series of ridges to the head of the valley. Turning right there was no easily visible route up what looked to be very steep terrain to the summit. The route turned out to be very intricate, often exposed with some scrambling on rock but primarily muddy steep steps of widely varying heights. On the steepest sections there were chains but more importantly the local guides were always in the right place at the right time to offer assistance and prevent a slip. 3 hours after leaving camp the whole team stood together on the top.

Our descent back to camp took almost as long as the climb as pretty much every step required careful consideration. Thankfully the skies cleared and we had great views up to where we’d been. After a quick lunch we trekked all the way back down to the road, retracing our route up. Nobody seemed too disappointed not to be camping for another night. Although a long day, we were safely back at the lodge just after dark to enjoy a great chicken curry.

A spot of bird watching at another lodge filled half our bonus rest day followed by a Mumu dinner – created using a technique where stones are heated in a fire before being buried underground with food wrapped traditionally in banana leaves, although Pym insisted tin foil was better for us! A memorable way to celebrate Neil’s birthday and bring to a close the first half of our PNG adventure.

Part 2, Mt Wilhelm is a 4-hour jeep ride way. The first 3 hours being on a proper road passing tea and coffee plantations before the last hour of climbing up a rough 4wd track. Thankfully our expert drivers delivered us to our next host Betty without incident.

Betty’s lodge is like staying in someone’s house surrounded by spectacular gardens, vegetable plots and unexpectedly a trout farm. Betty is quite the business woman even if she is missing a trick by not charging for the satellite internet she’s recently installed. With her in charge there was no chaos of excess porters or guides, just the exact number we required. Timings on Wilhelm are the opposite of Giluwe with a short walk-in followed by a longer summit day. 3hrs saw us at the huts that would act as our base camp. Cook Stephanie surprised us all with an excellent supper created with very limited resources on a basic gas stove before we tried to get some rest ahead of an early start.

Departing at 0200 in cool but not cold temperatures we walked along the lakeside before climbing steeply up, continuing up above the second lake that remained hidden in the darkness below. Onwards and upwards, generally less steep, we continued as dawn broke. The trail weaved its way over cols and around several rock spires offering numerous false summits. Finally, after a crawl under a boulder and little scramble up we arrived just below the summit structure sheltering from the strong winds. Summit photos proved a bit tricky as the area is small, the wind was strong and the sun was still low at 0730. We had celebratory jelly babies all round before starting the long descent.

In the light there was much to see on the way down, not just the views but still trying to work out where the trail went. But it’s still a long way and as before, every step required concentration. I had thought that Betty’s recommendation of 1:1 guiding was unnecessary, but this did mean people could walk at their own pace and didn’t need to rush. The team finally reassembled back down at the lodge 14 hours after leaving the basecamp huts. Quite a day, but extremely satisfying to have everyone successfully reach the highest point in PNG.

Our adventure wasn’t quite finished. Overnight rain and reports of tribal fighting raised questions as to whether we would get down the road. Thankfully apart from having to pay some “road money” to a group of road workers so they’d let us through, our return journey was rather uneventful and we made to the rather nice Highlander Hotel. The situation at My Hagen airport the following morning proved to be tense. We learned that several flights had been cancelled that week, some 3 times. Names were read out before people were allowed into the terminal. Although in possession of a boarding pass our departure time came and went. Ian, checking flight radar eventually reported the outward flight was on its way. The “fun” continued. On arrival at Port Moresby our flight out was showing as delayed until the evening meaning we’d miss our connections in Singapore.

Time to replan, a bonus day in Singapore for us and a headache for the office (thanks Tom).

So, an adventure of two halves, two mountains, two amazing hosts, lots of challenges, quite a bit of mud, plenty of amazing fruit and vegetables. Wonderfully friendly and welcoming people, lots of culture and some spectacular birdlife. Just remember to pack your patience!

Huge thanks to Pym and Betty with their respective teams for being so accommodating and looking after us so well and especially to Joshua and Josephine for all the food.

And finally, thank you to the team, Ali, Charlie, Ian, Jonathan, Mark and Neil for treading carefully and going with whatever the adventure threw at us. It was a pleasure.

« Previous report | Next report »

Jagged Globe Newsletter

We publish an email newsletter with trip reports and latest availability, plus features, competitions and general news of our climbing, trekking & skiing activities.