A River's Smile

With Michael Fischer @ Angoram Sepik River 2019

Sepik River is strong, majestic, and yet humble. We arrived in Angoram to get a sense of why the Sepik River adorns itself with the splendor of natural beauty.

We drove through the Angoram township, passed the market, and down to the jetty. Angoram town was not the glory of its past, but a forgotten reminder of what used to be the busy town with a hive of activities along the big River.

We stood by the Sepik River for our prized pictures. The jetty had a woman and children under it, probably washing clothes and swimming. We watched the debris and flotsam float downstream by the power of the Sepik.

The jetty area was empty except for a man next to a dinghy waiting for his passengers. He threw suspicious glances at us, but did not offer to give us a tour.  Then he did the most ridiculous thing. He started the engine of the dinghy and headed towards the area where there was a lot of people. Soon after a group of them approached us as if to ask us about our reason for being there.

We immediately assessed the situation as a hostile one. Daniel and I quickly got everyone in the vehicle and drove out of Angoram. We had a sense that we were about to be robbed off our belongings and equipment. Our sense of the situation probably saved us all from the opportunists who came in a group to see us.

Kanduanum @ Middle Sepik

Once out of Angoram we headed into the Turubu Rubber plantation. It started to rain as we drove through the plantation. We just sat in the comfort of the Land cruiser as we burnt the hours through the plantation. At the end of the plantation  we took a turn to drive over to the waterfront site at Kanduanum where there is a heavy logging operation along the river. Here we had a more welcoming response to our presence from people there. Most people here did not seem to mind our presence there.

It was relieve to have a warm reception. Our goal was to get to Tambunum to see a men’s ceremonial house. It turned out to be a lost opportunity because it was raining and the road was in a poor condition for us to go there.

We left the Kanduanum and Tambunum Road and took the Kusaun road back to Wewak. Once we drove passed the rubber plantations it was now through grassland with roads of clay presenting a challenge for drivers to slow down. We drove through with caution and managed to complete the grassland drive.

We took a break at Urimo before we drove passed the Nagum High School and Japarauka, before coming out at the Kusaun market.  It was such a relieve to get back to the Sepik highway.

The trip through the rubber plantations and the Sepik grassland was always on my mind. 

Now that I have made that trip it gives me a sense of appreciation of the great natural beauty that the Sepik has that we can wear with pride if you come from the Sepik. I think we have undervalued the natural splendor and beauty of the Sepik.

Andrew Wiavi, Daniel Hui, Michael Fischer,
and Thorsten Trimmpop at Hawaian River

For me the Sepik has always been a powerful backdrop for much of my poetry as well. The Sepik River has a large body of water because of the hundreds of tributaries that feed it everyday. Nagum River, which starts up in my area empties its content into the Sepik River. We crossed the Nagum River thrice in one day. It is an unbelievable experience to cross the same river three time in a day.

A poem I had written about the Sepik and the Mississippi carries the admiration I have of both rivers.

River’s Smile

I too come from a land of rivers

Where egrets leap and land in marshes

From Hunsten Range into the Bismarck Sea

From Finisterre Range the Ramu slides

Into the Astrolabe Bay of serenity

Into Torres Strait the Fly unwinds

I am not afraid of rivers

As wide and as old as time

I too have heard of Twain

And Hughes speaking of rivers

So alive that silence o long is

In history but with use as we visit

The headwaters of the Mississippi,

I am not afraid of rivers

I too have found the blues

Each day I think of home

I am no afraid of rivers

I too have search high and low

And I found at the bottom

Many a treasure lost in time.

I too have known the joy

Of seeing the river smile.

Writing this poem has been one of the most empowering experiences. It links my poetry to that of Langston Hughes poem “I too have known Rivers” in response to Carl Sandberg's poem on the Mississippi River in the United States. We share the river experience in our poetry.

The brief visit and experience of the Great Sepik River and country fills in the missing link in my life. I too have travelled the world, but always felt that within my own experience there is a treasure of love and beauty kept hidden in plain eye view. We need not go too far as I have to see the golden treasure of our lives.

Old Bridge across the Nagum River 

Yet sometimes we forget that our world is as good as we want it to be. If we are reckless and careless we can lose that golden treasure.

What if there was a skyline that starts in Wewak up to the Tower top at Ulindogu then floats above the canopies of the Prince Alexander mountain range and evens out on the Great Sepik planes before reaching the Mighty Sepik River. That’s the view that will bring out the shinning jewel of our land.

The trip with my friends Thorsten Trimmpop, Michael Fischer, and Daniel Hui  with the escort of Daniel Holonga, my kid brother, and our driver Albert was memorable as we all tried to remain focused on why we made the trip, which was unfulfilled, yet filled with the experience of a lifetime.