tours@southseahorizons.com ARBN: 21168524810 PNG IPA 1-111276

Goroka Show Expedition – 2025 Departure Dates

The Goroka Show or Festival is one of the most colourful shows on Earth. It would have to be one of the most vibrant displays of cultural diversity, and it is on Australia’s northern doorstep. More than 100 groups from across the country attend this Eastern Highlands spectacle over three explosive days.

South Sea Horizons runs – Guaranteed Departure Dates for the Goroka Show every year. Please get in touch with us to check on tour availability.

Goroka Show Expedition

Duration: 7 Days / 7 Nights

Tour Inclusions

INCLUDED

  • 7 nights accommodation at Emanuel Lodge Goroka
  • 7 Breakfasts, 7 Lunches, 2 Dinners
  • English speaking local guide
  • All activities as per itinerary
  • Private transportation
  • Entrance fees
  • Sightseeing and permits

NOT INCLUDED

  • International flights Drinks unless otherwise mentioned
  • Visas Travel Insurance Tips
  • Inoculations
  • Items of a personal nature
  • Anything not mentioned in the itinerary

Day 1: Australia – Goroka

Today you will be travelling from your destination through Port Moresby to Goroka. Due to different travel times and schedules, you are required in Goroka on the 13th of September. Our tour officially starts this evening with a welcome reception at the Hotel. Here you will be introduced to your guide who will also go over the next few days’ schedules.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotel (1 night)

INCLUDED ACTIVITIES

Complimentary Airport Arrival Transfer

MEALS INCLUDED

Dinner

Day 2: Asaro Mudman Experience

After breakfast this morning, depart the hotel at 8 am and make your way to a nearby village. Experience a cultural show put on by the Asaro mud men, who are famous for their eerie ceremonial masks and clay-like body paint. According to legend, the tribesmen were once defeated by an enemy clan and forced to hide in the nearby Asaro River. When they emerged covered in the clay, the enemy were scared off by their ghost-like appearance. The mud men adopted the intimidating costuming for subsequent battles.

While in the village, witness a fire-making ceremony, learn the art of fire-making and enjoy a traditional mumu lunch cooked in an earthen pit. Afterwards, take a trip around Goroka with your leader. Get a dose of history at the JK McCarthy Museum, discover how beans are processed at a coffee factory, browse the colourful produce stalls at a local village market, and visit Goroka’s RaunRaun Theatre.

ACCOMMODATION 

Hotel (1 night)

INCLUDED ACTIVITIES

Traditional Mumu Lunch Asaro Valley

Mudmen Village visit

Visit McCarthy’s Museum

A Coffee Factory

RaunRaun Theatre

Local Market

MEALS INCLUDED

Breakfast and lunch

Day 3: Goroka Show

Today is all about the pikini’s – the children of PNG’s Eastern Highlands. They’ll be performing traditional song and dance shows as a lead-in to the main festival events tomorrow. Take your camera and enjoy the show.

After the show, we will make our way to a local coffee factory where you will sample some of the coffee we have on offer in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

ACCOMMODATION

Hotel (1 night)

INCLUDED ACTIVITIES

Goroka – Goroka Show (3 days)

MEALS INCLUDED

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 4: Goroka Show

Welcome to the annual Goroka Show – Papua New Guinea’s biggest singsing and one of the most important events of the year. Over 100 tribes from around the country come together in a colourful, feather-fuelled celebration of culture, ritual, song and dance. The show originated in 1957, when a group of Australian patrol officers – known locally as ‘kiaps’ – invited tribes in their areas to gather in song and dance.

After your local guide has shown you around the show grounds, you’ll be free to wander from performance to performance in your own time.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotel (1 nights)

INCLUDED ACTIVITIES

Goroka – Goroka Show (3 days)

MEALS INCLUDED

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 5: Goroka Show

Welcome to the annual Goroka Show – Papua New Guinea’s biggest singsing and one of the most important events of the year. Over 100 tribes from around the country come together in a colourful, feather-fuelled celebration of culture, ritual, song and dance. The show originated in 1957, when a group of Australian patrol officers – known locally as ‘kiaps’ – invited tribes in their areas to gather in song and dance.

After your local guide has shown you around the show grounds, you’ll be free to wander from performance to performance in your own time.

ACCOMMODATION

Hotel (3 nights)

INCLUDED ACTIVITIES

Goroka – Goroka Show (3 days)

MEALS INCLUDED

Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Day 6 - Bride Price Ceremony

Brides Price Ceremony

Activity: Brides Price Ceremony
Accommodation: Bird of Paradise

Meals – Breakfast – Lunch – Dinner

This morning, during breakfast, you’ll have the chance to meet with your guide who will outline the day’s activities. It’s important to be aware that, due to the diverse denominations of Christianity in Papua New Guinea, Seventh Day Adventists observe their day of rest on Saturday. Today, our journey takes us to Henganofi, where we’ll be warmly welcomed by the village chief.

Nestled amidst the stunning backdrop of the Goroka highlands, Henganofi presents a lush landscape where we will witness the Brides Price ceremony, a profound expression of cultural heritage. This ceremony is a vibrant tapestry of dances, songs, and rituals, each element resonating with the spirit of tradition and community.

As we delve into the ceremony, you’ll gain insight into the symbolic meanings embedded within. The exchange of gifts, the significant gestures of unity and respect, and every detail of the ceremony are imbued with deep cultural importance. This experience offers a unique opportunity to learn about enduring traditions that have woven the fabric of families and communities together for generations.

Day 7: Farewell, Not Goodbye

Today we say goodbye for now and we travel back to Port Moresby where we will connect to our various homes around the world.

INCLUDED ACTIVITIES

Complimentary Airport Transfer

MEALS INCLUDED

Breakfast

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