Untamed Wilderness: an Expedition from Papua to Fiji

Sorong (population 200,000) is a coastal city in the eastern Indonesian province of West Papua, 100km south of the Equator, and bordering the Sorong Regency. It is the gateway to Indonesia's Raja Ampat Islands, rich in coral reefs in an area considered the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity. It is also the logistics centre for Indonesia's thriving eastern oil and gas frontier, and a major container terminal. Read more about Sorong, Indonesia

Jayapura is the capital of the Indonesian-administered territory of Papua on the island of New Guinea. It is situated on a bay called Teluk Yos Sudarso, aka Humboldt Bay. The city lies just 32 km west of the border with Papua New Guinea. Read more about Jayapura, Indonesia

Wewak is the capital of the East Sepik province, located on the northern coast of New Guinea, 300 km east of the border with Indonesian province of Papua. The original town lies on a small peninsula, and has spread to the east between the beach and a low coastal range. The airport is on the edge of town further east, and the main wharf juts 450m out into the bay. Read more about Wewak, Papua New Guinea

The Sepik is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, and is Papua New Guinea's equivalent to the Amazon and the Congo Rivers. The 1126 km river flows from the Victor Emanuel Range through an undeveloped catchment to the Bismarck Sea with no delta. Situated in the mystical East Sepik Province on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, the river is central to the everyday lives of the people who live along its banks. Read more about Sepik River, Papua New Guinea

Rabaul is a town on the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. A busy commercial centre, it is situated on Simpson Harbour, a sheltered inlet of Blanche Bay. Almost the entire old town of Rabaul is buried under volcanic ash, the result of a volcanic eruption in 1994, and one is in awe of the scenery, which resembles an alien prehistoric landscape. Read more about Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

Buka Island is the second largest island in the Papua New Guinean province of Bougainville. It is separated from Bougainville by the Buka Passage, a narrow, deep and very fast-flowing tidal channel about 200m wide. The island was occupied by Japan in WWII as evidenced by Admiral Yamamoto's aircraft wreck at Buin. Read more about Buka Island, Papua New Guinea

Njari Island is in the Solomon Island archipelago, to the east of Papua New Guinea. It is a small uninhabited 400m long teardrop that extends along shallow shoals to adjacent small islands. Three kilometres to the SE is the larger Gizo Island with settlements. Read more about Njari Island, Solomon Islands

Honiara, located on the northern coast of the island of Guadalcanal, is the capital of the Solomon Islands, which lie between Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. Pijin is the principal language. The climate is tropical, and while the most pleasant time to visit is winter, July to September, the cooling sea breezes temper the humidity and heat along all coasts year-round. Read more about Honiara, Solomon Islands

Champagne Bay is located to the NE of the island of Espiritu Santo in Vanuatu (New Hebrides until 1980), an island nation located in the South Pacific. The archipelago of Vanuatu lies at the centre of the other island groups Fiji, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands. Espiritu Santo is the largest island in the nation; and its highest peak is Mt Tabwemasana at 1879m. Read more about Champagne Bay, Vanuatu

Ambrym is an island in the archipelago of Vanuatu (formerly known as the New Hebrides) in the South Pacific. It remains volcanically active, with two volcanic cones Benbow and Marum that still rumble away, and smaller vents and fractures that ooze steam and lava. The centre of the island is dominated by a massive 1900 year old 12 km diameter desert-like caldera that hosts multiple craters. Read more about Ambrym Island, Vanuatu

Lautoka is situated on the western side of Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji, and just 20 km north of Nadi. The Fiji archipelago lies just to the western side of the International Date Line. Lautoka is Fiji's second largest city. Read more about Lautoka, Fiji