Nature Travel Specialistsnature tours & travel, wildlife tours, adventure travel and general travel to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, South America and AlaskaFeatured Product of the Week
Rabaul Mask ShowThere are also less-known traditional events, such
as the Rabaul mask festival, h Important note: there are a few spaces left for the 2005 Rabaul Mask Show departure, but will soon disappear; air connections are also restricted. Please call us as soon as possible to secure your place for this once-in-a-lifetime event.
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mid-July on New Britain. The Mask Festival presents a stunning array
of ceremonial rites and rituals from a variety of unique tribal cultures
indigenous to the islands of the Bismarck and North Solomon Seas,
including the Trobriands and New Ireland. T
he
festival was introduced nine years ago to promote the unique mask
cultures of Papua New Guinea. Masks of the Melanesian islands, called
Tumbuan, represent sacred symbols and are connected to ancestral spirits.
Each culture displays its own mask symbolism, thus making this a spectacular
event to witness. The 
opening
ceremony takes place at dawn where Tolai in full body masks sail ashore
in traditional canoes. This show can be included in a cruise through
the Bismarck Archipelago, giving access to some of the best dive sites
in the world, as well as the opportunity to explore remote and rarely
visited islands.