Kenu and Kundu Festival

Kenu and Kundu Festival

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4 Days From

$4733

Kenu and Kundu Festival

4 Days Starting and ending in Alotau, Papua New Guinea

Visiting: Alotau

Tour operator:

Crooked Compass

Tour code:

2643

Guide Type:

Fully Guided

Physical rating:

Medium

Special diets catered:

Vegetarians

Tour operated in:

English

Trip Styles:

Special Events

From: $4733

NB: Prices correct on 21-Nov-2024 but subject to change.

This tour is no longer available, please see similar tours below or send an enquiry

Tour Overview


  • View local arts and crafts as you experience cultural demonstrations

  • Travel into a local village by traditional canoe for the Kenu and Kundu Festival a celebration of culture and tradition

  • Witness canoe racing and traditional food exchanges, traditional sing-sings and dancing performances

  • Enjoy stunning Keleton Island and swim in pristine waters


Join us at the Canoe (Kenu) & Kundu Festival, a spectacular event showcasing the fascinating cultures of Milne Bay and surrounds. The stunning traditional canoes and kundu drums used in the festival are a significant part of the lives of the people of Milne Bay.

The 'war canoes' are especially crafted from special woods in the same way as those made by local ancestors and the colours and patterns reflect upon the tribe and the area the canoe comes from.

This cultural highlight comprises dozens of canoes, some with 40 plus warriors, adorned in traditional dress and paddling to the beat of island drums, leaving a powerful impression. Races are held amid much rivalry and celebrated with just as much revelry. The dance performances are even more spectacular with brilliantly attired groups from all around Milne Bay. A festival not to be missed!

Highlights

  • View local arts and crafts and experience cultural demonstrations.

  • Witness canoe racing, traditional food exchanges, and vibrant sing-sings and dancing performances.

  • Travel into a local village by traditional canoe for the Kenu and Kundu Festival.

  • Enjoy the stunning Keleton Island and swim in pristine waters.

  • Experience the exhilarating opening ceremony with a convoy of intricately carved canoes.

  • Participate in the famous Yam exchange, highlighting ancient trading customs.

Itinerary

Expand All

Day 1 - Arrival Milne Bay

Location: Alotau

Accommodation: Lodge

Accommodation Name: Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge or similar

Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner

Welcome to Papua New Guinea. Upon arrival in Gurney, Milne Bay, you will be met and transferred to your hotel.


Alotau Highlights Tour


Enjoy lunch before setting off this afternoon to enjoy an Alotau Highlights tour. Take in and understand the beauty, history and culture of this lively town. Visit Top Town Lookout for panoramic views over the bay. Continuing on, experience some cultural demonstrations as well as a variety of arts and crafts demonstrations. Drive to the centre of town where you will then spend time exploring the local produce markets. Stroll around the colourful stalls and marvel at the bananas, taro and sweet potatoes, staples of the Melanesian diet, as well as watermelon, peanuts, cucumbers and mangoes. Return to your hotel.


Meals


Lunch, Dinner


Accommodation


Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge (or similar)


Services


Private airport transfer


Private vehicle and English-speaking guide


Alotau Highlights Tour


Day 2 & 3 - Kenu & Kundu Festival

Location: Alotau

Accommodation: Lodge, Lodge

Accommodation Name: Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge or similar

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Kenu & Kundu Festival


After an early breakfast, by 8.00am you will be transported into the local village by traditional canoes for the Kenu and Kundu Festival in beautiful Alotau, Milne Bay Province.


Over the next two days at the festival arena, you will be surrounded by the sights and sounds of this extraordinary celebration. The festival is a small and welcoming cultural celebration, offering you the chance to connect with the local community and engage directly with performers from across the province’s more than 600 islands, some who travel over 500km to join the event.


The exhilarating opening ceremony sees the arrival of the convoy of canoes (kenu) arriving around the headland to the beat of their drums (kendu), having assembled at Wawgawaga village the previous day. The canoes are each intricately carved and painted to reflect the identity and stories of the communities they represent, and meticulously crafted using traditional methods passed down through generations by the ancestors of the Milne Bay people. These canoes aren’t just vessels—they’re symbols of cultural pride and historical significance. A highlight of the festival is the thrilling canoe race, where traditional war canoes compete in a fierce and exhilarating spectacle.


Beyond the races, you’ll experience vibrant traditional sing-sings, where tribes from across the province showcase their unique dances and songs, adorned in elaborate costumes featuring feather headdresses and accessories, shell jewellery, and face paint. Each performance is a living expression of centuries-old traditions, brought to life with a modern twist.


The food exchanges, particularly the famous Yam exchange, are another fascinating aspect of the festival. This practice, rooted in ancient trading customs, highlights the importance of yams as a symbol of wealth and prosperity in the local culture. The food exchange plays a vital role, not only providing food for performers and visiting tourists but also reinforcing economic ties between the islands. Goods such as piles of yams, fruits, vegetables, and woven items are bartered and traded, circulating in all directions.


Meals


Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner


Accommodation


Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge (or similar)


Services


Private vehicle and English-speaking guide


Kenu & Kundu Festival


Day 4 - Keleton Island

Location: Alotau

Accommodation: Lodge

Accommodation Name: Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge or similar

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Keleton Island Retreat Visit


Set off this morning from Alotau to Keleton Island Retreat where you will spend the morning relaxing on the stunning beach and swimming in the pristine waters.


Closing Ceremony – Kenu & Kundu Festival


Enjoy lunch on the island before returning to the mainland for the closing ceremony of the festival.


Meals


Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner


Accommodation


Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge or similar


Services


Keleton Island Retreat Visit


Kenu & Kundu Festival


Day 5 - Departure

Location: Alotau

Meals Included: Breakfast

Day 5 – Departure


Enjoy breakfast at your hotel and time at leisure until you are transferred to the airport to meet your onward flight.


Meals


Breakfast


Services


Private Airport Transfer


What's Included

  • Private Airport Transfers

  • 4 nights accommodation

  • 4 Breakfasts, 3 Lunches, 3 Dinners

  • English speaking local guide

  • All activities as per itinerary

  • Private transportation

  • Entrance fees, sightseeing and permits

What's Not Included

  • International and domestic flights

  • Visas

  • Travel and medical insurance

  • All services, meals other than those indicated above

  • Personal porters

  • Any changes to the proposed and confirmed program.

  • All items of a personal nature e.g. drinks, laundry, telephone calls, tips etc

Check out our Q&As

  • What cultural activities can I expect to participate in during the Kenu and Kundu Festival?

    During the Kenu and Kundu Festival, you can expect to witness and participate in vibrant sing-sings and dancing performances, canoe racing, and traditional food exchanges. The festival also includes cultural demonstrations and the famous Yam exchange, which highlights ancient trading customs.

  • How will I travel to the local village for the festival?

    You will travel to the local village for the Kenu and Kundu Festival by traditional canoe, providing a unique and authentic experience.

  • What is the significance of the Yam exchange at the festival?

    The Yam exchange is a fascinating aspect of the festival, rooted in ancient trading customs. It highlights the importance of yams as a symbol of wealth and prosperity in the local culture and plays a vital role in reinforcing economic ties between the islands.

  • What can I expect during the opening ceremony of the festival?

    The opening ceremony of the festival is exhilarating, featuring the arrival of a convoy of intricately carved canoes, known as kenu, to the beat of drums, or kendu. These canoes are symbols of cultural pride and historical significance, crafted using traditional methods.

  • What kind of accommodation is provided during the tour?

    You will stay at the charming Asurina Lodge or Alotau Waterfront Lodge, which offer comfortable accommodations with a local touch and convenient access to the cultural experiences of the Kenu and Kundu Festival.

  • What meals are included in the tour package?

    The tour package includes 4 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners.

  • Will the accommodation included meet local health and safety regulations?

    Yes. Focusing on providing authentic experiences where ever you are in the world, Crooked Compass has access to a vast array of accommodation styles. From boutique properties in larger cities to local guest houses and home stays within small villages. Crooked Compass ensures that local authenticity flows through your accommodation throughout your tour without compromising standard.

  • What sort of transportation is used for your tours?

    Transportation utilised on a Crooked Compass escorted small group tour is a combination of a private air conditioned vehicle and local transport where appropriate. This may include a local bus ride, use of the cities metro system, a domestic flight to another city or overnight train ride.

  • What Ethical Travel credentials does the tour company have?

    Crooked Compass strives to be a leader in sustainable tourism. Crooked Compass is firmly committed to the principles of ethical travel. Our comprehensive Sustainable Tourism Practices policy summarises our commitments and actions. Although the very basis of our ground operations lends itself to the ethos of sustainable tourism, this policy re-iterates our commitment to: Use locally owned hotels Use locally owned ground agents Use local guides and drivers Promote community tourism projects from homestays to craft shops Support charities that work within the destinations that we travel to Carbon offset our travels

  • Who runs your tours and are they experts in their fields?

    Crooked Compass works with the worlds best operators who are specialists in their country, region and cities providing you with in depth local knowledge. We use local guides who live and breathe the areas they work in, making sure you experience their region, their way. We believe it is far better to have a local guide who knows a lot about a little than a text book trained Western tour guide who knows a little about a lot. Using local guides also ensures that money stays within local communities and supports the regions we visit.

  • What can I expect from a Crooked Compass tour that I wouldn't get from travelling with an alternative company?

    Crooked Compass provides a sensory way to understand the world – we help you live like a local, eat like a local, do what the locals do and seek the faces behind the places whilst discovering untouched lands and natural beauty. Crooked Compass tours delve deep into the heart and soul of a destination ensuring you get out of your journey all you intended and much, much more. Our intriguing itineraries have been created by travellers for travellers. Steering travellers to follow a different path, Crooked Compass’ itineraries allow you to experience the world’s most fascinating destinations in ways you never dreamed possible. It brings to life those ‘bucket list’ experiences you have yearned to do and separates the travellers from the tourists. Crooked Compass tours are culturally rich, reward travellers with unexpected encounters and uncommon rendezvous, creating truly unique, authentic travel experiences.

  • Who do your tours cater for?

    Crooked Compass escorted small group tours cater for those who are well travelled seeking the what’s next and what’s new. Our travellers are curious minded soft adventurers who want to uncover something more than the mainstream tourist trail. Crooked Compass tours draw travellers with an interest in sustainable tourism and conservation for the areas they visit. A Crooked Compass traveller is someone who is seeking something fresh and unique, who has a yearning for authenticity and discovery, with an appreciation for cultures, tradition and the natural world. We call them Cultural Purists.

  • I am concerned about my impact on travelling through untouched regions. Can I offset?

    Yes. All travellers on Crooked Compass tours have the option to offset their part of their tour’s carbon footprint by donating $4AUD (tax-deductible) at time of booking. 100% of these funds are donated to Greenfleet, an environmental non-profit organisation dedicated to protecting our climate by restoring our forests. By partnering with Greenfleet, we are confident that our carbon offset program provides genuine and lasting environmental benefits. Your offset donation funds plant trees and restore permanent native forests in Australia and New Zealand. As they grow, these forests provide many community and environmental benefits by absorbing carbon emissions, protecting our unique biodiversity, restoring habitat for native wildlife, preventing soil salinity and erosion, improving water quality and much more. If you’d like to find out more and offset the rest of your carbon emissions, visit www.greenfleet.org.au

Reviews of this operator

Jeff Rehn  

A wonderful trip to Saudi Arabia organised by Crooked Compass

07-Apr-2022

A wonderful trip to Saudi Arabia organised by Crooked Compass. Considering the country is just opening up to tourism everything went very well - flights, trips, transfers, guides and accommodation - thank you CC - highly recommended

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Pauline Mavis Rusby  

We were kept safe at all times.

09-May-2022

We were kept safe at all times. When unexpected hurdles appeared they were handled without fuss. Our tour was informative, picturesque and comfortable.

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Tina Watts-Seale  

Family holiday to Vietnam

01-Aug-2022

We booked a family holiday to Vietnam with Crooked Compass and it was perfect. The booking process was easy and Lisa took all of our requests on board so that the trip was exactly what we wanted. All flights, transfers, accommodations, guides and activities were fantastic, with great communication throughout the whole trip. Would highly recommend, we will be booking again soon!

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Saturday - Tuesday

Nov 01, 2025 - Nov 04, 2025
$4733

Book with Confidence

  • Low Deposit

    Crooked Compass requires a minimum deposit of 20% or the full booking value, whichever is less, with the final balance not due until 60 days before departure.

  • Cancellation Policy

    We don't charge a cancellation fee, here is a summary of crooked compass charges.

    Up to 61 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of deposit.

    At 60 days before tour starts: Forfeit 100% of booking price.

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