The last night before we set off

On the night before we set off on the expedition to find the Mek Tribe in the Mountains of West Papua, everything seemed set. The months of planning across the other side of the globe at Cicada in London had come to an end.  All I had left to do was get all my personal bits and pieces together, think of home and try to get some sleep.

Across West Papua

For me the expedition finally became a reality when we’d loaded up our small planes and were in the air crossing the interior of West Papua. Looking down on the silver rivers snaking through the limitless expanse of rainforest, all thoughts were on what lay ahead in the mountains.

Landing at Welarek

We’d been worried that our landing at Welarek could be put in danger by bad visibility and rain, but our final approach was perfect.

Plane lands at Welarek

Mark meets Bob

Once down on the ground Mark Anstice was greeted by the legendary Papuan  mountain guide,  Bob Pelege, and Olly Steeds met his first local tribesman. This man was and elder from the Yali tribe, some of whom would become our porters when we travelled into the mountains towards the Mek’s territory.

Olly meets Yali tribesman

As we unloaded our supplies and I considered the enormity of what lay ahead, one of the crew snapped this carefree picture of me.

Sam gets worried