INTO THE PACIFIC: SURF, TREK, FISH & EXPLORE WITH SWELL SEEKERS AFRICA

There are still places in the world where adventure feels like adventure.

Where getting there is half the story.

Where the roads disappear, the jungle takes over, the boats get smaller and the phone signal becomes increasingly irrelevant.

Welcome to the Pacific.

This month, Swell Seekers Africa is looking east — towards Papua New Guinea and the incredible islands scattered throughout the Pacific.

And we’re not interested in sitting around a resort swimming pool.

We want to get amongst it.

Surf. Trek. Fish. Explore.

That means chasing waves on remote reefs, trekking through tropical jungle, fishing waters most people will only ever see on a map, travelling by boat between islands and spending time in communities well beyond the usual tourist routes.

This is the Pacific the SSA way.

PAPUA NEW GUINEA — PROPER ADVENTURE

Papua New Guinea is exactly the sort of destination that gets us excited.

Wild mountains. Thick tropical jungle. Huge rivers. Remote coastlines. Islands scattered across ridiculously blue water. Incredible cultures and communities.

And plenty of places that aren't particularly easy to reach.

Perfect.

PNG isn't somewhere you visit because you want everything to be predictable. You go because you want to experience somewhere genuinely different.

One day could have you trekking through dense jungle and crossing rivers.

The next could mean loading equipment into a boat and heading along the coastline looking for waves.

Then you're fishing until sunset, eating locally and waking up the following morning ready to do it all again.

That's our kind of trip.

Boarding a flight bound for Papua New Guinea, marking the beginning of another Swell Seekers Africa adventure into the Pacific.

SURF — FIND THE EMPTY ONES

There is something very different about surfing when getting to the wave is an adventure in itself.

Across PNG and the wider Pacific are reefs, points and stretches of coastline that are a world away from the crowded line-ups found at many of the world's famous surf destinations.

Warm water.

Tropical scenery.

Reef breaks.

Boats.

And hopefully a distinct lack of 47 people fighting over the same wave.

We're not interested in simply ticking famous surf spots off a list.

We want to explore.

Conditions dictate the plan. Swell dictates the plan. Weather dictates the plan.

Sometimes you score.

Sometimes you spend half the day bouncing around in a boat looking for something better.

That's surfing.

And that's exactly why we love it.

TREK — INTO THE JUNGLE

The Pacific isn't only about what happens on the water.

Head inland and things get wild very quickly.

PNG in particular offers enormous mountains, thick jungle, rivers, waterfalls and remote communities connected by trails rather than highways.

This is where the boots come out.

SSA Pacific adventures are about experiencing the landscape properly — walking into places rather than simply driving past them.

Expect heat.

Expect mud.

Expect rain.

Expect your clean clothes to stop being clean remarkably quickly.

But also expect some unbelievable scenery and the sort of experiences you simply don't get from staying on the normal tourist trail.

Crystal-clear Pacific waters stretching across a remote tropical coastline — the kind of untouched places Swell Seekers Africa is all about exploring.

FISH — THE PACIFIC PLAYGROUND

Then there's the fishing.

For anyone who loves being on the water, the Pacific is difficult to ignore.

Reefs, drop-offs, lagoons, rivers and deep blue water create opportunities for completely different styles of fishing depending on where the adventure takes us.

But, again, the SSA approach isn't about turning up somewhere, fishing for two hours and heading back to the hotel.

We want the whole experience.

Load the boat.

Head out early.

Explore the coastline.

Fish hard.

Find somewhere incredible for lunch.

Keep moving.

Come back when the sun starts disappearing.

Then do it all again somewhere different tomorrow.

ISLANDS, BOATS AND THE UNKNOWN

Some of the best adventures don't have a perfectly organised itinerary.

That's especially true in the Pacific.

Weather changes.

Seas change.

Plans change.

A local tells you about somewhere worth seeing.

A swell appears somewhere else.

Someone knows a fishing spot around another island.

Suddenly tomorrow looks completely different.

Good.

That flexibility is part of what makes travelling through remote places exciting.

Sometimes the most memorable part of a trip isn't the destination you originally planned to visit — it's the place you discovered because the original plan went completely sideways.

A fresh catch from the Pacific — incredible fishing in remote tropical waters and another part of the Swell Seekers Africa adventure.

EXPERIENCE THE PACIFIC PROPERLY

For us, travel isn't only about landscapes.

It's about people.

The Pacific is home to thousands of communities, languages, traditions and cultures, many of which are completely different from one island to the next.

We want our trips to reflect that.

Eat locally.

Travel locally.

Spend time in villages and communities.

Listen.

Learn.

Have a laugh.

Try something you've never eaten before.

And actually experience where you are rather than simply using it as a backdrop for another Instagram photo.

That's a huge part of travelling with SSA.

FROM AFRICA TO THE PACIFIC

You might reasonably ask:

Why is Swell Seekers Africa heading into the Pacific?

Because the idea behind SSA has always been bigger than one destination.

Africa is where our story started and it will always be a huge part of who we are.

But the philosophy travels.

Find the places that still feel wild.

Go further.

Surf the waves that take some effort to reach.

Climb the mountains.

Trek through the jungle.

Catch the fish.

Meet the people.

Eat the food.

Get on the boat.

Take the dirt road.

See what is around the next corner.

Whether that's somewhere deep in Africa, buried in the Japanese mountains, or on a tiny island somewhere in the Pacific doesn't really matter.

Adventure is adventure.

Sunrise over a remote Pacific beach — a quiet start to another day of surfing, fishing and exploring with Swell Seekers Africa.

THE PACIFIC IS CALLING

Papua New Guinea is only the beginning.

The wider Pacific is enormous, and there are countless islands, coastlines, mountains, reefs and communities still waiting to be explored.

We want SSA adventures to combine everything we love about travelling:

Surfing. Fishing. Trekking. Food. Culture. Exploration. Remote places. Good people.

And a little bit of chaos along the way.

No cookie-cutter holidays.

No racing through destinations just to say we've been there.

We want stories.

The kind that start with:

"This probably isn't going to go according to plan..."

And normally end with:

"We have to come back."

SURF. TREK. FISH. EXPLORE.

Papua New Guinea & the Pacific are waiting.

Swell Seekers Africa

Explore further.