It is said islanders off the coast can draw fresh water straight from the sea. The Sepik is navigable for almost its entire length and winds down through the land resembling a huge, brown, coiling serpent. The force of the river tears great chunks of mud and vegetation out of the river banks and at times these drift downstream as floating islands. West Sepik or San-daun Province is near the Irian Jaya border and is inhospitable terrain. It is home to the Upper Sepik people who move around in long, narrow dug out canoes.
Travel is always difficult as there are no roads and the rivers are narrow.
The centres are Vanimo and Amanab and villages around here have strong religious beliefs centred on deities that are believed to hold supernatural powers vital for survival in this remote and dense countryside. East Sepik is the middle and lower region from Angoram to Wewak town and there are a number of large rubber and cocoa plantations along the river flats. Wewak is an attractive palm-fringed town which felt the might of Japanese troops who 'discovered' its isolation and its hidden ports around Kairiru Island. The Sepiks supply what many experts consider the best and most creative carvings which differ from village to village.