It abounds with meandering waterways, oxbow lakes, tributaries and backwaters, swamps, lagoons, lakes and artificial channels built to short-cut its looping journey. Unusually for a great river, it has no delta system and its waters spew directly into the sea with enormous force. From the many villages along its banks come highly-prized examples of primitive art. The Haus Tambaran at Angoram possesses a display of art from almost the entire length of the river. At Kambaramba village, and elsewhere, houses are built on stilts as a protection against flooding and the dugout canoe is still the main local means of transport.
Tourists have the option of being taken on a cruise.
Woodcarving is one of the main local crafts and its architectural use in gables and posts in houses is a noteworthy feature as can be seen, for instance, at the village of Tambanum . Timbunke village is a further example of fine construction techniques, including bridge-building. The area around the Chambri Lakes is home to the diverse species of birds for which Papua New Guinea is famous. These include egrets, pied herons, brahminee kites, whistling kites, jacanas, darters, cormorants and kingfishers. Also in the Chambri area can be found a unique pottery-making village, Aibom , where clay fireplaces, storage and cooking pots are made by the coil method and fired in the open air by women.