With only a few days to go before departure for Papua New Guinea, the Mayang 2026 expedition team has completed its final arrangements. The last few months were marked by rigorous preparation, as well as significant institutional backing, which enabled intricate logistics and the establishment of key scientific and media partnerships. Everything is now ready for the expedition to begin under optimal conditions.

On Friday, 12 September, in La Ciotat (Bouches-du-Rhône, France), at the “LUMEXPLORE festival – Exploration, Science, and Environment Film Festival”, organized by the ‘Société des Explorateurs Français' (French Explorers Society), Centre-Terre, represented by Bernard Tourte, Michel Philips, and Luc-Henri Fage, was awarded the First Prize – SEF–IRIS 2025 Grant for ‘Exploration & Biodiversity' for the project ‘Destination Mayang 2026'.

This award, presented by the ‘Société des Explorateurs Français' and the IRIS Foundation, crowns more than two years of effort: from Bernard Tourte's initial idea, to the meticulous preparation of the expedition to Papua New Guinea, including the implementation of an ambitious scientific project.

This recognition, together with the commitment of many partners, acknowledges not only the outstanding work already accomplished, but also the wide range of topics investigated by a multidisciplinary group. It also acknowledges the know-how and experience of Centre-Terre's members. This recognition sets the stage for an exciting journey.

The Iris Foundation aims to help preserve the fragile beauty of the world. It supports the conservation of natural sites and biodiversity. It supports research and scientific expeditions to acquire knowledge about species and ecosystems and encourages awareness-raising and nature education initiatives.
www.fondationiris.org

Established in 1937, the Société des Explorateurs Français aims to enhance understanding of the planet's least explored areas. It welcomes women and men engaged in scientific, human and cultural exploration projects, frequently conducted in the hardest-to-reach areas: impenetrable jungles, harsh deserts, isolated mountains, extreme maritime territories, or the underground world.
www.societe-explorateurs.org

Back in September, thanks to the confidence shown in Centre-Terre by ‘Société Courant' and several loyal partners, the team received more than 3,500 metres of caving ropes and a substantial set of technical equipment essential for the expedition.

Several days later, a group headed by Lionel Ruiz convened in Ariège, France, and began to load the equipment into three pallet-sized crates meant for marine freight. A concluding phase in Marseille allowed Michel Philips to consolidate the different systems for collecting, filtering, and purifying drinking water.

Following several transit operations — regrettably impacted by delays — the cargo is now in transit at the port of Singapore, waiting for re-shipment in the next few days to Lae, Papua New Guinea.

These cases hold some of the expedition's specialized gear, which is unavailable locally:

- Diving gear (compressor, air tanks, etc.)

- Caving gear (more than 3,500 m of rope, around 350 carabiners, 300 m of Dyneema anchors, close to 800 spits and bolts, etc.)

- Emergency gear

- Base camp equipment (electricity, special plumbing)

- Different systems for water filtration and purification

The most delicate equipment (radios, computers, satellite phones, fragile scientific instruments, etc.) will be shipped as checked or carry-on luggage on participants' flights. During the first week of the pre-expedition, all food supplies and standard logistical equipment will be acquired locally.

For the first month of the expedition, three researchers and sample gatherers from the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre (BRC) will be joining the team. This collaboration has been established with a focus on complementarity, seeking to merge Centre-Terre's field experience and speleological knowledge with the scientific and technical abilities of the BRC.

This partnership stems from thorough conversations involving Professor Vojtěch Novotný, Director of the Institute of Entomology at the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and supervisor of the BRC, Dr Pagi Toko, PhD, Director of the New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, Christophe Thébaud, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, researcher at the CNRS, specialist in biodiversity and species evolution, and Bernard Tourte for Centre-Terre.

The New Guinea Binatang Research Centre, a non-profit organization in Papua New Guinea, focuses on education, scientific research, and the conservation of biodiversity. Established in 2001, it currently employs 35 permanent biologists, postgraduate students, associate researchers, and support personnel, and is pivotal in recording and comprehending the country's terrestrial ecosystems.
www.ngbinatang.com

The three BRC researchers invited by the Centre Terre team for the ‘Destination Mayang 2026' expedition are:

- Pita K. Amick, PhD candidate at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice (Czech Republic), specialist in bats and freshwater fish in New Guinea

- Jerrica Agebigo, master student at the University of Technology in Papua New Guinea, specialising in freshwater ecology, including fishes and aquatic insects

- Luda Paul, senior researcher at the BRC, specialist in New Guinea birds from the highlands to the coast and islands. He is also highly skilled in the study of amphibians.

Romain Garrouste, an entomologist and palaeoentomologist, research engineer at the National Museum of Natural History (MNHN) in Paris, Sophie Verheyden, a palaeoclimatologist and senior researcher at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences specializing in ancient climates studied through speleothems (stalagmites and stalactites), and Franck Bréhier, a biospeleologist, independent researcher, and expert in cave fauna and underground ecosystems will accompany them for the underground part of their work.

Alongside with the coordination of the expedition, directors Yann Rineau and Luc-Henri Fage have spent several months writing and preparing a 90-minute documentary that will be aired on Arte.

A significant challenge swiftly overcome: in under six months, production company MC4, Centre-Terre, Yann Rineau, and Luc-Henri Fage secured approval from Arte for their film focused on Centre Terre's latest grand venture.

The film will trace the expedition to New Britain Island, nestled within the Nakanaï Mountains, an extraordinary and enigmatic karst massif of planet Earth, where the Mayang resurgence emerges. Merging science with adventure, scientists, speleologists, and Papuan communities will guide audiences deep into the primary forest and beneath the Earth's surface to uncover the mysteries of the water cycle, climate, and living organisms, on an exploration of the sacred and the unknown.

In a highly humid equatorial environment, water persistently carves the limestone, forming a karst terrain with stunning and remarkable scenery. In the Galowe Gorge, rainwater inexplicably vanishes into the mountain's depths, later surfacing at Mayang, one of the planet's most significant karst resurgences. Two months of scientific investigation in a full-scale laboratory to comprehend how water sculpts mountains and influences life in one of the last major sanctuaries of wildlife.

The film team will be made up of five specialists:

- Yann Rineau and Luc Henri Fage, co-directors and cinematographers

- Julien Ferrandez, head cameraman in charge of the most challenging underground footage

- Elven Remerand, camera operator and biologist, responsible for biodiversity footage.

- Patrick Mauroy, sound technician, tasked with recording the whispers of the primary forest, the sighs of the abysses, and the distinctive ambiance of this extreme environment.

The film seeks to provide an engaging, thoughtful, and thorough cinematic journey, where science and adventure blends with human tale.