The final decision has been made: Centre Terre is launching a new expedition project to take place from January to March 2026 on the island of New Britain, situated to the north-east of the large island of Papua New Guinea.

In search of the underground waters of the Mayang resurgence, we're going to explore the forest, its chasms and caves, and its flora and fauna in a global approach and follow the course of the waters, from the clouds to the sea via underground galleries that we expect, for several reasons, to be exceptional.

Thirty-five members of the Centre Terre association are already working on getting ready for this expedition, which will be a new challenge for people and logistics in these harsh areas of the Papuan jungle. The main purpose of this new expedition is to find and explore caves in an area north of the Nakanaï Mountains virtually free of human intrusion. Finding and exploring caves, including diving, will take the team far above the surface and deep into the massif, leading to the well-known Mayang spring. This resurgence has been estimated to flow at around 20 and 30 m3/s when the water is at a low level, making it one of the largest karstic springs in the world. Despite multiple large-scale speleological expeditions, its underground path is still unknown. This resurgence has yet to reveal its secrets...

The logistics plan is now in place. On January 11th, the small team that is in charge of pre-expedition tasks will depart from Paris. Made up of around ten people, it will have to make official contacts with the local authorities, collect the equipment that will have arrived by sea and air charter from France, purchase food and technical equipment, hire a helicopter, etc. On January 20th, the first part of the exploration team will arrive. All the equipment and people will then move to the chosen area to set up the two base camps in the jungle. From there, the explorations will be planned. A team switchover is scheduled for February 11th. The expedition will end on March 17th.

As for the preparations in France and under Bernard's leadership, the members of the association have been working like a beehive for some time now. Things are kicking into high gear. Managers have been appointed and everyone, with the help of a few others, is responsible for some administrative or technical tasks. Between making contact with airlines and freight companies, thinking about the organization of base camps (water and food storage, electricity generation, communications), managing caving, rescue, diving and scientific equipment, anticipating medical problems, updating the website and finding financial partners, there's a lot to do and nothing must be left to chance if we are to tackle the virgin forest of Papua.

Around thirty people, including cavers, divers, scientists, and a film crew, will be working in the field for two and a half months.

The entire team, assisted by the Papuan trackers working on the project, will begin prospecting in the field, targeting several areas that have already been identified through aerial and satellite photography. The area to be covered is extensive (over 75 km2) and has yet to be explored. The Mayang resurgence is believed to be in this catchment area, where caves are likely to open up the underground ramifications of this karstic network.

Scientists from Centre Terre, who will be on site or who are helping with the preparations from their labs in France, in conjunction with researchers from local universities, have also defined several areas of research: botanical, geological, climatic, faunal and ethno-archaeological.

Our film crew will be making a film for the public, following up on our previous documentaries, for which we aim to achieve again very good audience ratings.

The team includes members from France, Papua New Guinea, Ukraine, Switzerland, Spain, and Canada.

The Mayang 2026 project is not written by itself. Our projects become a reality thanks to the hard work of our long-term teamwork, which is supported by many partners who offer essential assistance (some of which is tax-deductible in France!). We are counting on their commitment again for this year's event. Several of our loyal partners have already responded to our call.