BAM!! And only hours in to the Louisiade escapade and the master, Mr Andrew (musgave royal) Jeffress has hooked in to a serious Spanish mackerel. After reeling in the 8-10kg monster and revelling in the fight, it was only minutes until young Cale (co-captain) Watson hooked himself on and was in for a battle. The joust from the monster was to no avail and the 12-14kg killer, as well as his friend, was to feature on the dinner table for the next 2 weeks.
Passing us by and lining the horizon was any combination of tiny to huge tropical islands as well as the local dug-out canoes having a fish and the larger sailing canoes that were making the longer journeys from place to place. The water is permanently sparkling and as we cruise within this chain of islands in the Louisiades (Loo-ee-see-aid), it is all upon us for the next 2 weeks.
Le Vessel and crew were en route for Hummock Island and managed to pull in around early afternoon for the first stop in the Louisiade exploration. It was almost simultaneous as once the anchor had connected to the ground, so had our self-appointed guide Rodney and his daughter landed their canoe at our stern and were re-directing the captain to the ‘better’ anchorage in the lagoon. By co-incidence or strategy we don’t know however we were guided up right next to the main village (which was nice and easy for trading), and were the only boat for miles. Greeting the villagers under their central (mango) tree we felt incredibly welcome and after a great talk and tour we said goodbye for the evening with the promise of cray fish the next day from our guide. Day 1 and we liked it.
Trading was on early as we met more of the locals and after our swim, tea and toast was done the crew split for activities. The paralytically perfect beach island setting laid down the canvas for all to discover what they liked and as the deckhands went to snorkel, captain Dave went to laze under an island tree and the royals had wander and swim at a perfect island pace. Around midday we wary our main man Rodney and collected the haul of 6 painted crayfish (for $15, or 30 kena, and a t-shirt) and cooked them on an open fire for lunch. A relaxed afternoon was topped off by again visiting the village and sharing stories, with the crew also showing some western gadgets (mini music speaker and camera) to the locals.
Departing the next day we made it through a slightly uncomfortable motor to our destination for that night (11.11), the conflict islands. In this remote outcrop of islands we anchored off the tip of a lone straggler right in the middle of the group. It was no more than 100m square (with its standard postcard of coconut trees) and set in to play for the afternoon. Moving on at first light we were aimed for no less than heaven. As our ascension took place we were all in awe of the beauty that is Panasia Island. Sheer jagged volcanic grey cliffs dwarfed over the crew as we crept in to its shadow and lay anchor. 2 miniature beaches lay side by side among the coast and were blessed with 1 hut each with no permanent residents, just occasional farmers and travelling locals. After a devastating cyclone in April left this island, and others around, devastated, the amount of produce has been low and a re-build has been their main focus since. We savoured our time here with endless snorkels and a good amount of fishing with a decent haul of 3 trevally and 2 coronation trout to round it out. After 3 solid days at Panasia it was time to depart.
(15.11) Destination Brooker Island. A larger village than all that we had visited so far, Brooker contained around 400 people with a decent primary school and large church for the villagers. A beautiful bay surrounded us as only a light wind stirred for the 2 days we were here. Exploring the fringing reef uncovered hands down the best snorkelling we have had here so far! The unfathomable abundance of sea life and incredible corals combined with 15-20m of visibility in 25 degree water had us floating and diving for hours and hours. In between these sessions we managed to visit the local church service on the Sunday (16th), which was incredibly special to witness, as well as treat the local kids to a diving competition from the forte (and treat ourselves to some huge laughs and smiles at their excitement of it). Upon preparing that afternoon to leave the next day, we were visited by a Local villager who gifted the captain with a local carving for the boat which had the name ‘FORTE III’ carved in among other local symbols. This put him on cloud 9 for a long while yet and as we headed for Misima Island it was an amazing first 2 weeks that we all could barely believe.
Stay hooked for the continuation (#2) tomorrow.
*PNG Life *
Trading: Every village we arrive at a handful of the local will almost immediately come and meet you then ask to trade. After a quick talk it is easy to gauge what produce they are growing and put in a request. We were always after fresh fruit and veg and have picked up a few crafts (carvings, woven bags, shells) as well. The villagers are incredibly polite (but getting slowly confident) and most of the time will not tell you what they want. So we would have to either pry it out of them or go for the staple: rice, sugar, clothes or fishing gear. A typical trade is: 5 mango, 6 banana, 1 pineapple = 500g rice, 500g sugar or 2 t-shirts, shorts and some hooks etc. Things we have traded for - Fruit: Mango, banana, paw paw, orange, coconut, watermelon - Veg: Baby tomatoes, snake beans, yams, sweet potato, potato, cassava, corn, pumpkin. We have given away a lot of pens and rulers to the schools as gifts for the teachers an children and a ton of lollies to the children of the people who come to trade (or jump off the boat) :)
Merci
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