You may wonder why there hasn’t been many entries in the blog, well the Komodo has taken a bit of a holiday, at the Wilderness Lodge (www.thewildernesslodge.org) on the SE side of Ngatokae island! Here it is resting at the terrace overlooking the lagoon, the whole 7m length of hi!. Meanwhile, we took a trip to the rainforest, 700m above sealevel (see www.kunayacht.blogspot.com), a despite the beautiful creeks full of frogs, it was no seakayak country!
With the help of the locals, we also have kept busy taking video of the Komodo, not forgetting of course to play with the children !
One may wonder how I get to post these blog entries from such a remote country as the Solomons Islands, what a wonderful way to win your own carbon credits by going to the internet by kayak!! EU has funded a number of internet base stations throughout the country. These are called distance learning centers. These satellite links are completely independent from the local Solomon island Telekom. One such school at BekaBeka is located 5 miles away from the anchorage so an easy day trip with a purpose, 45 minutes each way on a good day.
Lately, time has been spent exploring islands around Peava, and because the KUNA is safely anchored in the lagoon, with the trade winds gone down, it’s a good time to go on overnight trips. Nothing wrong with paddling in glassy waters, it is a great change from Tasmania!
The islands offer few landing places for a kayak and a rugged lagoon edge needs to be crossed first but once landed there are plenty of trees to hang hammocks. Away from the village, the fish is tame and makes for a good feed!
Quick landing...
The kayak is a great platform for snorkelling but also to remain safe from sharks, should those come up to us. Unfortunately I have no pictures but on our way to the islands, we crossed a large school of dolphins who were resting and courting. It was great to be able to jump in the water to watch them, dragging the Komodo along, until two grey sharks came way to close, right under the Komodo. It was nce to be able to jump in and move on!!
