Photo Journal – Loltong, Pentecost to Dickson Bay, Ambae
Busy Lolowai
It has been so busy here in Lolowai, we haven’t been updating everyone quite so much.
Jenny has been throwing herself into writing and has found a lovely spot on the deck of a tiny wee cafe that is situated to catch the breeze. It has been going quite slowly though, as there are many interruptions with the guys (new friends of Phil’s) coming down for morning tea and chatty visitors turning up for lunch. The cafe is run by a local named Fred and is positioned with a great outlook, which was useful to observe a bunch of the village guys unloading a small freighter that recently came in, by means of a longboat and a human chain.
Meanwhile, Phil has been flat out with a number of building projects. He has fixed plumbing and installed new stainless medical benches. He has also redone some spouting and downpipe systems connecting to water tanks. This included repairing a cement tank built by NZ Armed Forces in 1994.
There are two large yachts in the bay at the moment, one from Australia and the other from Germany. We had sundowner drinks onboard the Australians boat from 5pm until 8.30pm. They have a quality French wine onboard which we are discovering is quite normal in Vanuatu.
Life in General
This is what quite a “normal” day looks like now:
Morning:
While anchored in another stunning spot (Loltong Bay, 15°32’42.84S, 168°08’56.64E) Phil did a bit of general engine maintenance while Jenny puttered around the boat. We worked in companionable quiet while listening to the birdsong from ashore and the laughter coming from our chattering neighbours. We also watched a ship unload supplies.
Afternoon:
A spot of swimming and watching the local kids having a ride in a longboat dugout with the local fishermen and then we’re off ashore.
In short, life is good and you have to make the most of the adventure it is (or can be).
Has anyone told you that you are wonderful people?
By midday today Phil was enjoying some sailing after 21 hours motoring.
Then he added to the picture with letting us know the menu: Beans ‘n onions for lunch. Accompanied by Pink Floyd on the stereo.
Early evening sounds nice: Perfect day here. About 200nm east of Norfolk Island. Just about to click 1st 500nm.
Since there is now a little more wind he’s expecting to use the Code Zero some more tomorrow.
It sounds like the weather is quite pleasant up there… hopefully warmer than here!
Somewhere along the line he concluded that since he’s not home I’m getting some rest…
Yeah right! I might have already put most of my clothes on Waimanu, but there is still someone moving into our bedroom after I leave. This should require emptying the room out first! 🙂
One of today’s activities was buying groceries. Apparently we still need to eat food. Who knew, right?
I have already sent several packets of coloured pencils ahead on Waimanu for sharing with kids in the outer islands, and Phil has sorted a few pairs of reading glasses* for folks who might feel unable to contribute to family productivity as their eyesight changes with age, so I popped in to Warehouse Stationery to look for some pencil sharpeners and pencil cases.
It was a wonderful surprise to find them as clearance items.
Taking what I required to the counter the chap there didn’t just make conversation- he wanted to know what I was going to do with half a dozen of each. He knows my kids are too old to need them.
He seemed delighted when I said where and why I was taking them with me and made me wait for a few minutes while he checked something out the back.
Returning, he gave me a good bundle of school exercise books* to add to our supplies and simply asked for a possible photo of where they went so he can share it with his business associates.
I’ve been really encouraged by such positive responses when people ask where we are going and what we might do there. It’s lovely, and so much more positive than being asked Why?
Anyway, time to sleep, plenty of packing and moving to do tomorrow! 🙂
*Thank you, thank you, thank you to the folks who have contributed in such wonderful ways. You know who you are!
Is she really that small? Or: before departure
Thought you might want to see a photo or two of Waimanu. These were taken on Friday, the morning they left Sandspit
Being loaded now, she’s definitely sitting a little lower in the water
And to give you an idea of how tiny Waimanu looks to other people here’s a side-by-side with her berth-mate Swan
