Wednesday 24th June
01 degree 03.133S
131 degrees 07.236E
Anchorage between Warir and Batimee (mangrove) islands
16.6m, very sheltered
Our decision to
explore Selat Sele, absolutely unknown territory in that nobody we knew had
been there, did not lead us to glorious new waypoints to put on the internet.
Not quite true…We
wound our way through a wide mangrove maze and finally dropped the anchor in
what looked like a nice peaceful place.
And it was that – very sheltered and calm. But…I absolutely couldn’t even think of
getting into the water. It looked so
very crocodile-y! And yes there are
saltwater crocs here…
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| Nothing but mangroves |
Thursday 25th June
00 degree 46.059S
131 degrees 32.531
Teluk Dorehum
Anchored 6.4m
So we left there
early in the morning and headed for an area a bit north west of Sorong. We are anchored near a road, and a village of
100 people. Not a croc habitat, so I
have been able to swim a bit. Dying
beige reef, a bit sad…I acquired a dear little petfriend, however. A small yellow stripey fish, about an inch
long, which attached itself to my mask and whizzed back and forth
frantically. At first I thought it was
actually inside my mask, which was a bit puzzling, but no, it was outside, but
only just! It stayed with me until I got
heartily sick of it and swam back to the boat.
It is probably still there, desperately looking for me under the hulls.
We had one
canoe-load of visitors – a large imposing man, with tribal scarring, and his
four boys. They didn’t really speak
English, or Bahasa, but they were wreathed in smiles and very happy to drink
iced tea. Our large man was thrilled to
hear we came from Australia. He twined
his two pinkie fingers together and indicated that Papua and Australia are not
only close neighbours but also great friends.
The boys were very
interested in my mask and snorkel. They
have made their own, out of soft wood, and bits of clear plastic – nifty!
Our plan was to
spend the day here and go on to shore, to visit the village, and possibly get a
ride into Sorong and back so we could have a better look at Papua – there is a
road right along the coast and we are only 30 kilometres from Sorong. But oh deary me…it is horribly windy! We had such a noisy night. The boat stayed rock-solid – what’s not to
love about a catamaran?? – but it was very hard to sleep. I don’t think we will be lowering the dinghy,
or swimming, in this rollypolly sea!
10am – a few hours later
We moved not far
down the bay and it was lovely, peaceful and pleasant. Dogs and boys on the beach – this indicates –
no crocs! We can see the wind blowing
the clouds fiercely across the bay but – not here!
5pm
Well we have done
a bit of everything. I swam for about an
hour along the beach and back again, over what must once have been a very
splendid reef. Once again I had a speedy
little yellow fishpet right in my mask, all the way there and back. Maybe it is the same one??
This afternoon we
went in to shore in the dinghy and walked along through the mangroves and the sheltering
trees on the beach until we reached the village.
There were dozens
of dogs, all very vocal in their acknowledgment of our arrival. They were not in the least menacing but there
certainly were lots of them. A big pack!
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| Some of the dogs |
As for the
villagers…they couldn’t have been more welcoming if they had tried.
They called us
over and asked to be photographed, with Mister
and with Missus.
The village is
very neat and tidy, raked and weeded within an inch of its life.
As we were leaving
a mother and son sprang out of the jungle with glad cries – another photo opportunity
please!
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| Pete with Angus and Omi |
Tomorrow we will
leave this windy but lovely place. Maybe Waisai to buy potatoes and fuel?
An Angus!
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