the Great Boat Ride 2008

Well the Lea Lea Boat trip finally occurred, and it certainly was not much of a bushwalk but an adventurous boat trip. Those who got their names in early were rewarded with an awesome day away from Moresby and to a spot that none of us had been before, and there is a chance that not many of us will go again. We made it to Wariwara Island, a Hiri Motu Island with no inhabitants, no tracks, no trees save for the odd Pandanus.

What Wariwara lacked was made up by a clean sandy beach and a very secluded beach/reef including shelter/shade in the form of a cliff. It was like a little bit of Paradise.

I spent my time taking some photos whilst others went for a swim, some started a small grass fire, others just merely chilled out.

To get there, we cruised along the Motuan coastline, and then wandered through a windy river deep in the heart of the Mangroves, and past the village of Kidu, then back out onto the open water to Wariwara.

The lazy cruise was a good chance for a whole bunch of new bushwalkers to get to know each other and a few old stalwarts to catch up. The trip home however wasn't so lazy, as the wind was picking up and the waves were starting to splash onboard the banana boats. We managed to spot some Dolphins on the way home which was cool to see but also on the way home, our overzealous tour guide managed to thump a Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) and this left it as Sharkbait and everyone felt real bad about the experience.

And then we headed home back to a very low tide Lea Lea and a spluttering two-stroke engine.

A good time was had by all.