Return to Auki

Dawnbreaker
Lars Alfredson
Tue 11 Aug 2015 22:15

2015-08-09 This morning Francis paddles over with fresh news. They now know who bought the computer, though are not to sure about the camera, for $2000 and he hopes to speak to the purchasers  wife today as the husband has made himself scarce from the hot pursuit of the “Rozers”

With that we weigh anchor and make our way to the Auki at the top of the Lagoon. The wind is gusting around 25 knots directly astern and as the channel get trickier and toward the Auki end sailing is not an option.

We wend our way onward and upward until arriving at Auki harbour drop anchor in our previous spot near the lead-in billboards. Nobody is looking forward to the wade ashore through the detritus of plastic bags and God knows what else when we hit shore.

Landing, we’re clutching our bin bags as we make our way past the beatle nut stalls towards the roadside dump when a police HI-ace truck pulls alongside and we instructed to “Get in”. It’s Stuart, the New Zealander and his trustee Aussie female sidekick. They had received our e-mail and have been waiting for our arrival.

A short trip the proper dump for our garbage and then to the brand new “Nick” only opened a few weeks ago. We are taken upstairs to meet John, the local copper who is dealing with our case and he brings us up to date. Stu has e-mailed us the paperwork for insurance purposes but of course we can’t and haven’t been able to access it to date.

“Right lets go to my place and I can get a copy for you there” so off we go up a tank busting, vertical, washed out, mountain track that leads to their Mess at the top of the hill. Their veranda commands a breath taking view over the town, its harbour and the reefs.

Apart from the table and chairs it is also home to one of the largest Bar-b-q grills we’ve ever seen, easily big enough for the 3.5 metre croc they trapped down at Elieli! The wall is reinforced with an ever mounting pile of beer crates full of empties which he assures us will be completed before he leave.

Over coffee and biscuits, the mystery of the lack of limes is revealed when he confesses to buying out the market stock last time we came. On his sideboard is the largest collection of “Bombay” Gin to be seen outside of an off licence which comes delivered from Honiara curtesy of their Police helicopter.

Before we leave Stu, conscience stricken possible, gives us a bag of limes, a packet of cheddar and treat of treats a round of Camembert, aren’t your policemen just wonderful!

All done they drop us outside the bank so we can extract cash for our shopping expedition. The market is buzzing and actually full of veg to sell this time and we buy bananas, kumara, green peppers, aubergines and snake beans.

The bottle store still has a bottle of “Beefeater” Gin now at $580 a bottle (No wonder it’s a white man’s graveyard) two cases of Aussies finest merlot, nibbles, and fruit juices which we stuff into our rucksacks. I return to the dinghy, rucksack full of booze and feeling like and abused donkey while the other go in search of eggs and to replenish our “Lolly” supply.

The other join me, eggs are unobtainable apparently, and we return to the yacht for lunch. On the way back to Francis village we stop off at a reef but it turns out to be all sand and eel grass. There are lots of large tan and brown spiked starfish but very little else, but the swim was great and it was a good excuse for a beer on return.

Returning to Daolusu Village all is quiet. Just a few kids to greet us from the shore and no sign of Francis. Dinner, Books and Bed we await news.

Bob the Blog