Rabual

SV Nalukai
Jeremy, Iona, Phoebe, Hatty & Willow Levinson
Sat 10 Nov 2012 10:49

Saturday 3rd November

We arrived safely in Kokopo on Tuesday to not a breath of wind and a welcome drink on Muscat with Totem and Sea Glass and the next day we enjoyed the market, which was a feast for the senses. Fruit and vegetables lined up in little piles and rows with cardboard price sign on them, ladies lounging behind in brightly coloured dresses and men selling colourful bags. New fruits and nuts were good to try; peanuts on their stems, guavas and green mandarins. Leaves filled with cooked rice, tapioca and fish were along side sweet donuts as snacks. After enjoying taking photos of these peoples lives, I was amused to find the shop assistants in the phone shop taking photos of the blonde headed children! Lines of power points were the phone recharge centre! We visited the hardware shop, just as well stocked as Bunnings and the ‘Emporium where food was alongside material, clothes and cooking supplies. Ice cream and white bread was a real treat!

 Lunch at the Golf club for my birthday was fun with many beers and the children being very happy playing hide and seek and Scarecrow Tiggy on the green! Willow and James were drenched after standing in front of the ‘sprinkler’, the man with a hose, whose _expression_ didn’t change once! I loved peacefully reading my book under the shade and having dinner cooked for me that evening.

We motor sailed the short distance to Rabual (04.12.492S 152.10.410E) past the active volcano, grey with ash and with piles of yellowish sulphur rock at the bottom from the last eruption,  next to two mountains covered in trees and grass. Piles of local children floating on pieces of wood and old life rafts were bombarded by all the kids on Nalukai, with buckets of water and water pistols. Hatty enjoyed squirting the local kids and swimming and jumping off the boat with Totem and Sea Glass’ kids. ‘Playing ‘Royal Executioners’ on the bow was fun!’  A hot steamy afternoon, perfect for getting wet! Sun downers on Totem ensured everyone slept well.

Getting fuel was an all day affair. Once ordered it took hours for them to fill the rusty, battered looking drums so we could fuel the boats at the dock. Hand pumping 3000-4000 litres took some time so the boys were busy all day. Petrol had to be bought separately!

 The markets were under the shady trees and some in a couple of shelters, with the main commodity being beetle nut, lime and mustard, never far from any Papua New Guinean’s side! Pineapples, tomatoes, huge avocados and cabbage, all lovely and fresh are a real treat. Nun’s buying man bags, a fellow calling the virtues of Jesus through a loud speaker, and ladies waiting patiently for people to buy their wares provided us with lovely colour and entertainment.

A highlight was walking up the steep, black ash side of the volcano. The top presented an amazing view over horseshoe shaped Rabual harbour, full of bombed Japanese planes and the steaming crater yellow with sulphur and black from ash. Lava flows black and hardened on the south side overcame a village and the turkey’s grassy homes. The locals collect their eggs from their nests in the dust and lava holes.  On our tour of the town, we enjoyed seeing Japanese war planes shot down by the allies and tunnels dug into the rock where many Japanese lived during the war in Rabual. The base for submarines dropping supplies for their soldiers was on a shelf 300 metres deep right next to the cliff, also the caldera edge of the original volcano, now Rabual harbour. Willow enjoyed running through the dark tunnels and going on the small, squishy, old bus. Great views from the lookouts also provided a welcome breeze after being jammed into our van, apparently a 15 seater but very cramped with all Totem, Sea Glass and Muscat. Phoebe liked learning the history of Rabual and walking up the active volcano with Joshua and Jacob.

Halloween was fun with adults enjoying drinks on Sea Glass while the girls loved decorating the boat with drawings and getting their costumes ready for trick or treating. Jamie ferried the children from boat to boat and they enjoyed hunting for the sweets on the front deck of Nalukai and eating their loot from all the boats. Great to see how much fun they have had together with the many evening drinks and swims on various boats.