10
August 2006: Back in Sorong for more Building Supplies. . . and
a shower. |
by
Andrew Miners
|
I've
just got back from the island where we have now set up camp and
the construction of the resort is well on the way. The portable
saw mill we brought has already proven its worth and we have started
to saw all the drift wood logs needed for the first stage of the
construction. The initial working accommodation has been set up
and most of the north and south beaches have been cleaned and cleared
ready for the buildings.
The first building will be the dive centre. We have already laid
the concrete foundations and pillars and will begin to make the
wooden foundation and floor next week. After the dive centre is
completed, the restaurant and the first bungalow will be built next
along with the connecting walkways. The building is going well and
I have managed to source a lot of the main building materials
locally which saves much of the expense. The internet connection
is too slow here for me to attach many photos, the one I have attached
is looking down into the bay, in the right corner of the beach is
out camp kitchen and staff accommodation, (the dive centre is out
of view below the island where the photo was taken)
We have been too busy with the construction to do much snorkeling
or any diving; however it must be an interesting time in the water
at the moment. There has been a plankton bloom and many tiny
shoals of fish have arrived (silver sides I think) and also lots
of sharks. This must be the beginning of the yearly cycle when the
hunting fish are drawn into the reefs to feast on the silversides
along with the mobula rays that I've seen many times in October
and November in Misool. I've confirmed that Orcas do pass through Raja
Ampat. A reliable source has seen them on a couple of occasions
here and got within meters of them with his boat. They were busy
playing with a dolphin they had caught at the time and weren't at
all bothered by the boat. He has also seen a humpback whale here
with calf. Frustratingly he didn't have his camera on him at the
time, but his friend got a great shot of both mother and calf
with her cheap digital camera.
I will be in Sorong for just a couple of days to order some more
supplies, then I will be heading back to the island for the next
two or three weeks. When I get back I'll send some more photo's
and give you another update on our progress. Until then, keep checking
this page, as I will be relaying news via satellite phone to Marit,
our trusty webmistress.
Cheers,
Andrew |
|
The
foundation for the dive shop - wooo-hoooo! |
salvaging
driftwood
|
Lucy
the Sawmill, hard at work |
look
at all that lumber! |
the
dive shop's foundation
|
our
camp on the North Beach |
camp
|
there
are wild orchids on the island! |
andrew
on Batbitim's highest point |
the
view is spectacular |
25
August 2006: the webmistress is going to Misool! |
by
Marit Wechsler + Andrew Miners
Just
8 more hours until your trusty webmistress sheds her office-garb
and heads for the wilds of Misool - hurray!!! If all goes well,
I'll be meeting Andrew in Sorong on Sunday morning after a 36 hour
journey from Bangkok. We'll be heading down to the island shortly
thereafter. My backpack is stuffed with green curry paste, dried
herbs, a bottle of rum, and a brand new video camera! We've got
a little surprise in store for you, but you'll just have to stay
tuned for more details.. .
I'll
be back in Bangkok on the 19th of September, with a motherlode of
new photos and lots of exciting stories to tell!
Here's
Andrew's latest report from the island, dated 24 August:
|
After the first month literally breaking the ground and making our
base, the second month has been a time of steady progress and slowly
getting to know the island. No matter how many times you visit a place
for a day trip, it’s only when you live there that it starts
to reveal its secrets to you, and an uninhabited island of this size
has many of them.
|
sowa
sowa guarding the peak of our tent |
Once we settled in the “locals” started to show up. Monitor
lizards, or “Sowa sowa” as they are known here, make their
homes in the small holes in the cliff at the back of the beach. These
yellow spotted lizards appear to have no natural predators and are
cool characters indeed. First thing in the morning they slowly emerge
from their holes and wander down to the beach, looking for the odd
hermit crab snack. They follow the same paths that they have always
done and see no reason to stop doing so just because a couple of strange
looking white guys have built a tent in the middle of one of them!
If you make no sudden movements they will literally walk over your
feet tasting the air with their forked tongues as they go.
|
We all have many cuts and scratches on our feet and legs from hauling
drift wood and clearing the spiky Pandanus palms. Keeping the flies
off the cuts is always a pain especially while we sit in the tent
at lunch time… that was until Thorben trained a Gecko!
This
little fellow is no bigger than a finger (the Gecko, not Thorben
that is) and regularly appears while we are sitting in the entrance
of the tent, hops onto Thorbens feet, and gobbles up any flies that
are foolish enough to come near. So accustomed to Thorben is our
little friend that he allows him to move his feet around and even
stroke him without running away!
Late in the afternoon, when the tide is high, it’s wonderful
to watch our two resident pairs of Kingfishers at work. Always in
the same couple of trees they chirp away to each other and every
now and again dart into the water for a snack. High above there
are often a huge Sea Eagles circling, occasionally too they plunge
into the water and rise with a sea snake or writhing fish in their
talons.
|
after
clearing the beaches of spiky palms |
This
time of year the fishing is great… or so the local fishermen
tell me, often with a smile and mentioning that now this is a no
fishing area… and that their favorite fishing spot was inside
it! Our protected area seems to have been accepted in good faith,
with all the other villages having been notified by the community
who hold the fishing rights for the area.
|
Thorben
fishing |
Last month we saw a red tide which suggests that the coral has spawned.
This coincides with the arrival of millions of tiny fish, that eventually
will cover the reefs in huge shoals. These “ikan puri”
as they are know here, entice into these waters schools of tunas,
sharks and mobula rays and over the next few months there’s
plenty to see underwater.
Over the last couple of months we have dined on a delicious and varied
diet of rice and noodles… alternated with… noodles and
rice. That was until recently when the staff mutinied and demanded
fresh fish! (Tinned sardines just ain’t the same) It took us
a few seconds to fold to their demands and so we set off on a fishing
trip. (Outside the no fishing area that is)… It wasn't not long
before we had sea birds diving into the water either side of the boat
and tuna frothing up the waters all around. After a couple of times
trolling through the school, one bit and I pull in a nice sized one.
They don’t get any fresher than this… now where’s
that damn Wasabi… better put that on the shopping list! |
These
Tuna seem to be thriving here as they have safe waters in the pearls
farm area to the north of us. Commercial fishing boats are not allowed
there and with our no fishing ground covering the southern islands
they will be restricted to fishing further out to sea. Joining the
pearl farm areas which start at Misool mainland with our no fishing
ground will create a corridor from the mangroves on the mainland to
the deep ocean waters and should provide a complete protected habitat
for many species of fish.
|
| The
evenings here are quiet. We have a small generator and a limited fuel
supply so most of the time the moonlight is only broken by our paraffin
lamps and the quiet by the occasional rustle from the jungle behind
us. The nights are disturbed sometimes by the odd land crab that’s
rummaging for food through the leaves at the back of the tent, or
the unidentified tiny marsupial-like creature that seems intent on
eating every packet of cookies I can buy! The benefits of building
a cottage over the water are obvious now…. fish don’t
eat cookies!! |
 |
The work is progressing well, held up only by a lack of building supplies.
Now is the season where the sea conditions are the worst and hence
our “off season” in the future. Bringing supplies from
Sorong is restricted to using the Pearl farm transport boats that
run every couple of weeks. We have now cleared a path over the ridge
to the south beach, and have been concentrating on cutting the drift
wood logs there to build up a good supply of planks and beams. The
beach clean up is nearly complete and the whole south beach is transformed.
We have shifted literally tons of drift wood, seaweed and rubbish.
The drift wood, sorted, cut and stored. The rubbish bagged for transport
to Sorong for proper disposal, and the seaweed composted.
For those of you wondering what happened to the Turtle tagging project
with Conservation International, it was postponed due to bad weather
as their boat couldn’t make it down to Misool. We will start
again regular night patrols of the nesting beaches at the beginning
of September and with luck we should find a few nesting Hawksbill
turtles that the C.I. scientist can tag.
More to news next month…
Take care everybody. I hope you are all well and happy. Apologies
for not writing nice long individual emails as you all quite rightly
deserve, I hope you all understand.
Cheers, Andrew |
