Our first PNG island, Kiriwina

A very busy day begins with 9:00 zodiac the island. This is the largest island of the Trobiand Islands. I'm grateful for the earlyish start it will be a hot and humid day. Again, we have a wet landing which does mean the bottom of my pants get wet as will my shoes but they dry quickly enough during the morning. We are greeted on arrival by a number of young girls in traditional dress and decoration. They're quite beautiful. It is so nice to finally find myself here. The vegetation is green and lush which is not surprising as I expect the rainfall would be high. We're taken to the place where we will be sitting to watch the performance, shade has been provided by way of a series of polls and plastic sheeting over the top, very grateful for this. We are advised that we must not take photos before the performance starts and we shouldn't go over and look at any of the goods that are for sale. This island is renowned for its carving, they use teak and ebony, both really hard woods so a lot of work goes into each piece that has been carved.

We hear the performers warming up. The women and girls come out first all dressed spectacularly with beautiful head gear made of feathers. Some of the decorations they are wearing we were told about yesterday and it's nice to see them worn. The most striking piece is a carved shell which is worn on the back. It's quite large and in the shape of a bird. They dance and sing for quite a long time, in the middle of the circle are a group of older women who provide accompanying music and sing. A most amazing performance hard to adequately describe and put words to.

The men and boys are up next and again a really interesting performance also in elaborate costumes. Music accompanies the dancing and two performers have a conch shell which is being used for effect. The group of singers and dancers include very small boys probably not much more than 3 or 4 years old who look fascinated by the event and are trying to keep up with the people ahead of them. The dance and the following one are something to do with crickets, the insect kind not the game. At the end one of the performers lies on the ground as if they are a cricket waving their legs in the air with someone pretending to squash him. The last performance and we were not given much information about it, was a group of probably 20 men with poles with a pole on either side crouching and taking very small steps. There were four men at each of the corners and it looked like they were simulating a boat but it was hard to know. So athletic and strong to be able to do this for the time they did. Finally, it is our turn, a tug of war is arranged. A long rope is spread out on the ground local boys (yes boys not men) versus men from the ship, then local girls versus women from the ship. Seems totally unfair given we weigh so much more and we win. Bob and I both participate. It was fun.

The last part of the ceremony involved our captain being presented with a gift and then each of the key members of the expedition team. A gift was then handed to the chief of the tribe in return. We are invited to have some fruit which included. Very sweet pineapple, mango and papaya. We're also given a fresh coconut. The juice was most welcome. A walk takes us along what is probably the only road on the island and we can see collections of huts on either side. Our local guide points out where his family live, a small collection of huts where his sister and parents also have a heart. It is a good opportunity to walk through the village and get an insight into how people live. We are taken to a yam house this is where yams are stored these are important structures albeit small they are decorated and act like a bank. The very best yams are stored here. Only the wealthiest of the village have a yam house. The day is getting warmer and the sun is starting to reach its highest point, some of the walk is through shaded areas. It's good when clouds come over, it isn't a hard walk just a hot one. A small boy who participated in the dancing is walking beside me. He has very good English and I chatted with him along the way and he agrees to let me take his photo.

We will have time on the way back to look at and buy from the myriad of people who have brought their work to sell. We have exchanged currency on the ship albeit at a very poor exchange rate, we have Kina with us but decide another $100 worth is a good idea. It is good to be able to buy a few things and give back to the community. Everything is so beautiful and the prices are ridiculously low given just how much work is involved in what they do. We buy a small bowl carved with a low stand made of teak decorated and inlaid with mother of pearl around the edge, that costs $30, I also bought two pieces that can be worn as a necklace. One of them is particularly lovely of a seahorse. Both are made of Ebony and inlaid with mother of pearl. The cost $10 each and Bob buys
a small ebony carving of a pig.

Back to the ship, a quick shower, lunch and get ready for another snorkel. This is on the same island, the snorkeling is very good. There are significant deep trenches further out from the beach which although you can't actually see very much because it's too deep it's good to have the experience. We snorkel for about an hour. It was quite hard work because there was a bit of a current and we were instructed to keep within a certain area. Walking on the sand was hard work and in the afternoon the weather was quite hot when we got out of the water. We did not spend any time on the beach once we finished snorkeling we came back to the ship. I'm quite sore because of the unanticipated extra leg workout.

We have dinner tonight with one of the naturalists, he is Irish but lives in Christchurch. His passion is for birds and he talks about how often the call and the way they fly is often the key to identifying what the bird is. I've started to think about that as I watch the birds. It was a very interesting dinner.Read more