- Fremantle and Perth, Western Australia
- On the road to Margaret River, Western Australia
- Rottnest Island, Western Australia
- Back to Broome, Western Australia
- Lacepede Island, Western Australia
- Talbot Bay, Western Australia
- Montgomery Reef and Freshwater Cove, Western Australia
- Hunter River and Mitchell Falls, Western Australia
- Ashmore Reef, Australia
- Vansittart Bay, Western Australia
- King George River, Western Australia
- Darwin, Northern Territory
- Agats, West Papua, Indonesia
- Kokas, West Papua, Indonesia
- Misool, Yapap Lagoon, Indonesia
- Yenwaupnor, Gam Island, Indonesia
- Mansinam Island, West Papua, Indonesia
- Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
- Cenderwasih Bay, Indonesia Supplemental
- Vanimo, Papua New Guinea
- Garove Island, Papua New Guinea
- Duke of York Island and Rabaul, Papua New Guinea — and the trip takes a turn for the worse
- Ghizo Island, Solomon Islands and my health situation is still uncertain
- Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; a 72-hour pause in our trip; and a triumphant return!
- Dravuni Island, Kadavu, Fiji
- Vulaga, Fiji
- Pangai and Nukupule Island, Ha’Apai Group, Tonga
- Vavau, Tonga
- Apia, Upolo, Samoa
- Aitutaki, Cook Islands
- Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia
- Maroe Bay, Huahine Iti, French Polynesia
- Bora Bora, French Polynesia and end of trip
As we continue along the archipelago, this morning we visited the village of Yenwaupnor which is located on Waigeo, one of the four main islands of Raja Ampat, West Papua. We actually arrived at 3:15 am in order for anyone who wanted to do a hike to watch the mating ritual of the bird of paradise. We decided to pass on hiking up steep, muddy slopes in the dark for this momentous event. The good news is that they saw one of the males doing his courtship dance. The bad news is that a couple of people got injured. We opted to take the more sedate walk around this village of around 300 residents. The lifestyle here is more or less subsistence living, fishing, gathering, and growing vegetables, although some people work at a nearby resort. When you get a picture of what a tropical paradise might look like, Yenwaupnor would likely fit the bill. Life is slow and everyone has a smile on their face. Some local kids welcomed us with a dance, and here’s the other thing about modern life — whether in rural Greenland or Indonesia, while dressed in native costume, the music and dance were definitely contemporary. The other thing that was immediately noticeable was the large number of dogs and puppies, and yes, they actually do look pretty much alike. I suspect the gene pool is getting a bit shallow here. One of the highlights of the morning was a visit to the Child Aid Papua School that provides high quality education to both local children and others from across Raja Ampat to help create opportunities for them in the job market (one graduate now has a successful career in Hong Kong!). In addition to traditional education, the kids here are being taught environmental awareness and sustainability. We spoke with a number of the students who love practicing their English as well as their teacher. It was amazing to see a classroom with computer for every child.
This afternoon, Deb and I went in different directions. Deb went to the village of Sauwandarek on Mansuar Island. This has become more of a tourist village because of its proximity to the reef that has attracted divers from all over the world. There are lots of guest houses here and, of course, the shops that cater to the tourists.
Because of the extraordinary marine life in the area, I opted for a drift snorkel, taking way too many photos along the way. I even saw my first Nemo in an anemone! One thing that it is certain — it is getting hotter and more humid by the day (think about looking for shade and sweating profusely before 8:00 am). But we are loving it!
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
