- 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
Today we visited Garove Island which sits in the Bismarck Sea as part of Papua New Guinea’s Witu Islands. It is actually the 3-mile wide caldera of an ancient volcano and we we’re able to navigate right into it. It really feels like you are in a volcano because you are surrounded by steep walls on all sides, some as high as 500 feet. To say this area is lush would be an understatement. They get a fair amount of rain here (in fact we had a thunderstorm last night) and it helps to support the myriad of vegetation and birdlife that run rampant here. While they are heavily subsistence-oriented, they also grow copra (dried white coconut flesh that is pressed to make coconut oil) and cacao from which chocolate is made. As in the case of Vanimo, Papua New Guinea, the people were very friendly and many spoke English. Some of the young people served as impromptu guides which was very helpful. What was unusual was that they wore formal black waistcoats. I have no idea where they got them or what they meant by wearing them, but they sure had to be hot. At 10:00 am in the morning, we were already melting, but there were places to explore and the locals were going to put on a cultural demonstration for us. It is really humid here, not for the least reason being the high volcanic walls that block the Tradewinds. It was actually better when we climbed up one of the hills. House construction here was different than in Vanimo where they used woven sago leaves for the walls and roofs. Here the walls seemed to be more narrow bamboo slats held together in a frame. And, of course, many people had cell phones. One house even had a couple of mini solar panels on their roofs. In wandering through the villages, I found a couple of shrines — most everyone here is Catholic. As in other communities, the locals put on a cultural performance for us. The costumes were colorful and the dances were entertaining (and energetic!). We were supposed to go snorkeling here, but apparently there were some crocodile sighting last night so that was correctly eliminated from the program. Definitely a fun day!
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.
