Toumoa to Nila
The Chief had told us about a shortcut through his lagoon It did not look possible on the chart, but we trusted him. It would cut quite a few miles off our trip. For once, we had a sparkling clear day so seeing the reefs was easy. The wind was balmy so we could comfortably sail, with the engine running in the tricky spots. We had our two passengers on board. Even though it was calm as could be, one of the girls was seasick again. It must have been the fear. The chief proved correct and we did not encounter any nasty reefs or shallows. Within a few hours we were in Nila. We took the girls ashore and delivered them to school. A couple of weeks earlier, an earthquake (very common here) had destroyed their dormitory. Despite that, they found a couple of spare bunks in the makeshift accommodation and promptly went to sleep! Perhaps they had been sleep deprived at Toumoa or the fear plus seasickness took it out of them. Once at Nila, we renewed old friendships as we had been there in 2004 presenting the "Hey Dad" Workshops as well as Penny doing some Marriage Education. A young fellow (11 years) came out in his canoe & was very shy. Then we noted a piece of paper in his hand. It was from his mother, explaining that he was very shy and did not feel confident talking in English. His mother ( a schoolteacher) had suggested he could talk in pidgin and we would understand (true) but he was still too shy. Mum sent out a whole lot of vegetables and fruit from her garden. So, we invited Charles on board and showed him everything about the boat. His English quickly came back and the shyness receded. We went a note back to his mum. We also fixed up with him to take us into the hills of Poporang the following day to see the WWII guns and other war relics. The kids of the area are expert in all these war relics. That afternoon, we went snorkelling on a massive 4 engined Japanese Betty Bomber, sunk only a few hundred metres away. We also snorkelled and dived on a two seater Zero floatplane which was submerged in about 8 metres of water near the local High School. Charlie also snorkelled over the remains of around 11 other 'planes that we had discovered on previous visits. The following day, Charles turned up as agreed. He had dad's long machete (machetes are as common as clothing here). Charles had also brought his 8 year old brother (Jeffrey) and 9 year old cousin (Douglas). Now, in Australia, you would never think of a group of young kids like this taking a group of adults through the jungle to visit war relics. They did a great job and we saw more this time than previously. We saw three of the huge 150mm guns that the British had installed to defend Singapore. After the Japanese effortlessly captured Singapore, they moved four of the guns to the Solomons. There were several anti-aircraft guns, communications trenches, a bus chassis and three mobile radar installations. We photographed Charlie sitting on the Despatch Rider's motorcycle (with sidecar). There is still some rubber on the wheels- 60 years later. The boys were distressed to find that the one radar installation which still rotated (they called it the merry-go-round) had been locked rigid by older boys (no adults come up here, except visitors). Soon they were thumping away with rocks to try and move the pins. So, David came to the rescue and soon thumped the pins from their seats and away went the merry-g--round. Of course, it was Charlie who made the first revolution! Many photos were taken. When it was time to return, the boys asked us if we would like a coconut to drink. Unthinkingly, we said "yes", but then realised they were going to send the 8 year old up the highest coconut tree around! We did not want to be responsible for his death. But, it was too late! With the big machete in his teeth, he climbed the tree which was at least 70feet high. When he got there, he held on with his legs and chopped away at least 18 coconuts. Being the highest, steepest palm around, it had al l the best coconuts. We breathed a big sigh of relief when Jeffrey descended safely to the ground. Then the boys hacked holes in the tops of enough to give us a couple of litres each of coconut milk. They also gave us unopened ones for the boat (which was already bulging with previous gifts of fruit and veges). Regards, The CREW
