It's my final full day on this lovely and untouched island, and a fun-filled day of being on the water it was. As with other Pacific islands, Sundays are rather quiet with locals going to church. They're colourful as they dress up and wear flowers. She was fine with having her photo taken but it appears her mother and little boy weren't!
After my morning coffee I went outside for practice with Juliett. I've sure captured some amazing scenes and videos with her on this journey. Flying Juliett would take a bizarre turn this morning as a local would pull up in an old, beat up ute. At first I thought his little boy, seated in the passenger seat wanted to see me fly my drone, but he came up to me yelling something in French and I could smell alcohol on his breath even though it was 9 AM. I then watched as he went to the back of his ute and took out a machete, and I was thinking "if you come near my drone, it's over for you buddy!" After another minute or so of yelling, he got back in his ute and drove off erratically.
Moments after that bizarre incident, two blokes pulled up to me asking about my drone. It turned out they're members of a news crew from New Caledonia. It turned out he brought his Phantom and it suddenly fell into the water. Normally I don't allow anybody to fly Juliett unless I know they have expertise with drones, but I stood there as he flew her. The rowing began, and then I got some great overhead shots.
I got to participate and this is the first day I've truly went for a swim in Wallis. Several locals and I paddled away; we didn't win but it was still fun. Canoeing today was more of a Sunday fun day than a serious competition.
There aren't that many beaches per se on Wallis and most of the ring road doesn't run along the coast. Not that I've ever believed everything I read in Lonely Planet guides, this trip has taught me that guides can be very helpful but also very misleading. Anybody can say you'll be laughed at if you attempt to hitchhike but unless you've done it yourself in that place, don't believe what you read or hear. Overall, this has been another wonderful island journey. As with Tokelau, there is no tourist infrastructure but that doesn't mean there is nothing to do. In 10 days, I've walked round the island, went swimming and rowing, flew Juliett, snapped some great photos, visited Lake Lalolalo, met some great people and, best of all, I felt as if I had the whole island to myself. The only thing I didn't do that was on my list was go to Futuna.
In one final nice thing on Wallis, I was invited to dinner at the home of some of Michel's friends where we indulged in chicken stew, rice, and other things alongside a few glasses of wine. From here I have another evening in Fiji and then it's back to New Zealand.
Eventually I'd get a photo of Futuna and Alofi from the plane on the way to Fiji
