Can't believe 2 weeks have passed so quickly. After a number of busy days today is a low key day as we prepare for our trip to Cairns tomorrow.
We saw the new year in at The Aviat Club where it was of course the obligatory costume party! This year the theme was the letters F & P. Mum and Dad dressed as Farmers, Jen as Posh Spice (yes stealing my thunder) and I of course went as a Pirate (still no sign of Cap'n Jack Sparrow though!!) Wayne went as himself. It was a fun night with a great local band playing. They played traditional music (which we really enjoyed) but all the local people wanted Jen to get up and dance so the band would play "ex-pat" music - apparently much cooler and more fun to dance to!!
New Years day started slowly and quietly with brekky at the Yacht Club followed by a visit to the Golf Club where Wayne and his pals were going to enjoy a day of golf. We went along for a short time to see if we could spot any crocodiles rumoured to be living in the ponds on the golf course!! Together with our expert local guide Michael and Jen at the wheel (thinking she was on the grand prix track) we headed off in the golf buggy. After a few laps of several ponds Michael suddenly yelled "puk puk" and indeed there was a huge (well hugeish) croc slowing rising out of the water eyeing us very greedily. We all screamed in excitement but managed a few photos before Jen put her foot down and we sped off!!
On Friday we took a trip to the Bomana War Cemetery where 4000 PNG and Australian WWII soldiers are buried. It's a beautiful, serene place where a service is held every ANZAC day with a crowd of around 2 or 3 thousand people attending. Visiting dignitaries always make the journey there as part of their PNG tour. After that we continued through the region of Sogeri which leads to the Kokoda Trail. Unfortunately, due to very wet weather, we were unable to get to the start of the track but we stopped at a memorial monument that leads in to the track. We continued through very picturesque countryside to the top of the mountain range in Sogeri for some spectacular scenery and along the way stopping at a roadside fruit stall to buy bananas and pineapple.
Dinner was an enjoyable affair at Ichizen Japanese restaurant where Chef Kelso amused us with his entertaining style of teppanyaki cooking.
Saturday we once again headed off to Fisho’s Island for a picnic and a day of swimming and snorkelling. It was bliss. We were lucky enough to observe a spectacular boat race with small sailing boats called Lakatoi from a local Fisherman’s Island village. The boat race is traditional on the first weekend of the New Year.
Excitement on the way home - Dad caught a 3 kg Spanish makerel fish!! He gave it to the the crew Petu and Matthew to share.
And now it’s off to the Aviat for lunch and to say goodbye to the friends we’ve made..........
