Last adventure club in PNG
We have had so much fun with our different trips and somehow, they always manage to involve a fish.
We went to Wewak to see a different part of the country. We enjoyed wandering in the markets and saw an unusual meat for sale, fruit bats. You could buy them smoked, fired, or fresh. Apparently, it is a favorite food here. It also explains all the nets we saw set up above the trees along the mountain ridges. That is how they capture them.
And while walking along the beach we met a fisherman selling his latest catch and so we decided to buy one. To keep it fresh while we enjoyed the beach, we dug a hole in the sand and buried it. Made a great supper that night with our hosts from MAF.
Then there was the trip to Madang when we charted a fishing boat. That was one frustrating event. For hours we watch tuna jumping and feeding but every time we tried to move over to that area to fish, they moved to another area. We noted some heavy rain clouds coming and so decided that we had had enough frustration for one day. But we did leave one line out.
Good thing because that was when we got our one and only bite for the day. Jeff was then one holding the pole when it hit, but it was big enough that both John and I took turns helping him land the fish. When we finally got it aboard and measured and weighed the fish it was 42 inches long and weighed 22 pounds. Made the whole morning worth it. And it made a great meal.
Now we have just come back from West New Britain and have another fishing story. One of the missionaries at the NTM base invited us to go fishing with him and to enjoy the beach on a small atoll. We happily agreed. As we neared the atoll, he baited a couple of hooks with big chunks of squid attached them to bobbers and then took us to the atoll.
I decided to do some snorkeling while they went and checked one of the bobbers. They had quite a story to tell. On the first one they discovered they had caught an eight-foot-long brown shark. Boy did that cause some excitement and confusion. Just how does one land an eight-foot shark? They decided to tow it to where I was snorkeling and see if I could help. While they were doing this the shark managed to cut the line and escape. I was relieved. I was not interested in coming face to face with a shark, and one that was upset, while in the water.
The boys were both excited and discouraged about the one that got away. I was happy it did but hoped we could catch something a little smaller and more manageable. Once I was on board the boat we went to the beach and enjoyed our lunch. And then started home. We did a little fishing as we traveled and caught a few small fish (ones with poisonous spines) and then gathered in the last bobber only to discover we had caught a moray eel, and he was one angry moray. Seems like everything we caught today was either dangerous, poisonous, or hopping mad.
Besides all that we enjoyed our time with our hosts. Some of us went stingray hunting (yep another dangerous sea creature) while the rest of us enjoyed a flight over an active volcano. Never a dull moment in our adventures.
Wonder what we will encounter in our next adventure and where it will be as we move from PNG to Guyana.
Perry J
Kids need a break and you do to. Are you planning for those breaks? Are you setting aside the finances that will be needed? Do you have both short and long breaks in mind? How important are they to you and your family?