24 Oct 2014

Makira Village Life

Things seemed strangely quiet as we made our way towards the beach at Na Muhga Village and shortly after landing we found out why. Word of our impending visit hadn't made it through to the locals as the local communication system was out of action due to a broken generator. However after a quick chat with the village elders, plans were rapidly put in place and messages sent by foot in all directions! The birders enjoyed a Zodiac cruise which featured sightings of large numbers of Duchess Lorikeets and then they walked along an old roadway where they found a number of the species endemic to Makira including 12 Chestnut-bellied Imperial Pigeons in a single tree! The rest of the group left the ship after breakfast and cruised through an impressive mangrove-lined waterway towards Toro Village. We landed at the end of this channel and started the beautiful short walk through the forest with Impatiens flowering along either side of the path. At Toro we were met by a warrior welcome from the village boys and a warm reception from the elders. The women treated us to some impromptu songs and their small market sold out of the entire stock of 30 beautiful hand woven fans. Toro Village faces out on to the rugged south coast of Makira and even on this calm day the swells were breaking on the reef offshore. On our walk along the shoreline we found boys with their home-made surfboards (see below) playing in the shallows and chatted with the locals.

Makira Surfboards

On the way back to the Spirit of Enderby we stopped off in Na Muhga village where the Bishop of Makira had visited yesterday. A number of dance groups were still in town following the visit and gave us a fantastic performance, with lots of traditional Kastom finery on display.

Young lady wearing her great grandmother's traditional Kastom finery at NaMugha Village

The afternoon snorkelling excursion was interrupted by a very heavy rainstorm which curtailed our watery pursuits, so we set sail for Nendo in the Santa Cruz Islands.