28 Oct 2015

Nendo, Temotu Province

We have had quite a day at Nendo Island, the largest of the Temotu province. An impromptu snorkelling excursion this morning turned out to be a delightful experience. We set out from a shallow Zodiac anchorage and soon came across a beautiful wall where the water dropped away into the ocean depths where sunrays filtered through the trees overhead creating beautiful shafts of light. Along the wall we saw a great diversity of fish including some larger specimens, but the stars of the show were the corals – turnicates and fans graced the wall as deep as the eye could see.

After lunch back aboard the Spirit of Enderby, we went ashore to the provincial capital of Lata and boarded trucks for the drive to Noipe Village where we were welcomed by a rousing warriors challenge. Inside the village we were refreshed by the sweetest of coconuts and entertained by informal and modern dancing. This was followed by more traditional dances performed at the formal dancing circle by the chiefs and elders decked out with nasal piercings of intricately carved mother of pearl. These dances were all accompanied by the beat of rhythmic chanting by the performers. Several of the village women wore a head-dress of Red Feather Money. Later they gave us a demonstration of the intricate manufacturing process required to construct this unique art form for which this village is renowned. We had a wonderful time with the villagers, right through until our farewell when we shook hands with every member of the community. We returned to the ship just on dusk and departed for the Duff Islands.