Since we last wrote we've had a few adventures. That afternoon we had a kayaking lesson with one of the owners of the island, Grant. They require any guest who wants to use the kayaks to go through the lesson. It was quite fun, and both of us were surprised at how much goes into keeping a kayak right side up.
That night, we had a great dinner, as usual, and we were settling in for the night when we realized we'd forgotten to get a bottle of water for the night. The sniffles I'd had earlier in the day had developed into a full-blown cold, and I was had a bit of the "medicine head" that comes with taking sudafed, but I offerred to go back to the lodge. I blame the medicine-head for what happened next.
I was nearly to the lodge, and I could see the light from the dining room, so I turned off my headlamp. I was looking up and forgot about the short concrete step right there. I kicked it full force with my bare big toe on my left foot. There was a loud pop and I stumbled. I looked down and saw my toe covered with blood.
I asked Jill and her son, Jason, to patch me up. Luckily I didn't break the toe, but I did burst a blood vessel and crack the nail. I was mostly pissed because we were supposed to go on the day-long diving trip the next day which included a couple of WWII plane wrecks. Because of my toe, we didn't go. Instead, I grumbled and limped my way around the island (I'm a bit of a baby when I'm sick or hurt, as Anna can tell you, and I was both). We settled for some kayaking and an afternoon dive with Jill just off the dive Jetty. One of the things that makes Uepi so great is that you can literally jump off the dock and have a wonderful dive right there.
I then went fishing with Jason, and the assistant manager, Josh. We didn't catch anything more than a couple of beers and some good conversation, but overall, it was not a half-bad way to spend an evening.
(Relaxing on the Welcome Jetty)
The following morning we got a chance to do something I've wanted to do since I first saw NOVA's ocean specials on TV as a kid. We got to swim with large Manta Rays.
We got up a little early, and one of the dive guides, Robert, took us out on the lagoon to look for the mantas. We searched for a long time. It started to rain, and we were beginning to lose hope, when Robert spotted something. We got a bit closer, and there, a large fin broke the surface. There were two of them, and they swam by right next to the boat. The large one dwarfed the boat as it went by. It couldn't have been less than 15 feet wide. They disappeared for a bit as they continued to search for food, then we found them again. A group was feeding in one spot, doing loop-de-loops through the krill. You could see their white bellies flashing in the water.
Robert told us to jump in, and at first, I was a little nervous, but after a moment, I thought, what the hell? I put on my flippers, mask and snorkel and rolled off the side of the boat, Anna shortly behind.
We slowly swam up to them. They were beautiful. There was 7 or 8 of them, rolling under the surface and flapping their fins like birds. They swam right under us, and we could see them looking up and checking us out. They swept back and forth a few times before veering off as another group of 5 or 6 came in. I dove under a few times to try and touch them, but I never got close. The mantas can be playful, but they are still wary.
After a while, it started raining harder and it was time to go in. It was a short time in the water, only about 10 minutes, but that is 10 minutes that neither Anna or I will ever forget.
The day after I did something you might consider a lot of fun, or just plain stupid. I got in the water with several other people to watch Grant throw fish guts into off the welcome jetty to the resident sharks. The resulting feeding frenzy was astonishing. Anna watched from the jetty and got some good pictures. There were seven of us in the water, hiding under the jetty. We had strict orders from Grant to no stick so much as a finger out from under the jetty until he said so.
We all were wearing our snorkels and had a good view of the action. When Grant started chucking fishbait into the water, the sharks went nuts. They darted to and fro bumping into each other and trying to reach the food. I know now why they call it a feeding frenzy. However, even though it was frenetic and chaotic, it was a controled chaos. You could see that the sharks knew what was going on. Grant was alternating his throws left and right, and when it was clear that some sharks would not get anything if they swam over, they stayed put and waited for the next throw to come their way. The sharks had learned. That is not something one normally associates with sharks, but it was clear. I was impressed.
Several times one of the sharks would come streaking toward us, only to veer away at the last second when they realized we had nothing to offer. I was also impressed at how quickly the sharks calmed down after it was over. We were able to swim out through them to the stairs without them paying us any more attention than they normally did. We could tell that the sharks knew what was going on. It was great fun, and I came out with all limbs intact.
We continued diving and enjoying the weather over the next few days. Sunday was our last diving day and we were sad we'd missed out on the wreck dives, so we asked to just go over to the planes. They are (appropriately) in the water just off the runway at Seghe, where we had landed. The first one was a WWII bomber in about 15 meters of water. It is a little eerie going down. Because of the current, the water is very murky, and visibility is about ten feet. We got to the bottom and this large shape loomed in the murk like some old ghost. I had never dived on a wreck before, and while it was very cool, it was also a little eerie. Here was where someone was shot down over sixty years ago. The plane is resting upside down, and you could see that a bomb is still attached to the underside of the plane.
The second plane was a fighter, as indicated by the machine gun barrel sticking out the nose. Its two prop engines rest one to a wing, and the tail is open and connects the two engines behind the cockpit. The props are bent where the plane hit the water. This plane landed right side up, and you can get in the cockpit (it's a bit of a squeeze) and see what the perspective was like from there, and feel the controls. There is something about seeing history right there in your face that is both exciting, and humbling.
The plane itself was also covered in a heap of growth, including a big anenome that hosts a very large Tomato Clown Fish. They're pretty cute.
The last day we just relaxed. A little snorkeling in the morning, and the rest of the day with our books. Above, you can see one of the island's other residents, a monitor lizard. There are tons of them. There's also several species of parrots and bats.
This morning, we began undoing what we did to get there. Jill and Grant saw us off at the dock (we will miss them) and off we went in the boat to catch the plane at Seghe to Honiara, amd then on to Brisbane. Above, you can see the edge of the dirt runway at Seghe just behind me. You can see how small the plane was that we took from Seghe to Honiara. It could only fit six people, and there were eight of us waiting. Luckily, we were able to get two seats. Two other guys had to wait for the next plane.
From Mt. Koya, we took six trains, three planes and one boat to get to Uepi, and we would do it all again. Uepi allowed us to relax and unplug from the world. It was a nice interlude on this long trip, and it is a little tough getting back into the rythym of travel. But, as they say, 'the road goes ever on and on'. - Scott
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