Cinapoy

27 November (Happy birthday Emily)

PJ

We set our alarm for 4:40am. 1st activity for the day was trawling for some fish just off Chompoin Island where the resort is.

Tuna were in abundance and it is not unusual to look out from the beach and see a frenzy of activity on the sea surface with the fish jumping out causing splashes of white presumably feeding on something while sea Eagles diving in for their meal.

Jacinta was feeling the beginnings of a cold so stayed back while Chakumai, Kiliwi and I set out to see what we could catch.

As we were leaving I showed Chakumai how to use the video function on the camera so he could capture my first catch. I have not been fishing nor caught a fish in the ocean for well over 20 years so I was excited.

We would not have been out for more than 10 minutes when all three of us almost simultaneously felt a tug on our lines and were reeling in our fish. 10 minutes later we were again reeling in another 3. Then the next time we threw in our lines we all lost our lures while reeling in the fish so we decided to head back to shore. We would have been out there a mere 40 minutes or so and returned with 6 fish.

Chakumai never had time to get that video, you’ll just have to believe me when I say I caught two fish.

Jacinta 

I woke up with a strong case of the Lorengau Lurgy, but pulled myself together because I didn’t want to miss the snorkelling trip. We went snorkelling straight after breakfast, with Chakumai, Kiliwi, Kiteni and two of the other young women. We snorkelled at two sites around Anun Island, just a short boat trip away from the island we are on.

It was absolute magic. When we have both been on a separate diving trip in Cairns, they make a point of taking all 50ish divers in a conveyor belt fashion to one spot to see one pair of clown fish, and you get your photo taken. PJ had just got in the water and was testing the camera and I was already pointing out sea anemone and a pair of clown fish. We must have seen about 30 of them. PJ doesn’t have prescription goggles or contacts so I am his underwater seeing eye dog, pointing out all the wonders for him to get a closer look at and photos. We saw endless clamshells, a lobster, a jelly fish, a creature that looked a bit like a big axolotl with leopard spots, that Chakumai called a ‘big mouth’ when he saw the photo. And so many mysterious creatures and corals. 

We learnt that the M’Buke people have created restricted zones for conservation. Anyone can visit and snorkel but no one is allowed to fish. It’s hard to describe the enormity of the reef here. You can drop in to the ocean and snorkel a 100m section filled with innumerable wonders, and not even be close to seeing what is there.

When we got back, PJ and Kiliwi spoke about the health aid post at the main M’Buke Island, what the health care model looks like and what could be done. He asked if PJ wanted to talk to the community about health issues. PJ said he is happy to sit with people to listen and try to understand what the community needs are. Kiliwi suggested that PJ talk with the chiefs. 

Another enormous meal arrived even though we keep insisting that we cannot even eat one third of the food they bring us. I’m glad the leftover food gets shared with everyone. We are trying to eat together with everyone but so far we’ve only coaxed Chakumai to join us for dinner once. We found out they were shy about their cooking and how they eat. We are desperately trying to convey that the food and ingredients are incredible, we’ve never eaten better in our lives. They have a picture of our western food, and our cooking skills that definitely do not match up with reality. 

After lunch, Chakumai told us Kiliwi spoke to the clan chiefs and they were going to meet us when we went to M’Buke. The boat ride was about the time from Townsville to Yunbenun. 

It was a really special occasion. The newly elected local councillor Bernard welcomed us to the island. They showed us the health clinic. You’ll see a photo of the little blue book of clinical guidelines for children, that we recently learned Uncle John was the original author of. It’s still in use across PNG today and this copy has definitely been put to good use. 

They gifted us a bowl of bananas and a pineapple, and we sat under a pergola at the ocean front and talked. One of the chiefs told PJ of how he had brought his sick sister to PJ’s clinic in Port Moresby, and how much it had helped her. Many stories were told, about life on the island, about which health needs could be prioritised, and about how we might be able to connect them with useful people and resources. We also talked about how amazing our time has been here and they clapped with joy when PJ told them this is the most beautiful place he’s ever seen. They particularly liked the story about how many nemo fish are here compared to the one well worn piece of coral that we had to hold on to to see the one pair of nemos in Cairns. This resort is not yet being utilised for tourists and they were very keen to hear of our experience and how it could be used. Chakumai presented the balls and the volleyball net we had brought to the committee for the community. 

The chiefs officially welcomed us, by telling us we would be welcome to come and snorkel, explore and be in community with them any time. To formalise the relationship, PJ already has a Manus name but they decided that they will give me a Manus name as well. They said that Chakumai would give me the name. 

The meeting wrapped up with PJ finding out this was actually his second time on M’Buke. One of the chiefs said that Nahau came to the island in 1977, while on the campaign trail for the very first general election in PNG after independence. While she was making a speech, a baby started crying in the canoe she had arrived on. She had to interrupt her speech to go to the canoe to breastfeed baby PJ and then she returned and finished her speech. What a remarkable piece of history. 

What we gathered from the meeting was how resilient and resourceful the M’Buke people are and how aware they are of the inconsistency of the government support and their need to seek their own solutions.  We are excited about being friends of the M’Buke community.

They took us for a walk around the community and we saw the soccer field, the school and teachers’ houses. Some kids were playing soccer with the world’s most beat up flat soccer ball so it’s gonna be put to good use. The Australian government provided some of the school buildings and put a big plaque on it so that wasn’t ever forgotten…

We saw the beautiful food gardens around everyone’s houses and we got to visit Chakumai’s home and children, a big collection of beautiful kids, some of them he and his wife have adopted. The kids climbed a tree to pick some fruit for me to eat that I hadn’t had before. A type of laulau. 

As we were leaving, PJ met the chief’s sister who had come to his clinic for treatment.

On our return, Terry and Kiteni dressed me up in traditional Manus attire and Chakumai gave me the name Piwen, which is both of their mothers’ name. I was very honoured. Now everyone here is calling me Piwen.

26 November

PJ and Jacinta, we’ve shared this is in  chunks.

The day started a little bit chaotic, tumultuous, upsetting, rocky… And ended in bliss.

We had an early start packing our own gear for the trip to M’Buke Island. For Australian friends, this is pronounced mBu-keh (not MmmBouquet, as Leah playing a terrible tourist acted out). We packed our ultralight tent and bedding, clothes for three days, some comically oversized fruits and the items that Chakumai had asked us to bring for the community. The rest was already loaded on the boat.

We were supposed to be going with two boats and a pile of people but like all good plans seem to go, it did not eventuate that way. We had a mad scramble to find a car to get us from the guesthouse to the council centre where the boat was moored. Luckily the guesthouse owner Jaclyn came through with the goods immediately and a ute showed up. We jumped in the back with all our worldly possessions.

After a short wait, we were on our way with Chakumai, Kiteni and our skipper, Kiliwi. Right now we are in the middle of the annual north easterly winds, so the waters are far choppier on the northern side of the coast line. The initial part of the trip on the north side of the island was quite choppy and bumpy.

What appears to be one island of the Manus mainland is actually two separate islands, split by the narrow Loniu passage.  It is maybe 100m wide. As soon as we reached the Loniu passage, the sea became very calm. When we went through the passage we reached the southern coastline and it remained calm all the way to M’Buke. It was a 2 hour trip, where we passed many people transiting between islands and also fishing. Some brave souls were going solo on small traditional Manus canoes.

The arrival at M’Buke was so picturesque it didn’t seem real. Dolphins jumped out of the water as we pulled up! I think they were paid actors.

We had come expecting that the people who were with us would be staying in the bungalow and we would sleep in our tent. As it turned out, it was just the two of us and they put us up in the main house rather than a bungalow. The house belongs to the Governor of Port Moresby… We have gone to the most far flung remote corner of Manus and found ourselves in absolute luxury. Solar, running water, flushing toilet, a massive house with a selection of beds (we chose one outdoors under a mosquito net, looking over the sea). Meals prepared for us with the food we brought. We saw a tuna pulled out of the ocean and then end up on our plate within an hour.

As well as being an expert canoe builder, Chakumai is also a carpenter. So we gifted him with a cordless hand held drill and he gifted me a small model traditional Manus canoe. I had been, for the last year, slowly working on my own small model canoe but had reached the stage at which I found it hard to continue due to a lack of knowledge. This gift will allow me to continue and hopefully finish it in the near future. He also carved us a mermaid.

When we gave the soccer ball, volley ball and volley ball net for the community, Chakumai said he will take these to the M’Buke committee to decide how they are to be distributed. 

The beach is at our doorstep and a coral reef is about a ten metre swim out. Mid snorkel, Kiliwi picked us up and took us to a spot where he said we would see turtles. We did! Pinching ourselves about how we ended up as the only visitors of this amazing place.

This is the most amazing community. We will write more about it over the coming days. It’s 9.40pm and we are sitting on the beach trying to get enough reception to type.. We type ten words and wait thirty seconds for them to appear. I also suspect I (JW) am starting to get a cold of some sort so the pictures might need to tell you the rest for now. More to come!

25 November

Jacinta

There are days and then there are days where so much happens that it’s hard to believe some of these pictures were taken just this morning. It’s only 6.30pm! I’m sitting on the floor of the guesthouse room surrounded by a pile of beautiful bilums gifted by various people for various reasons.

Started the day with a message from Phillip, PJ’s friend who used to be a cook/manager/jack of all trades at the lodge. He swung by and ended up spending the day with us in all its winding glory.

Now I am not going to be able to give any justice in conveying some of the customary events of the day that I was privileged enough to witness. I will share some of what I witnessed.

Family started gathering at the house last night, to mark a significant event that happened today. While we were camping with the girls and their boyfriends earlier in the year, we got the call to say that Aunty Karula has passed away. Aunty Karula was Nahau’s (PJ’s mum’s) youngest sister. The event today was a ceremony to mark the closing of the grieving period, amongst other things.

We were able to share some of the clothes, shoes, hats, headlamps and solar lights we brought with us, with family and friends. Hilda is wearing a hat I bought from the Mackay NAIDOC march that I love dearly, but how many hats does one person need… I was going to send some of the clothes to the op shop (random band shirts for example) but PJ assured me they would be very warmly received here, and they very much were. I have seen some hilarious shirts out and about here that are perfectly out of place. On an island that is home to a family of about ten people, I met a woman who was wearing an ‘A Perfect Circle’ shirt. I wonder what journey that shirt went on to make it there. Mula is sporting a new wardrobe of soccer and running shirts courtesy of Chris. He put one straight on. It’s good to see them get a new life in this humid paradise. We had to look for Cinderella to find someone to fit the shoes we bought, and there was much excitement when we did. The men have wide feet and the woman have feet about half the size of mine. I know what to bring next time.

While we were sitting telling stories with Phillip, PJ’s phone dinged with the email that he had been waiting to receive since 4am this morning. The year has been a very hard slog of study, with an intensity and impact that is too much to describe. But today, he found out he passed his final exam, with excellent marks too. I could not be more proud. It was a really special moment. The collision of the exam results and the Manus trip is a mark of big things to come.

We launched in to the final stages of our preparation for the trip to M’Buke Island. There was much to’ing and froing, riding in the back of the ute across town and back again quite a few times. Fetching fuel containers, filling them, dropping them, collecting more, markets, dropping off food, round and round. Hilda helped me to choose a smoked fish at the markets, so I feel a bit better now about buying fish and cooking for myself. They assured me that smoked fish lasts a long time (months!?). Hopefully mine was not that old! We also bought pumpkin tips which PJ has been talking about as a favourite for a long time. I didn’t know they are literally just the end of the pumpkin vine. I could’ve hooked us up at home!

We met Chakumai in person today. PJ and Chakumai were introduced online by a mutual friend, because Chakumai is a canoe carver. This is a long held hobby and goal of PJ’s. They’ve stayed in close contact and Chakumai has been teaching PJ via video calls.

If you think you have got a sense of the logistics required to organise this trip, multiply it by ten and add some GST.

It’s 5 million degrees and 100% humidity. I think that’s an important part of the story to add in when considering the ferrying around town lugging supplies. We were absolutely wrecked. We had an hour between that mission and pick up time for the ceremony in the afternoon, so PJ cooked lunch. A Manus version of fish and chips, with smoked fish and banana.

We have been living off nuts, fruits, fish, coconuts and vegetables. I’m keen to dive in and cook some more veggies next week when we’re back from M’Buke, so I can try some of the veg I see at the markets. I’m loving the new fruits and nuts I’ve tried. We only have a half dead electric fry pan with every skerrick of Teflon scratched off, and a rice cooker, shared with a whole guest house, so cooking is an exercise of perseverance and stamina. That might sound like I’m not a fan of the kitchen situation but truly I am. It’s so great to have some facilities to cook and rest.

We travelled up to Loniu village for the ceremony. I won’t share too many photos and I’ll keep it short. It was an extended affair with lots of exchanging of words, money and gifts. There were two parts to the ceremony. One part was about Aunty Karula and the other was about a family member being received in to her new family and giving thanks to those who raised and supported her to now. PJ received a gift on behalf of his sister. This ceremony was at the home of Aunty Karula’s husband, and she has been laid to rest at the side of the house.

It’s now 9.10pm. I’ve written this post while wrangling all sorts of happenings. Mostly kitchen related. Now we’re in bed both writing our blogs so we are caught up before the trip tomorrow. Uncle John sent a really lovely email today that meant a lot so we are glad to keep sharing.

24th November

PJ

I met Chakumai via an introduction by a mutual friend back in 2020. The friend had noticed Chakumai and I had a shared interest in canoe carving. I don’t know how to carve a canoe and was wanting to learn, while Chakumai comes from a long line of canoe builders and is an expert. Our friendship grew as we maintained our communication online. He taught me about canoe building and at the same time shared parts of his life. I also shared my life and we planned to meet in person when I came to Manus. A few trips had been planned previously but we had to cancel for various reasons. Hence why when this trip finally happened, I got really excited to visit him, learn from him and experience life in his small island home.

He knew that we were unfamiliar with how to arrange things in Lorengau such as transport, markets etc. He was in the village but arranged for his daughter Kiteni, to come and assist us. Kiteni lives in Lorengau while she studies welding at vocational training. She told us that she is the only girl in a class of 18. This amazing young woman graduates next week.

She came to the lodge where we were staying and she helped us catch the PMV to town. I was quite familiar with PMVs in PNG but it was a bit of a shock to Jacinta especially the state of the bus structure, seats, and questionable road worthiness. But we got to where we needed to get to for one kina.

First thing we needed to get was cash. We went to the only ATM in town, at the only bank in town, with our only bank card to take out some cash. Unfortunately, there were some technical difficulties with the PIN number so the ATM ended up chewing up the bank card. We worked it out later that this technical difficulty was  I had punch in the wrong PIN number which triggered the anti fraud/theft protocol. Fortunately we were able to retrieve the card and we were able to set a new PIN online and were back in business.

Next thing was the food from the market including, cooking bananas, kaukaus, tapiocs and sago and some nuts and fruits.

Jacinta has introduced me several times in Townsville to some fruits and veggies I’d never had before so it has been good to return the favour here in Manus.

After the food shopping we managed to catch up with Kevin who drove us back to our lodge to drop them off then to the main fuel depot to fill up our fuel containers.

We would still need to get a bit more fuel tomorrow when Chakumai arrives from M’buke but for today the main things we needed to do was done. We headed back to the lodge for an afternoon rest before heading to Kevin’s for dinner later in the evening.

23 November

Jacinta

I’m writing early in the morning from the deck of a guesthouse, watching the town wake up in drizzling rain. A huge thunderstorm rolled in last night and it rained all night. I’m sitting close by because I have the only key and I’ve locked sleeping PJ in the room. I guess it’s too wet for fire safety here.

23 November 2025.

We were awaiting the morning’s arrival after no sleep. On many nights in the bush without creature comforts, our grand confidence in our sleeping arrangement had disappeared after one night. We had pitched the inner section of our tent as an alternative to spending more money on a mosquito net, and were sleeping on our ultralight hiking mattresses. Indoors.

PJ’s Manusian/Australian friend Lynne had suggested a guesthouse close by to the house, so we went for a wander with Mula to see what we could find. We had seen a transit house a few doors up, and the lovely owner Jaclyn confirmed that this was Lynne’s spot. We were immeasurably happy… It had been an enormous few days, taxing in all the ways. The sight of a guest house with a shared kitchen and bathroom had us overjoyed. We will be coming and going for a few nights here and there but decided to book it for the duration so we have a home base. The day seemed infinitely more manageable with a promise of sleep.

We took our key and the three of us headed up the road to the former Kohai Lodge, the guest house and tavern that PJ’s dad Wesley ran. There are now family members and others living there.

I’ve had a story told to me a few times about Wesley enjoying what he called ‘culture food’. On our first overnight hike, when we cracked open a can of smoked oysters, PJ told me when he was a child, his dad would take a quiet moment to enjoy crackers, cheese and smoked oysters that he had imported. It turned in to a ceremony we repeated on every hiking and camping trip. Taking a moment to remember Wesley each time we cracked open a can of smoked oysters. In Cairns, we scoped out the hardest cheese we could find, with a hope of it enduring a day’s travel and a night out of the fridge. Settled on a rock hard Manchego and crossed our fingers for its survival and successful customs clearance. We also had crackers, chilli pickles, mussels and oysters. The customs guy told us we were fine as it was commercially packaged. He also said they are mainly worried about meat.

On the property behind the lodge, PJ’s mum and dad are buried. We gathered at the graves, and spread out our mat and food. PJ’s sister Nawes, recognised it straight away as ‘culture food’ and everyone shared stories. The kids looked in curiously and waited to be offered a taste.

We went back to the family’s house, packed up our things and relocated to the guesthouse, before heading to the markets. The family home was built by Wes, and is now lived in by various family members and other friends to form a little community. I’ve heard stories about the woven walls and the arched doorway that PJ’s dad decided to cut in with a chain saw.

Mula told us it was not a very good day at the market but to my eyes it was incredible. Everyone was selling fresh food from their garden or what they had caught. I wasn’t sure about our cooking situation yet and was also unsure on how to cook a lot of the food there, so we loaded up mostly with pineapple, galip nuts, coconuts, tomatoes and a fruit called ndrinat that I can’t find online to confirm the spelling. It was crunchy, sour and sweet. We plan to go back with a bit more of a plan of what and how to cook and get some more supplies. The market is there every day. How good to get your food fresh from the garden as you need it.

We have not quite worked out how to get protein when we cook for ourselves. The fish from the market is laid out on the ground and fanned to keep flies off, and neither us feel confident enough that we would know how to pick a fresh one and store it safely. We got some eggs from the grocer yesterday, and ate them with tomatoes and galips for lunch. We drank coconuts on the way to our next adventure.

Kevin arranged for us to go out on a boat to visit Two Ailan. Romeo and Sakis, took the three of us with Mula and his kids Solomon and Hazel and his nephew JT. We met two cousins who each live on one of the islands, with their families. They each showed us around their island homes, which were small enough to do a lap around on foot or by canoe. Each family member or family unit has a house surrounded by a huge food garden with chickens and a dog. In the rainforest. It was such a beautiful place to visit.

They let us borrow a canoe on the first island and we paddled out, went snorkelling around some shipwrecks and ate our coconuts. It was magic.

We shared a beautiful meal with the family when we got back, and talked about the planning that will happen over the next two days. We had a plan to go back to Two Ailan to camp for the night but we decided to keep our schedule free, because the gathering of food and fuel for M’Buke Island is shaping up to be a two day exercise.

And now we’re both sitting on the deck eating cereal with coconut water. The best we were able to muster up until we work out how to feed ourselves here!

New camera, new chapter, daggy photo

This morning I declared I wished I was a street photographer and PJ said you have a camera, this is a street, let’s go.. Three gorgeous boys were behind us on the pier, watching the water, with oceans and mountains behind them. It was peak Australiana. PJ whipped out the camera and we took this photo of us, the maiden photo with the new, ultra-tough-ultra-waterproof-ultra-us-proof camera. We were wandering the Cairns esplanade in the sticky heat, in training for our Manus adventure. We had a phone call with Aunty Pam and Uncle John, who are kind enough to share in our travels and lives, and we got more excited about what’s ahead.

PJ’s return to Manus has been talked about since the day we met, and this shared trip has been long planned and even longer dreamed of. The trip and its destination have the quality of a myth in my mind now.

This trip will be many things, not least a reconnaissance mission so we can bring some of our big loves with us next time. HC told me that I will never understand PJ until I go to Manus with him. Here we go.

Jacinta