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View
images of each leg of our 2005 journey by clicking on the heading,
or photo, for the associated chapter below! All the photos contained
herein where taken by the crew during our adventures! Enjoy! Or
view our 2002 , 2003
and 2004 adventures. |
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Between Honiara and Gizo, Solomon
Islands
This is the land of betel nut, crocodiles, head hunters, amazing
wood carvings, and the ring of fire. We have been in the Solomon
Islands for almost two months now and have enjoyed them immensely.
During this last month, we have not seen any other cruising boats.
All the people we have met are the most sincere, friendly race
of people we have ever experienced in our travels. Read
More? |
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Louisiades, Papua New Guinea
We are now in the Lousiade archipelago of Papua New Guinea, cruising
these many remote and lovely islands before 'checking in' at Misima.
The people here have even less than the Solomon Islanders. Their
soil is not as productive so they have less food to trade. Some
earn cash by harvesting the beche de mer, a sea slug which is
very popular with the Japanese and Asians. They are just as sincere
and loveable, though they are some times more reserved. No canoes
for the kiddies to jump into and surround us with giggles! Read
More?
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Up to New Britain, Papua New
Guinea
Our time in Papua New Guinea has been the apogee of our voyage.
We have been awed by the warmth of the villagers throughout the
country and the glory of the geography - active volcanoes spewing
smoke and sulfur, anchorages inside ancient volcanic craters,
water so pure that the colors are indescribable. We have been
here for 4 ½ months and have cruised most of the off-lying
islands. Read More? |
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Kimbe and Walindi, Papua New
Guinea
Walindi Dive Resort on New Britain Island was a welcome oasis.
They have won awards for being the best dive resort in the world,
and Dylan and Jim had many great dives with them. Dylan made a
trip to Port Moresby. Read More? |
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Kavieng, New Ireland. Papua New
Guinea
Kavieng, on New Ireland, we approached with trepidation, having
read the widely publicized report about thieves breaking into
S/V Whitehawk last year. But we had no troubles and met many delightful
local people as well as many ex-pat Australians in business there,
along with two South Africans running a dive operation! It is
a lovely town and we were able to get provisions as well as the
package - we finally received the Raytheon GPS antenna, after
it was sent around the world to Guinea, West Africa by mistake.
Read More?
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New Hanover's Malmalang festival,
Papua New Guinea
John Rice, Jim's friend from St. Thomas in the early 70's, had
also mentioned a man (Bosston) and an island (Tsoi) that he had
enjoyed, so we wended our way through the New Hanover Islands
to find him. As luck would have it, a Cultural Festival was scheduled
to take place on his 'fairgrounds', so we stayed to see it. The
music, dancing and costumes were spectacular. Read
More?
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The Hermit and Ninigo Islands,
Papua New Guinea
The Hermit Island Group has only one village, located on the
main island of Luf, and it is the finest village we have visited
in Papua New Guinea. The community has only 120 villagers, all
Seventh Day Adventist Church members. They have two schools in
the village so the children do not need to leave home to get their
education.
This is the most prosperous village we have visited in our 4
1/2 months in Papua New Guinea. Read More?
Whilst here Dylan also undertook a sailing adventure which will
be a great campfire story for him top tell his grandchildren.
Inspiration from reading of the adventures of David Lewis in these
waters provided enough momentum for the ball to get rolling and
soon Dylan experienced his own adventures. Read more on Sailing
in the Hermits. |
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First encounters with Indonesia
Money changers, bargaining, tours and refueling took up our time
whilst in Manokwari, our first stop in Indonesia. Rice fields,
friendly people and an great tour guide called Yorris. Indonesia
has been a huge cultural change for us leaving the Melanesian
societies and now being faced with the Asian cultural influence.
It is both interesting and exciting and we are enjoying the challenge.
Read More?
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Wakatobi Marine Reserve, Indonesia
We are at this moment anchored at the entrance of an atoll (all
submerged, no motus) in a group of islands known as Wakatobi and
also Tukangbesi, a newly designated marine reserve off the SE
tip of Sulawesi. Read More?
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Flores Island,
Indonesia
Another special event was the whip fighting demonstration in
Flores, which our tourist agent had arranged for us on a Sunday
morning. It is a ritual called 'chachi'
that is an offering to the ancestral spirits, not a real brawl.
We also had the fortune of visiting a traditional village on the
southern shores of Flores, called Sikka village. The women here
still harvest kapok and weave it into fine Ikat
sarongs. The day after ou village tour we took a lengthy taxi
ride up to the wonder of the Kelimutu lakes,
which are absolutely awe inspiring. Read More?
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Rinca Island, Indonesia
We chose Rinca, which is part of the Komodo National Park, for
our trek to see the Komodo dragons, as it has fewer visitors and
more abundant wildlife that Komodo.The dragons can be dangerous
and the guide was not too happy when Dylan tried to approach one
so that he could touch his skin. The dragon has four powerful
legs, each with five massive claws, and a long thick tail that
can knock you down in a flash and grab a hold of you. Dylan backed
off. Read More?
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Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
We have had some very special days amongst the many of just traveling,
maintenance, etc. One of our favorites was going to the Horse
races in Bima. We also enjoyed a brief stop at the anchorage
just off the village of Sangeang where
the local Bugi descendants are still building 'pinisi' boats in
the traditional manner. Sumbawa island has some great diving off
of Moyo island in the North and some promising surf potential
on the South West side too! Read More? |
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Lombok, Indonesia
A nice surf spot, a reminder of the seas ceaseless attempt to
catch you off guard, varnish, a very comfortable bay and the wildness
that constitutes the Gili islands have been the makeup of our
Lombok time. The prices and easy going approach of the produce
and people reflect the extent of tourisms effects here in Lombok
and we are soaking it up before our arrival in the tourist capital
of Indonesia, Bali. Read More? |
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Bali, Indonesia
We have just arrived in Bali and are enjoying it immensely. However
we have had little time to photograph anything of interest, although
there certainly is enough that could be considered so! We will
update this page by November 1st 2005. Call in again then.
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Landlubbers we call
our friends.
This page consists of all the photos of our landlubber friends
we have met along the way. We hope you have as much fun identifying
yourself as we had in meeting you. Feel free to drop us a line
when you get a chance. Team Firebird. Go to page 1
2 .
Back to the top
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