Sunday 7th October

65 days to go.


An awful nights sleep, woke up several times with a dry sore throat. I still get up at 0600 have a shower get dressed and head to the beach. Eventually we get enough for a boatful and head off to see the Megapods. They are birds like Guinea Fowl but a bit larger. Each morning they leave the forest and lay eggs in a sandy field. They dig holes about 3 feet deep and sit in them to lay the eggs. They then cover the eggs with sand. The chicks hatch with feathers and stay under the sand for a couple of days. When they emerge they are totally independent and do not rely on parents. They exist only on 2 islands in the Solomons. The other thing is their eggs are about twice the size of hens eggs and are 90% yolk! The locals harvest them and sell them in the markets for $5 SolDol each.

We then leave and head back to the lodge, or so we thought. We continue sailing on past the lodge when our guide tells us we are going to look for Dolphins. We spend the next half hour chasing dolphins around the sea.

Back at last at the lodge, we have breakfast and then head off to pay a visit to a local village. Everyone comes out to meet us. They perform some dances and one of the elders tells us how the Island came to be. Some of the local youth group sing for us too. We all take turns introducing ourselves in Pidgin. The locals then get to ask us questions and we ask them some. We are then invited to go and meet the locals individually and ask them questions. It was a humbling experience. These people liked us being there and wanted us to be there. They knew we were there to help. Unlike the bollox spoken by the Prime Minister (not Sir Allen, the current one).Starved of communication, one of the villagers told us that the rugby score was 12 – 10 to Australia. Everyone was happy except me.

Time to go. The Jackpot arrives. The crew confirm that England won. I am joined in a chorus of Swing Low by a Magistrate from Victoria who knows nothing about rugby, but likes the song. Back home with very sore throat and dinner to make at 1930.