Friday 31 October – exploring around the island

Alex and I went for a good paddle in the kayak around the turquoise archipelago of little jungle islands. We visited a hidden lake which was very atmospheric, a 3m croc has been spotted here, so we definitely did not want to fall out! We paddled over some shallow coral which was a little nerve racking as we definitely don’t want to lose the kayak now we have lost the paddle board. We then went to admire some ancient handprints. They are about 30 feet above sea level, archaeologists believe they were made by prehistoric humans about 4000 years ago. Because they are so high it is thought the sea level has changed since they were made, the cliffs have lifted up by geological movements. The stencilled hands were created with natural pigments leaving a negative image. There are lots of local legends about them. We had a good paddle going in and out the waterways when we heard Rowan’s drone, we gave it a couple of waves, suddenly we heard a crash and a splash next to us, with a rather nasty burning smell. We rushed to the spot to see if we could retrieve the drone but no such luck. Rowan came out in the dinghy, Alex had spotted the drone in the water so Rowan jumped in and got it. Sadly way too late to revive it. His third drone lost to the sea!

In the afternoon we went out of the islands and snorkelled along the drop off of the main island. Plenty to see, although the coral was not in as good shape as other places. The visibility was not the best either but still so interesting.

In the evening we went to the resort for supper. We dinghied to the their dock in the anchorage, then walked over a long wooden walkway to the other side of the island where the main resort is facing out to open sea. Only a 5 minute walk, but beautifully done, and an amazing walk through mangrove trees and roots. The resort was built and started by a Swiss woman in 2011, she had incredible vision, it is beautifully laid out, the entire place built with local materials. 75 staff for 11 bungalows, ie max 24 guests. The staff are all incredibly well looked after and have very nice accommodation, their food is cooked for them at the same kitchen as the guests, they get their meals from the same area as the guests, they just eat elsewhere. We were disappointed not to be given local food, as it is a changeover day they do European food and we were served lasagne. I have to say it was absolutely delicious, we haven’t had a cheese feast like that in ages! Everyone sits together at one long table and joined by the management staff. It really was a white haired collection of Swiss Germans and Germans, rather unsociably we sat the other end, but one of the local staff joined us, we had an interesting chat with her. A really remarkable set up by one woman, bringing the local owner of the island on board. It is beautifully done, not cheap to use their moorings, so no idea what it costs. They don’t use booking.com or any agencies as they are always fully booked well in advance. They employ a local wood carver full time who just makes the carvings which are everywhere around the resort. Really enterprising.