Day three of our expedition on Te Kaihōpara took us from Drawaqa Island to Somosomo Bay on Naviti Island. The morning didn’t hold much to offer as we motored out of the bay and through the inner reefs, covering the small distance to the top of the island. Once anchored in Vunayawa Bay, it was ashore armed with walking shoes, drink bottles and snorkels.

We were on a mission to cross the island to the eastern side and find a plane wreck to snorkel on. This plane is a WW2 P39 American bomber which went down after the pilot was flying too low and hit a coconut tree! He ditched into the water and the plane remains there to this day. Arriving on the pristine white beach, we came across some fellow boaties who we asked if they knew where the track started. The answer was no, but they had attempted the walk many years ago and failed to get across the island. Jo’s amazing brain recognised the man - it turned out to be Sir Peter Blake’s brother Tony! How cool! We spread out along the beach looking for a trail. Dennis went one way, Steve went the other way and ventured into the bush for a comfort break and what did he find? The track! Hailing everyone down, we tip toed our way through dry coastal bush, under vines and over crab holes (although Steve did go down one). Max and Peter did an awesome job at trail finding for us until we hit impassable mangroves, we turned back and Dennis found a forked path we followed until Jo got the heebie jeebies. We’d been walking for around 50 minutes by now and were only halfway across the island - it’s only 1km wide. Captain’s orders were to turn back, so turn back we did. Emerging onto the bright white beach, Sue beelined for the water and was followed by Lisa while the rest of us were just grateful to be out of the jungle! It was definitely crocodile territory but the worst thing we saw were coconut crabs and a few questionable spiders. It was a good attempt but the plane wreck will have to wait for another day.

Back on the haven of Te Kaihōpara, we blew up the paddle boards and kayaks and enjoyed an afternoon of water sports, snorkeling and sun bathing. Tired out, we moved Te Kaihōpara to an anchorage close beside our sister ship Silver Fern. Just after we’d anchored, we spotted a turtle swimming near by! Sofie zoomed off with her water scooter to try find it but didn’t have any luck. Around 5:30pm, we were invaded by the crew off Silver Fern for sunset drinks and nibbles. Peter brought out his folding guitar and he and Nicky delighted us with a few songs as the sun went down. This was such a special moment and really made a fantastic end to an awesome day. We eventually kicked off the sister crew then Nic and Steve rolled up their sleeves in the galley to produce an amazing ginger-soy chicken stir fry. Not long until we went to bed with the moon shining brightly over us.

We woke with bright sun on day four, still in the same spot as the night before which is always a bonus! Toys in the water, we spent some of the morning snorkeling, paddling and more sunbathing. The rest of the morning consisted of a village visit into Somosomo where we donated some bras, courtesy of Dennis and the fundraising efforts of the Kalgoorlie community. We had a tour of the village including the kindergarten, market and the wee shop (where some of us tried to buy an ice block but the key to the shop door went with the men fishing this morning). Cleaning stations happened as we moved our vessel to anchor outside of Gunu village. The crew have gone to visit their school, armed with more donations and an excitement to see an island school in action. We will return for dinner later on.

Hannah - Chief Mate - Te Kaihōpara