Crusoe Project LIVE
29 August 2011
Crusoe Project Wrap Up
The dinghy moved sluggishly into the choppy waves between Bona Bona and the waiting PMV. Councillor Elisa, weighing in at 88.5 kg as of this morning, was nominated to move to the bow to give us more lift in the back end. He weaved delicately through the 17 other bodies that lined the dinghy. Those that could were huddled under the blue canvas amongst the colourful assortment of luggage. A bag of husked coconuts, a bilum full of tapioca and a sack of shark fin were some of the items destined for friends, family or market. The rain didn't bother me as it soaked into the sweat, grime and salt filled collar of my shirt. The number of people and luggage at least doubled in the cranky old PMV as we bounced, gurgled and broke down a few times along the road to Alotau. Approaching town the trickle of pedestrians sidestepping the truck became a constant line, some waving us down to no avail. Even by PNG standards we were truly full to capacity. Unloaded at the market I walked to the bank with Sito, a representative of all the landowners of Delami. My last job was to pay them a small amount for the privilege of having use of their island for the past month. The bank queue was long. I was by far the whitest, grubbiest and smelliest customer in there. With flecks of mud still around my ankles from yesterday, a noticeable aroma radiated outward that, in this environment, even offended me, the owner. Business concluded I checked into Masurina Lodge to catch up with Chris Abel and tuck into fish and chips with coleslaw and tomato sauce. A chocolate thick shake washed it down.
So it's another chapter of Expedition Class closing, the fifth in the series. It was a different journey this year. Not zooming about by bike, kayak or foot, but plodding slowly from task to survival task. The challenge was not to be finished in time; this was no race against the clock. I didn't even have a clock, just a diary to record the days passing and my weight dropping. Around me, sometimes close by but usually on the horizon at Bona Bona or under paddle beyond the reef, the villagers went about their lives. Gardening, fishing, hunting and playing. I raided the coconuts planted by their grandparents, fossicked for the siaia (chestnut) and lured their reef fish onto my hook. Without them life would have been unbearably difficult. It was, to be honest, hard enough.
The coconut shell fire never failed to brighten the evenings and the website forum, buzzing with helpful and inquisitive students never ever failed to make each day worthwhile. Whether it was the science of survival or thoughts on the effects of drinking one's own urine, I hope it shed a tropical light on classrooms around Tasmania and Australia. And I hope you're back next year because without you it's just another expedition with no class.
Thankyou's to the team that brought it to the World Wide Web this year, Nic Pearce (YTBC) on the forum, Bec Hughes deciphering the daily rant and Damian Bester for taking it to another audience through the Mercury. And not possible without the Bookend Trust who have given us a permanent home and longtime sponsors Australian Geographic and UTAS SET. This year and for the next two this, and our exciting Skullbone program are funded by an Innovative Flexible Education Grant through the Tasmanian Department of Education. My only complaint is that they could have come up with a better acronym than IFEG by DoE. To conclude, basic shelter, water and food is surviving, everything else is a bonus. What we do in Australia is more than survive, we thrive. We truly are a lucky country.
POSTSCRIPT - Expedition Class is excited to bring you a Himalayan adventure from Tasmanian students and led by teachers Doug Grubert and Sam Jesney from NEXT WEEK. So don't waste all your holidays on the internet but check their progress here.
28 August 2011
LAST OFFICIAL DELAMI DAY
Body weight: 70.4kg
Too much coconut yesterday (will I never learn) so I was up well before dawn. With the fire alight I started sorting equipment into 2 bags. One for stuff I have to take back to Australia and the other for things I can afford to give to people here. The present bag included, bush knife, axe, dry bag, fishing line, tackle, rope, lighter, glass jars (science experiment), Bushmans, pocket knife, water bags, mask and snorkel (don't tell the YTBC- they're hers), two pots, a sheet of plastic and a space blanket. So that leaves me with not much more than a set of clothes, communication and photo gear, toothbrush, Survival Guide, passport and a set of digital scales.
I decommissioned the campsite and it won't take long for the reclaim the clearing. A stack of coconut fronds and a hardened patch of sand under the fire are all that's left. At Dagama's we loaded the bags onto his canoe, I slipped the mask on, sucked through my nose to tighten the seal and dived off Delami for the last time. Dagama shadowed me for a short time, decided my stroke looked okay and headed to Bona Bona to find some brus (local tobacco that is smoked rolled up in newspaper). It must have been 800m because I cruised in with only a few rest-my-arms sections of breaststroke. A successful escape!
In the small village of Mugula I changed to wait for the dinghy. In the meantime my first cooked meal off Delami was served up- wild pig and taro leaf. Not quite roast lamb but not far off I guess. The dinghy didn't arrive, and being a lazy Sunday that didn't surprise me. We (Dagama, 2 village men and myself) decided the safest option was to walk over Bona Bona to Banewaso, where I'll leave from to catch the PMV to Alotau tomorrow. It was a great walk and better than steaming around in a dinghy anyway. The Crocs and mud didn't mix perfectly but we all made it in one piece. Tonight I'm at Heisi's house which is where I stayed on the way to Delami also. I'm on the verandah under the sago palm roof with the rain beating down and I couldn't be happier. Last post tomorrow from Alotau, so tune in to get the final wrap up.
27 August 2011
Body weight: 70.7kg
Temp 9/3: 24/30
Wind 9/3: 5kn SE/ 25kn SE
Clouds 9am: altocumulus
Food today: 1/2 coconut + 2 siaia, daytime- 3 fish + 1/2 coconut, dinner- 1/2 coconut + 2 siaia.
Word of the day: blatant
Question: What are some alternative fishing methods to the hook and sinker I've been using?
Apologies for the blatant sponsors product placement in todays photo, but I'll have a few more thankyou's on Monday. See the cheeky grin on my face? That's because I'm nearly ready for the last night on the pandanus mat under the shonky little shelter. I celebrated today by doing pretty much exactly what I've been doing for the last month- fishing, snoozing, collecting stuff, feeling hungry and playing with the fire. In fact I did slightly less work today because I'd already collected the coconuts, siaia and firewood. To prepare for tomorrows escape swim I did what an Olympic athlete would call 'tapering', I call it 'taking it easy tiger'. One solitary lap up the lagoon just to loosen the shoulders but not to burn much needed energy. Then I walked across to Dagama's to ask if he'd mind paddling my bags across. There's too much electronic hardware to risk floating them behind. He was sitting around a fire on the beach cooking little fish. He'd caught them on the reef by poisoning the water. There's a special plant that people grow just for this job. When the roots are mashed up and thrown in the water it paralyses nearby fish. Usually a net is cast around a section of reef beforehand and then all the floating fish are scooped up. Perfectly okay for humans to eat. Wish I'd known that trick! Anyway I'm off to bed early, so goodnight.
26 August 2011
Body weight: 70.8kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 24/29
Wind 9am/3pm: calm/ 20kn SE
Clouds 9am: cumulus
Food: breakfast- 1/2 coconut + 1 siaia, daytime- 2 fish + 6 hoka hoka + 5 gadidi, dinner- 1 coconut + 2 siaia.
Word of the day: foolishly
Question: What makes people faint?
In the photo I'm hunting for hermit crabs in the bush. They don't hide very well so it's just a matter of getting close to the ground and turning leaves over. Often they foolishly give away their position by retreating into their shell and flipping over. Most were given to the nibbling fish as a late breakfast but 2 did their job and hooked a fish. But 2 little fish wasn't enough today. Lately I've been noticing that when I stand up after sitting down for a while I nearly pass out. My vision goes darker and patchy like I'm about to faint, but after a few seconds it's back to normal. I'm no doctor, quite the opposite, but I reckon it's due to my limited food. So I wanted more meat and found it under the rocks at low tide. (Note- for some reason I just realised I've been calling hoka hoka, haku haku for the last few days- the correct name is hoka hoka.) Also, my aim was to notch up a 'Kieran' in the lagoon. Twelve and a half laps later I emerged exhausted but pleased. I can't stop thinking about the countdown now, only 2 sleeps and 1 full day to get through. Any thoughts on next years expedition? I've been plotting an idea in my ample spare time but I'm open to suggestions. For
the last time from the Crusoe Project I wish you an excellent weekend. Read the weekend newspapers for me, I miss that.
25 August 2011
Body weight: 71.2kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 23/28
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn W/ calm
Clouds: cumulus
Food: breakfast- 1 siaia + 1/2 coconut, daytime- 2 fish + 1/2 coconut heart, dinner- 2 siaia + 1/2 coconut
Word of the day: slippery
Question: What are the coordinates of Delami Island (this will help people check whether they are measuring from the correct beaches. If you are 100% sure of where Delami is, post your answer to the forum for others to use when measuring.)
Ten laps of the lagoon, so getting close to a 'Kieran'. As long as the weather holds I should make Bona Bona on Sunday morning. There's always something interesting to see in the lagoon and today it was a very slippery looking white eel. It seemed to stay in the one spot near the bottom but it's ribbon-like body waved like a flag in the wind. Its mouth was slender and open wide- I think it was trying to scare me away. For the last 2 days I've taken up the suggestion of tying a plastic bag around green leaves in a tree, just to see how effective it is in getting water. This afternoon I drained a healthy half mug out of the bag. I reckon 10 bags at the same time would keep you out of trouble... just, and you'd probably have to be in the tropics?
Now that we're getting down to the business end of the Crusoe Project, and this is probably the last post you'll read before next week, this is what to expect. I'll update as normal from Delami tomorrow and Saturday and, if the swim goes well, from Bona Bona on Sunday night. Monday morning I'm taking the PMV up to Alotau (and eating plenty), so I should be able to post the final message on Monday afternoon. The last t-shirt is up for grabs tomorrow (Friday) and I think there's still a few winners who haven't told us their school address. Unclaimed t-shirts will be eaten. The forum will run for as long as you still have questions or comments. Next week I will continue to check it daily and respond as soon as I can. Righto, time to enjoy the last few days on Delami and dream of lamb roasts...
***Don't forget the Teacher and Student Surveys which are now available to download***
24 August 2011
Body weight: 71.2kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/28
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn NW/ calm
Clouds 9am: cirrocumulus
Food: breakfast- 2 siaia + 1/2 coconut, daytime- 6 small fish, dinner- 1/2 coconut + 1 siaia
Map coordinate: Grove of pandanus palms (B2)
Word of the day: stronghold
Question: How many meters did I punch out on today's training swim?
The green ants were driving me nuts this afternoon. They have been sending out search parties from their stronghold on the roof of the shelter among the decaying coconut fronds. They are real little builders too. In the tree I'm camped under I can see half a dozen balls of stitched together leaves. They knit or stick them together somehow to create their suspended nests. Apart from crawling over everything they are harmless. On the odd occasion that they bite, it is just a nibble (unlike the same sized black ants so you have to be careful). I've been living with them for nearly four weeks now so who knows why they got on my nerves today. Perhaps because I've been lounging in my speedo's after completing 8 full laps of the lagoon at yesterday's measurement. Sunshine and low wind all day so I went for a rare low tide fishing expedition and was pleased to bag 6 little fellas. After picking out the bones there wasn't much meat but it all adds up. Stocked up on firewood and coconut shells for one of the last times and started to make plans for what to eat first in Alotau and Australia. I'm not decided yet, sweet or savoury, delicate flavour or mouth explosion? And after four weeks of water, which is extremely dull, what should I drink first? Your suggestions welcome and only 2 more chances to win a Crusoe Project t-shirt on the forum. Jump in the water's warm!
***Don't forget the Teacher and Student Surveys which are now available to download***
23 August 2011
Body weight: 71.2kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 19/28
Wind 9am/3pm: 15kn W/ calm
Clouds 9am: stratus
Food today: breakfast- 1 siaia + 1/2 coconut, daytime- 15 haku haku + 8 gadidi + 5 marshmallows, dinner- 1/3 coconut + 8 gadidi.
Map coordinate: haku-haku and gadidi hotspot (G13)
Word of the day: marshmallow
Question: How many meters did I swim today, and was it enough to reach Bona Bona?
Hello sunshine, and you know what that means! I built the solar oven (photo) to test if a marshmallow could be cooked using just a pizza box, alfoil and glad wrap. Drum roll please... and it worked. After half an hour the marshmallow had collapsed into a puddle of stickiness that was simply delicious. Not crispy but definitely cooked. I did the remaining 4 on the fire to get the golden look, they were good too. It was a real tussle getting the glad wrap around the box in the wind and I didn't manage to block up all the holes either. Any suggestions on how it could have cooked hotter and/or faster?
This morning I went past the horizontal coconut palm to the point on the far side of the island (G13) to gather shellfish. It paid off bigtime with 20 haku haku and 20 gadidi.I gave Dagama a handful of each. With the sun out and the wind easing back I plunged into the lagoon for swim training. First I roughly stepped out 120m up the beach and then did four laps. That's a good start and I'll build up over the week leading into Sunday. There was controversy on the forum with advice that the swim is either about 800m or 1500m. Good to get that one cleared up, 1500m sounds like a long way at the moment. When I used to swim laps at the pool I'd call 1500m a Kieran, after Kieran Perkins the Olympic champ. A double Kieran is 3000m etc.
One slight and runny problem today was a sore tummy. Must have hit the coconut cafe too hard yesterday. Feeling drained and floppy. Back to 1 coconut per day maximum, no more chucking in a coconut heart for lunch. Diabolical.
22 August 2011
Body weight: 71.6kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 20/24
Wind 9am/3pm: 10kn NW/10kn W
Clouds: stratocumulus
Food: breakfast- 1/2 coconut + 2 siaia, daytime- 10 haku haku+ coconut heart, dinner- 1/2 coconut + 10 gadidi + 1 siaia.
Map coodinate: sea cliffs (F14 to G14)
Word of the day: sidle
Question: What latitude is Delami- how many degrees south of the equator?
Third day in a row without a peep of sunshine and plenty of rain. If this continues much longer I'll have to sidle up closer to the equator. After a successful hunt around the rocks I cooked up a storm of haku haku (don't know what a group of haku haku's would be- maybe a gaggle??), and sat back to digest them with a handful of coconut heart. Sounds cruel doesn't it.
The rest of the day I had a long and welcome visit from one of the landowners, Danny (photo). He explained some of the family connections to other landowners on Bona Bona and how the whole system works. In Milne Bay Province, generally speaking, the land is passed down from the female sideof the family. In most other parts of PNG that I know of it's the male side that determine who 'owns' the land. So father's pass on to sons etc. As I understand it (and I'm almost certainly going to get this slightly wrong), Dagama is the principal landowner while he's alive but his sons and daughters will have no claim to Delami. They and their children will be entitled to land through the women they marry. Let's just say it's a different system to Australia. So lots of talking and not much fishing this afternoon which leaves me a little hungry. Coconut and siaia again. Hoping to build the solar oven tomorrow.
And I'm going to ask a big favour this week. The links below are to a teacher's and student's survey form. Thought I'd try and catch you before the end of the week and you start thinking about term holidays.
They can be downloaded and returned by email, but if students want to fill them out and post them with a self-addressed stamped envelope I have a few leftover Crusoe Project stickers to send back. Please be brutally honest on the survey (do it anonymously and send back by snail mail) and don't be tempted to feel sorry for the starving man on the island. Your feedback will help shape and improve 2012 Expedition Class.
21 August 2011
Body weight: 71.8kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/26
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn W/ 25kn SE
Clouds 9am: nimbostratus
Food today: breakfast- 1/2 coconut + 2 siaia, daytime- 9 haku haku + 3 gadidi, dinner- 5 small fish + 1 siaia + 1/2 coconut.
Map cood: coconut palm growing horizontally over the sea (H9)
Word: grimy
Question: How far exactly is it from the sandy tip of Delami Island to the closest sandy beach on Bona Bona?
The pigs have come in from the bush to get a feed of coconut from Dagama. The third pig, the big one, is still up in the hills somewhere. Another grimy day with no sunshine, but far less rain than yesterday. Found a delicious 9 haku haku (like baby abalone) and 3 gadidi for lunch. Each haku haku is a perfect mouthful, with a dash of vinegar they'd be sublime (another good word of the day).
The escape raft idea has been abandoned. There is no suitable logs lying around and I don't like the idea of felling trees in someone's backyard. And, chopping them down and dragging them to the shore to build a raft would take more than a few weeks work for one person. Enough excusues, the new plan is to swim to Bona Bona next Sunday to rendezvous with the pick up dinghy. I'll use the mask and snorkel and do some serious training this week. I've had a problem with the evaporation inquiry. The rain has filled up the open jars, both clear and black, so instead of measuring evaporation I've been measuring precipitation! Hopefully yours were set up inside or undercover. What were the results? The first sunny day this week I'm making the fourth and final science inquiry- the solar oven. I bought all the equipment needed except sticky tape and I'm dead keen to test it out and eat those 5 marshmallows. Even if mine doesn't work... won't matter... eating those marshmallows is the aim... first sunny day...
20 August 2011
Body weight: 72.6kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/26
Wind 9am/3pm: 10kn W/ 15kn W
Clouds 9am: stratocumulus/nimbostratus
Food: 4 hoka hoka (like baby abalone) + 1 siaia + 1/3 coconut, daytime: 4 gadidi (photo) + 1/3 coconut, dinner- 1/3 coconut + 1 coconut heart.
Word of the day: hoka hoka (the language for Bona Bona people is teka.)
Question: What was the front page of the Saturday Mercury?
It was a miserable way to start the weekend, there's no disguising it. There has not been one ray of sunshine today and mostly steady rain. I woke to a hazy pre-dawn and scampered out from under the mozzie net. Several unidentified insects/crustaceans/arachnids were crawling over me during the night and I couldn't stop thinking about that MASSIVE spider from last week. Lucky I was up early anyway, because there's more to find on the rocks. The best new discovery were 4 hoka hoka. They look just like baby abalone but according to Dagama they don't grow any bigger. I also bagged 4 gadidi which I kept for lunch (see photo). Then it was back under shelter until late afternoon when I collected hermit crabs from the bush and went fishing. Appalling decision, no fish, few bites and drenched from head to toe. Home to eat some coconut products straight from the manufacturer. Not much more to say for today, except only 1 week remaining and hopefully no repeats of today's weather. I'm a blue sky survivor by choice!
19 August 2011
Body weight: 72.4kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/27
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn W/ 20kn SE
Clouds 9am: nimbostratus
Food today: 3 gadidi (shellfish) + 1/3 coconut + 2 siaia (chestnut), daytime- 2 fish + coconut heart (explained below), dinner- 1 siaia + 1/2 coconut.
Word of the day: successful (hard one to spell)
Question: Is there a proper name for coconut heart?
I called the shellfish I've been eating gigidi the other day- correction- they are gadidi, which rolls off the tongue better anyway. Early morning it was low tide so instead of fishing I turned over rocks for 3 gadidi. Afterwards I hit the point and bagged two medium sized fish. The way I put the bait on makes a difference. A whole hermit crab is not usually successful. A hermit crab without claws is more successful and stays on the hook well, but a hermit crabs back half (looks like a squishy snail) is best of all. To go with the fish I added coconut heart. That's what I call it anyway. When a green coconut turns brown it falls off the palm and hits the ground. It stays just like that for a good while. Then for some reason it decides to grow a shoot out the top and roots down below. They come out the little eyes you see on the husked coconut from the supermarket. The roots travel around the nut but inside the husk and pop out the bottom like little white snakes into the ground. If you grab one at this stage, with a shoot perhaps 10-40cm high, and chop it open you'll see all the water gone from inside, the white meat is much thinner and a ball of soft white fluffy stuff that feels and looks like fairy floss taking up the whole space. It's juicy and sweet and that's what I'm calling coconut heart.
Have a great weekend, let me know how the Bombers go and I'll report on the evaporation experiment on Sunday night.
18 August 2011
Body weight: 72.5kg
Temp9am/3pm: 21/26
Wind 9am/3pm: breeze W/ 15kn SE
Clouds 9am: nimbostratus
Food: after report last night- 1/2 mackerel boiled, breakfast- 1/2 mackerel grilled + 1/2 coconut, daytime- 15 okari + 1 breadfruit, dinner- 1 chestnut + 1/2 coconut.
Map coordinate: firewood gathering area (I2)
Word of the day: cutlet
Question: Do you prefer your fish crumbed, battered or grilled?
Just as I was sending last night's dispatch on the little computer a sailing canoe came around the point. It was Hansel and his deckmate who visit occasionally to collect coconuts. They came right into the lagoon with the last light of the day catching their blue sail. In the hold of the canoe they had half a dozen tuna and mackerel of different sizes, caught from the outer reef (beyond my horizon). Hansel grabbed the smallest mackerel, about 40-50cm, and handed it to me. "No, I shouldn't..." I started to say, thinking about the hard time I'll get from you guys on the forum, but the rumbling in my stomach was too loud and I accepted. In return I gave them my 2kg emergency flour in a plastic bag. I thought that would be fair as in accepting the gift of food, I have given up my salvation flour.
It was getting dark so I hurried to build the fire up with coconut shells and wood. I cut the fish in half. One half I sliced up into cutlets, boiled in the pot and ate straight away. The tail I grilled on sticks over the hot coals and wrapped up in alfoil for breakfast. By then it was dark and with no light I realised how tricky life can be. I had to plan everything carefully so I knew where things were when I was cooking on the coals because there was no flame for light. In the night I had something stalking around the camp as well. It was either Dagama's dog, a monitor lizard or something else unknown?? Again, with no light I could see how cultures develop some fairly frightening stories of what moves around in the darkness beyond the campfire.
This morning I paid a price for the feast of fish with an extra trip to the toilet but it's settled down now. Today I collected extra firewood (I2) while the sun shone in the afternoon. I tried fishing off the beach but had no luck, and filled up the water bladders. My weight might be stabilising, it's the same as 2 days ago- but we'll see how things go over the next few days.
17 August 2011
Body weight: 72.9kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 21/27
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn W/ 15kn SE
Food today: breakfast- 25 okari + 2 siaia (chestnut's real name) + 1/2 coconut, daytime- 20 okari, dinner- 1/2 coconut + seaweed + 2 siaia (chestnut)
Map coordinate: Dagama's garden with breadfruit (E11)
Word of the day: mango (I wish...)
Question of the day: Who is the new Prime Minister of PNG?
The photo is of my thumb for scale against a breadfruit. As I read somewhere recently, they taste neither like a fruit or bread, but there you go anyway. There are a few wild breadfruit trees on Delami but I got his one from Dagama's garden a few days ago. He has a few garden plots but this one is up the other end of the island (E11) along a bush track. I have not been taking many because after the first few days I realised they are Dagamas main food source at the moment. He also gets a few yams, pumpkins and some cooking bananas (like ripe bananas in Australia but with more starch and less sugar- a different variety), but it's not the season for a lot of other foods- and his pigs have ripped up all the root vegetables. Two fruits that are common but not in season are mango and paw paw, how bad is my timing?!
Hooked a whopper this morning but it took the line straight under a coral shelf before I could drag it in and snagged it. Typical fishing tale but true, I swear. So no fish today and more of the basics. Spent much of the morning sheltering from a fierce downpour and much of the afternoon gathering siaia and hermit crabs. I now have enough siaia to get me through most of next week. It's good to have that certainty because it will allow me to concentrate on the extras like fish and shellfish. By the way the local name for the shellfish is gigidi. I had a few questions about why I'm not eating more and it's a good point. I have found that if I eat more of the basics (coconut, siaia, okari and seaweed) I get a funny tummy. Yep, the squirts. That's not a good thing to happen because you lose a lot of fluids and nutrition from what you have managed to eat. Just need to get the balance right. Extra fish don't have the same effect, probably because I'm used to eating them so they're the main extra food I'm after. I did also spot a painted crayfish late this afternoon while diving- and that would be an acceptable extra too!
16 August 2011
Body weight: 72.5kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 23/26
Wind 9am/3pm: calm/ 10kn SE
Map coordinates: big okari tree with lot of nuts (H5), pod of dolphins (F1)
Food today: breakfast- 1 fish + 10 okari + 1/2 coconut + 1 chestnut, daytime- 1 muesli bar + 10 okari, dinner- 2 chestnuts + 1/2 coconut + seaweed.
Word of the day: cracked
Question: Can you identify this bird? It has a bright yellow underbelly with a splash of black and white under the chin.
In a moment of weakness I ate the emergency muesli bar. It had been raining, my pants were wet, the fire was slowly being extinguished and I cracked. The apricot flavoured bar was given to me by Oscar, my 3 year old nephew when I passed through Melbourne. He thought I might need it. It had been tucked away beside the 2kg emergency flour in the orange waterproof bag since the beginning. Not a day has passed that I haven't thought about eating it. For five minutes I munched slowly through the complex flavours as the oats gave way to the honey and almond with just a hint of vanilla. I'm glad it's gone, it was doing me no favours. So that's that, apart from the flour there are no more temptations and it's back to the daily grind. Awful weather today but I caught a ripper fish this morning to restore my angling confidence. Later spent hours trying to build up the store of chestnuts and found 16- enough for 5-7 days at the rate I've been eating them. Found a good looking mushroom too, but read the Survival Guide- "Unless positively identified, AVOID all fungi." Bugger.
15 August 2011
Body weight: 73.3kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 21/26
Wind: 10kn SE/ 15kn SE
Clouds: cumulus
Food: breakfast- 15 okari + 1.5 chestnuts + .5 coconut, daytime- 15 okari, dinner- 4 shellfish + .5 coconut + 2 chestnut + 10 okari
Word of the day: lethargic
Question of the day: Which animal looks the most lethargic?
It's about to rain so a really quick one tonight. Slowww start today, very lethargic and unmotivated. Wrote the Mercury blog and had a small breakfast. Lunchtime, I perked up and went out to the point to fish at low tide. No fish so I went diving to 
find lost hooks and sinkers. Found 9 hooks and 5 sinkers so very pleased about that. Wandered back slowly over the reef (pictured) and uncovered 4 shellfish to cook on the fire.
Had a visit from fishermen who were going out to the outer reef to set shark lines. They sell the fins in Alotau. Set up the evaporation experiment on the beach. No cover so will have to keep an eye on when rains. Speaking of which, big drops coming....
14 August 2011
Body weight:73.4kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/28
Wind 9am/3pm: 10kn SE/ 30kn SE
Clouds 9am: stratoumulus
Map points: clam (photo)- B3, wild waves- B5, shellfish collected-F2
Food today: breakfast- small fish + 2 chestnuts + 1/2 coconut, daytime- 3 shellfish + 15 okari, dinner- seaweed + 5 shellfish + 2 chestnuts + 1/4 coconut.
Word of the day: periwinkle
Question: What does the term 'foul hook' refer to in recreational fishing?
The best I could manage this morning was to foul hook a tiddler, which I ate with a few drops of lemon. Yesterday I'd collected three shellfish from the reef at low tide and kept them in the bucket. Two looked like overgrown periwinkles and one 
was a conical shape with a broad base. All were large at around 50-60mm tall. I took them up to Dagama's to see if they were okay to eat. He advised me to pop in the hot coals upside down, wait until all the liquid inside them had bubbled away before eating them. I did just that, they were delicious. I went and found five more for dinner instead of fishing. Each is a small mouthful of meat a bit like abalone. Searching the rockpools and reef was a great adventure with eels, starfish, clams (photo), sea cucumber (yuck), blobs of coral and brighly coloured slime. I might try the other side of the island next time as it took a few hours hunting to find them today.
Serious business now, the seed germination inquiry wrapped up today. My results are, jar 1: no sprouts, jar 2 (sprayed with Bushman's insect repellant): no sprouts,jar 3: 25% sprouted up to 10 mm but don't look healthy, jar 4: 5-10% sprouted but look very sickly and yellow. I didn't have a dark place to hide them and I wonder what difference (if any) that makes? And a question for one of our fine forum experts, James Wood- What is the biggest seed on earth because I don't think it's alfalfa? Righto, I'll be setting up the evaporation inquiry tomorrow once I clean the sprouts out of the jars.
13 August 2011
Body weight: 74.0kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 19/27
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn SE/ 5kn SE
Clouds 9am: stratus
Food today: breakfast- 10 okari nuts + 2 chestnuts + 1/4 coconut, daytime- handful seaweed + 10 okari, dinner- 2 chestnuts + 1/4 coconut
Word of the day: whipping
Question: What are shells made from?
Here's a weekend puzzle. What is the brown spotty shell in the photo and am I allowed to take it back to Australia (will Customs allow it?)? The smoother white shell is one the locals collect to burn and crush. The powder is lime and it's a favourite to use when chewing betel nut, with a little mustard stick too. I think the lime must neutralise the acid in the betel nut?
NO FISH DAY. Very sad for me as it left just a variety of nuts, drupes and seeds with a dash of seaweed. However I did find a canoe paddle washed up on the reef. And I swam around the fishing point to see where the good coral holes fullof fish were. I kept going around the point and halfway along the back of the island before I tuckered out. The best fish was a wobbegong shark. You can also see my new spoon in the photo. Very flash. The scoop is whittled out of a coconut shell and tied onto a bamboo handle. The knot for the handle is, according to Des Pawson's Handbook of Knots, actually not a knot at all- it's a Common Whipping. And with that, I'll leave you to the Saturday night movie.
12 August 2011
Body weight: 74.9kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/29
Wind 9am/3pm: calm/ 5kn SE
Clouds: cirrocumulus
Food today: breakfast- 2 fish, daytime- handful boiled seaweed, 20 okari (25g total), dinner- 1 fish, 2 chestnuts (60g total), 1/4 coconut.
Word of the day: exhausted
Quetion of the day: Is seaweed good for energy or just vitamins and minerals?
The tide has slowly shifted forwards each day so the best time for fishing is about sunrise (a few hours before the high tide). I was lucky to hook the biggest fish so far with a 30cm reef fish. By the time it was prepared for cooking it didn't look that big mind you- all head! After brekky I was completely exhausted and fell asleep under the tree on the beach. I think my body is getting the message that there isn't a much food coming in and is having what I call 'defensive naps'. It's as if the brain says, 'Well,despite putting yourself in this situation knowing full well what would probably happen, I'll do my best to help you through the lean times ahead.'
In the afternoon I made a bigger effort at collecting okari and chestnut. I also grabbed some brown seaweed at low tide,boiled and ate it- much better than raw thankyou forum suggestion. This evening I threw the line in and caught a little snapper, the meat was delicious. With chestnuts and coconut on the side I'm fuller than I have been for days, but I reckon my stomach is a bit smaller. Have a great weekend and I'll check those seeds in the experiment on Monday.
11 August 2011
Body weight: 74.7kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 19/27
Wind 9am/3pm: calm/ 5kn SE
Clouds: cirrus and cumulus
Map coords: Coral reef near shore, I1: old garden, D4: massive spider, bottom right G3
Food today: breakfast- 10 okari +1 chestnut, daytime- half coconut + 2 green ants, dinner- 1 fish + 6 okari + 1 chestnut
Word of the day: arachnid
Question of the day: What is the spider pictured?
Much warmer last night thanks to the wind break. Up early as there was no rain and after a quick breakfast went to explore the lower peak behind camp. Found an old track that led up to an overgrown garden (D4), but couldn't see any edibles in there. On the summit it was all bush but there was a sturdy tree so I climbed it for the photo that was requested on the forum last week. The view is across to Mugula on Bona Bona. It was very cool under the canopy so I stayed there watching the birds (honeyeaters of some description) flit about.
Had a go at lighting a fire with magnifying glass and got smoke. Then had a go with flint and had a flame and decent little fire in no time at all. Very surprised is an understatement. The trick was getting very fine tinder from the coconut trunk sheaths and crushing it down even further. While collecting hermit crabs for fishing nearly ran into the MASSIVE spider pictured!
It is, I kid you not, 20 cm from toenail to toenail. The body is about 5cm long. When it moved as I was taking a photo up close I nearly passed out- that spider scared me... hope I don't dream about it tonight... hope you don't too (unless you love spiders).
10 August 2011
Body weight: 75.4kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 21/28
Wind 9am/3pm: 10kn W/ calm
Clouds 9am: stratus
Word of the day: harbour
Question of the day: What are bacteria? (ooh that's a nasty one!)
My brother James (his wife Bec is the superstar who converts my satellite emails into the webpage- thanks Bec), sent a message to say some colourful reef fish harbour a nasty bacteria that you can never kill once it's inside you. Sounds like a Hollywood movie! His advice, passed on from a third person, was to NOT eat the reef fish. This has caused me a great deal of anxiety today as I love eating reef fish. Especially tonight (caught 3) as I found a lemon left over from last weekend's picnic crew. Fish and lemon..mmm. Any further advice on the colourful fish bacteria would be appreciated. Not that I have a lot of choice, the sea cucumber comes in a very distant second choice.
Only one major job today. The foot end of the shelter needed a palm leaf wall to protect from the overnight westerly winds. The last 2 nights have been freezing and I could ignore it no longer. I also learnt 2 new knots to help me tie the hooks and sinker on better. I forget the names of them as I type but they are much better than my previous efforts. Most of this morning I thought it was Thursday, so it was a blow to discover I had to re-live a day. Who wants to go back in time!
9 August 2011
Body weight: 75.6kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 18/27
Wind 9am/3pm: 10kn W/ 5kn W
Clouds 9am: stratus
Map points: Sea cucumber (F2), inner lagoon edge (top D3 to bottom of H1)
Word of the day: grateful
With an overcast start to the day and a cool westerly making me curl up under the mozzie net, there wasn't much enthusiasm to get out of bed. It must've been 8.30 or 9.00 when I wandered to the rocks to take my weight measurement. I do this every morning before I eat or drink anything. But I'm not sure how accurate the numbers are because the rock shelf is uneven. Dagama came down the beach in his old Adidas jumper and gave me a butternut pumpkin from the garden. Not having eaten much yesterday I was deeply grateful. For breakfast I dined on roast pumpkin. Otherwise it has been a slow day with low energy levels. I did grab two old sheets of rusty roofing iron to add a small verandah to my house. Conor from CPS gave me a yellow paper dragon to keep me company and it now sits a little soggily on the roof. This afternoon I caught 3 fish on the point and gave one to Dagama to repay the pumpkin. I have been losing a lot of hooks and may run out of the smaller sizes, so I tested putting two hermit crabs on a larger hook. It paid off which is a relief because I thought I'd be stuck with a bunch of useless big hooks and no small ones. There's a saying, "You can catch a big fish with a little hook, but you can't catch a little fish with a big hook." Hope it's not a foolproof saying.
8 August 2011
Body weight: 75.6kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 22/28
Wind 9am/3pm: calm/ 15 kn SE
Clouds 9am: scattered cumulus
Word: pang (rhymes with Tang- which tastes like cheap orange cordial and I'dlove to drink right now.)
Question: What is a method of extracting coconut oil from the white meat?
First day with no fish. Grim. After missing out this morning I took the drastic action of diving for a sea cucumber. I'd been hoping not to have to do this but the strips of raw breadfruit just wasn't cutting through the hunger pangs. With a handful of seaweed on the side I boiled the cucumber for 5 minutes. Then I tried to raost some coconut meat to draw the oil out but they just got burnt on the pot lid. Lastly, I fried the sliced cucumber amongst the burning coconut chunks and ate it. Sort of ate it anyway- the cucumber was too tough to chew through so I just had to swallow the pieces. Not sure if my stomach made much sense of it? Later made a basic wooden spear with elastic bungee rope to sling it underwater. No luck. Went fishing again. No luck. Hungry night ahead. But I did set up the seed germination experiment from the student workbook. The only one I couldn't do properly was put a jar in the fridge (read the workbook to find out what I'm talking about), so I sprayed it with Bushmans mosquito repellant. We'll see if they sprout by the end of the week.
7 August 2011
Body weight: 77.2kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 21/29
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn SSE/ 30kn SE
Clouds 9am: nimbostratus
Word: hindsight
Question: What is the opposite of hindsight?
The newly built wood shelter is working perfectly so far. If you leaned on it too hard it would fall over but it's keeping the firewood dry. The day has been on/off rain with strong winds from the SE. The camp is completely protected from the wind which is both good and bad. Can you guess why?
I caught five fish today and am feeling pretty full. Also had a few okari nuts and a chunk of coconut. Found out that the newly sprouted shoot can be plucked and stripped back to get to a really sweet core. Very nice. Both my lighters are nearly empty- should have bought new ones in hindsight- so I've been thinking carefully how to make certain I don't run out of fires. I consulted the survival book and frankly, lighting a fire with a magnifying glass or flint sounds epic (but I'll give both methods a go soon). Looking through my small bag of gear I came across the huge cannister of mosquito repellant. Please DO NOT try try this at home (I mean it), but it's a flammable gas and if I spray the tinder with it I get a one strike fire! Problem solved for now. The plantation estate picnickers left today and it's back to me and Dagama. I'm setting up the germination experiment in the morning- hope you are too.
6 August 2011
Body weight: 76.8kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 20/29
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn SW/ 25kn SE
Clouds 9am: cumulonimbus (heavy rain)
Word of the day: mollusc
Question of the day: How many other words can you think of ending in 'c'?
This morning I discovered a better bait for fishing. The molluscs around the rocks haven't been working too well so I tried crustaceans. These little guys don't run around like the usual ones but live permanently in shell. They're everywhere in the bushes and around the shore and come cloaked in all sorts of different shells- whatever they can pick up as they grow I guess! You might be able to see a little pile I collected in todays photo? Using them I caught two massive (well, a lot bigger than the tiddlies I've been catching) coral trout for breakfast. Later I went searching for a coconut (photo), okari nuts (photo), and tinder to make fire lighting easier. I also built a rickety shelter to keep the firewood dry and roofed it with split coconut fronds.
Then, would you believe it, two boatloads of workers from the local palm oil company landed to have a weekend holiday on Delami. Suddenly there's kids everywhere, a pigs been slaughtered and a small house has been constructed in the blink of an eye. I explained that I couldn't eat their BBQ'ed pig because I'm surviving off the food Delami provides. They pointed to a shark just caught offshore and, much like the tuna reasoning of yesterday, I took a chunk. Very difficult to take, but I'm dining on the fruits of other peoples labour- it's flake for dinner. Mind you, just a couple of okari nuts for lunch.
5 August 2011
Body weight: 77.6kg
Temperature 9am/3pm: 21/30
Wind 9am/3pm: 5kn S/ 10Kn SE
Clouds 9am: nimbostatus
Word of the day: deluge
Question of the day: If I'm given another tuna tail, how should I cook it?
Two wonderful things sit in front of me- and I'm not responsible (sadly) for either of them. First, there's the campfire. After last night's deluge all the wood in the bush and on the beach was soaking wet and I couldn't get it burning. I'd just been fishing and caught 2 small kaukauli's and wanted desperately to cook them. No matter how finely I cut the toothpicks and how much I blew, it just wouldn't take off. Then Bennett and his brother came into camp unexpectedly, they'd been clearing near Dagama's house in readiness for coconut harvest (to make copra). Apart from Dagama they're the only visitors to Delami so far. Bennett saw my problem and picked off some fine bark from a coconut palm. With a lighter under it the fire was going in minutes. The second wonderful thing is the tail of a tuna poking out of the fire and wrapped in alfoil. Now I know I'm supposed to be surviving on my own, but when Dagama told me to look in his canoe, and offered me the tail (actually he offered the whole fish!), what was I to say? After a few tadpoles from my own efforts this morning and half a raw breadfruit (better raw than cooked) this hunk of tuna is going to be unbelievable, if not totally deserved. Dagama caught it with a handline from his canoe not far from shore (coord K2 or L2). Have a good weekend.
4 August 2011
Body weight: 77.8kg
Temperature 9am/3pm: 22/28
Wind 9am/3pm: 10kn SE/ 15kn SE
Clouds: nimboculumus (is that a real cloud type?)
Word of the day: sodden
Question: Can I eat seaweed?
Super quick one tonight as I'm in the rain as the photo shows and its very uncomfortable. Found water on the other side of island (coordinates tomorrow) so stress is off that one. It's a seep that Dagama has dammed up. Doesn't taste great but can boil. Mind you if this rain contiues no worries collecting it! Tidied up camp to make it more spacious and went snorkelling. Lots of brown seaweed that is nice and crunchy- is that okay to eat? Fishing disappointed this arvo, 1 tiny one, need new strategy. This morning caught 2 which was better. Dagama left 3 breadfruit while I was fishing. Very hungry so I boiled one up. Not a taste sensation but filled a hole. I'm wet through and no change of clothes, might be a cold night. Most of the water is staying out of shelter which is a big bonus- my little dry spot to curl up in tonight. Will get to forum questions when more time. Darkening sky now.
3 August 2011
Body weight: 78.2kg
Temp 9am/3pm: 23/29
Wind 9am/3pm: 15kn SSE/20kn SSE
Clouds 9am: cirrocumulus
Word of the day: coconut
Question of the day: Are any brightly coloured reef fish poisonous?
I've lost my watch already so the weather observations might be a little inaccurate, and I can only guesstimate the wind speed... and I can't set up the raft experiment because the tub I was planning to use is an excellent fishing tub. So that makes it even more important to hear from you with results from the experiment.
Today I explored to the top of the highest point on Delami (E10) and saw that there is also a lower peak behind camp (E5). I was hoping to find some old gardens with breadfruit but came back empty handed. I did see two pigs rooting up the ground and had a fright when the white one charged. It pulled up short and looked like a chook waiting to be fed. Dagama told me later he has three pigs roaming the island at the moment. With a coconut in my belly I set out towards the point (D2) to try for a fish. I tied the hook and line to a stick and dangled it in using a cracked open crustacean. First cast I pulled in a rainbow coloured fish 
and lost it getting the hook out. I eventually caught 2 small reef fish for dinner. I was reading my new survival book during the hottest part of the day and decided to dig above the high tidemark for water. Only found salty water. I bought 10 litres with me today I used 1 litre and that's left me very thirsty, so even rationing I have enough for 10 days, maybe a few more. Lets hope it rains soon.
Thanks for the forum questions, it's getting dark so I can't get to any specifically today but hopefully some were answered above or will be in the weeks to come. Great to read the survival tips and the news reports from Sweetman5/6!
2 August 2011
Body weight: 80.1kg
Temp 9am: 21, 3pm: 29
Wind 9am: 10k SE, 3pm: 15kn SE
Clouds 9am: stratus
Word of the day: admonished
Question of the day: Have you started the raft experiment yet?
The PMV (public motor vehicle) arrived at the beach well after dark. Getting out of Alotau and onto the road yesterday was a small expedition in itself. David came with me and sat on the benches in the back, but the driver insisted I ride on the spring loaded front seat with him. Poor David, it was a rough road. Sito and Councillor Elisha arrived by boat under torch light from Bona Bona Island. We zipped over Orangerie Bay to stay the night at Heisi's house. Heisi is Chris Abel's son's wife. Chris's son is Charlie Abel, the Minister assisting the Prime Minister in the national government. Sito is Heisi's cousin, as are David and Elisha. I won't go any further as it gets confusing! This morning we were all packed, the boat was loaded and dragging back and forth on the dark sand. I was holding the shore rope and waiting patiently, but something wasn't right. Elisha and a group stood huddled further up the beach and after a few glances back to me I knew there was a problem. One of the uncles in the landowners family on Delami Island had let them know he wasn't happy and perhaps I should be taken home. Uh-oh, time to start talking. After two meetings and much explaining I had the permission of everyone including the dog to camp on Delami for a month.
Elisha and David dropped me on Delami after a short ride. Kaukauli, the lone resident of the island, whose real name I learnt later is Dagama, was in his garden on Bona Bona. As the boat roared away it was just me... alone to start the Crusoe Project. Woo hoo! But wait on a second, what comes next? I decided to look for a place to build a shelter. Dagama's house (coordinates I3 for students with workbooks) wouldn't do, I needed a place of my own. The corner of the beach where the sand mets the black volcanic rocks (coordinates F3) looked sheltered from the sun and cool under some trees. I cut some sticks with the bush knife, careful not to take an early chunk from my shins, and pulled the rope apart into three strands to lash the sticks together. The space blanket (emergency warmth thing) is being used as a waterproof ceiling with coconut fronds chopped up to weigh it down and make it look authentic. For tonight I'll have to sleep on the sand as there wasn't enough time to make a raised floor. Insects might be an issue!
Dagama came home and we met on the beach. Friendly, nearly deaf, old as the island itself and with some English I love him already. He admonished me for setting up in what he called the 'bush' and declared he will help me build a better house up the beach in a clearing. Sounds good to me. Found plenty of coconuts and opened up two for water and food. Also found some nuts on the ground that fruit bats have chewed the outside skin from. Inside they are bright white and come apart in layers. Dagama told me they are good to eat. I'll need a few because I'm already hungry... Gotta go, no torch and it's getting dark.
1 August
Masurina Lodge, Alotau, 12 noon.
The journey to Alotau from Hobart has been smooth and by tomorrow morning I should be on Delami Island to begin the Crusoe Project. Chris Abel has organised to put me on a PMV (public motor vehicle) this afternoon to drive across to the mainland opposite Bona Bona Island. From there a village councillor named Sito will pick me up in a motor boat and take me to his village. It will probably be dark before we reach it so there's not much chance we can continue to Delami until the morning. It will be a hectic afternoon so I'm taking this midday opportunity to report in.
This morning I borrowed Chris' ute and went into Alotau to pick up the last supplies. In the supermarket I bought 2kg self raising flour. In the hardware shop I bought a bush knife, small axe, watch (cheapie which might not last the distance), and a small billy. In Melbourne on the way through I bought an SAS Survival Guide, book on knots, large billy, fishing gear and a new pair of Crocs (couldn't find the other one in photo below!).
All set for a final cooked lunch and I'll report in tomorrow evening from the island.
28 July 2011
Haven't left Tasmania yet but here is most of the equipment I'll be taking to Delami Island for the Crusoe Project. In the photo:
Pants, shirt, shorts, hat, one shoe (haven't found the other one yet but will before I get on the plane tomorrow), sarong, sheet of clear plastic 2.5m x 1.2m, large saucepan, snorkel and mask, axe, first aid kit, compass with mirror, pocket knife x 2, digital thermometer, toy magnifying glass, whistle, assorted rope and strings, foil space blanket, small set of scales for weighing food and science experiments, alfalfa seeds, file, plastic wrap, aluminium foil, Crusoe workbook, diary, pen, permanent marker, computer, sat phone, spare batteries, small tripod, passport, emergency food (flour)- might get a bit more.
Not in the photo that I will pack when I'm a bit more organised:
Camera (because I used it to get the photo), video camera, bush knife, fishing line and hooks, second cooking pot, jars and other science experiment equipment, small amount of PNG kina, tub of emergency water (30 litres), toothbrush, five marshmallows, flint if I can find it. And it will all go in a large waterproof bag. next post on this page will be live from the island on Monday 1st August, in the evening.
