Roko island

Some days are just so awesome and magical that they really might be too special to share. This was such a day for me. Whilst the boys went on a fishing charter with local character called Bat (which was a whole other adventure which one of them will have to write about, as I wasn't there, but it sure was an amazing day for them also!), I got Bat to drop me out at Roko Island, just behind Possession Island, where there is a small pearl farm. The oyster lease, and therefore the land, is owned by a Chinese French Polynesian couple from Tahiti, Henrietta and Yves. Their 29 year old son, Jason runs the place. When arrived, they were just having breakfast of pancakes after a birthdaY party the night before. A very welcoming an warm group, we chatted away merrily. One of the boys, Lachlan, is studying to become a teacher and is doing prac at Bamaga High School. It sounds like an interesting environment to try and teach science in. There are many problems to overcome, but he seems to have a positive and relaxed attitude, without which I doubt he would survive. I found his take on things quite inspiring. After tes and conversation, the boys got on with business of building a shed, and Henriette took me for a tour around the island. It was more like visiting an old friend, and we discussed her children and grandchildren, pottered in her vege garden, hard won with home made compost in the sandy island soil, she me cuttings and showed me edible herbs, and we visited her little house where she showed me photos of her grandkids. Then she showed me the pearls the farm produces. Breathtaking. She also has imported Tahitian black pearls, something very hard to resist. We walked out to the old stone jetty, where the spectacular mangrove forest marches out to the water across the mud flats. We didn't see the croc that lives there, but he was around. She told me she fears for her boy and the other workers, as Jason had a face to face encounter with the animal in the water some weeks ago. Crocodiles are territorial, so it is a real dilemma as to how to deal with them. If you move one on, another will replace it. It is concern when water is the environment in which their main industry is made. We returned to the group to watch Nathan from Punsand Bay climb his first coconut tree. thrilling! Fresh soft coconut water and flesh was my reward for the visit, and then it was time to head back to the mainland. Lots of hugs, and grateful thanks for the hospitality. By afternoon, the water had whipped up, and the chop was plenty, but these guys are so at home on the water, that even in a broken old glass boat I felt really at ease. These people are truly blessed. SJC