Max & Kaure in Alotau

Island Life

2008-04-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

My Island home.....Sawasawaga village, Sariba Is.

Bubui Sinebada - Deheni Nadile
Bubui Taubada-Eliah Nadile

My beautiful daughter Meki Meki

Escape to Sariba!

2008-04-14T01:18:00.000-07:00

By December last year, the rain had subsided and the weather was warming up. Blue skies, crystal clear waters and the sweet smell of holidays beckoned me.

All I could think of was stepping on the boat with my son and heading for the islands.

As is the norm at Wanigili, the last quarter of the year is always hectic with school camps, conferences etc. so by the time Christmas was at our doorstep, I was ready for a change of scenery!

Home for us is Sawasawaga Village, Sariba Island which is approximately 2 hours South East of Alotau by speed boat and about 4 hours via local workboat. The well known China Strait runs between Sariba and the mainland. This is the passage one has to pass through in order to reach the famous Samarai and Kwato Islands.

I grew up in the village until I was about 4 years old. During this period I was raised by my bubus (grandparents) who became more like mum and dad to me.

I love returning home to my family and being able to share the experience with my son who thoroughly enjoys it! We ended up spending 3 blissful (and adventurous) weeks at home. Take a look.
View of Kailaulauwai Is. from Sawasawaga beachfront

One of the two huge mango trees at the front of the village.

They were planted by my grandfather many years ago. Kaure's little Aunties- Cynthia,Sharon & Hilda
Home sweet home. We often pack a tent if the house is too full.
The village church. Sunday is a big day with everyone traveling from the other side of the island or paddling from nearby villages to attend church with their families.
View of Walatonoli Bay from inside the church.

I love the simplicity of home life

Chooks in church.

The concrete floor has historical significance as it was built by the US Navy during the Battle of the Coral Sea. I recently discovered that it was the 84th Battalion Sea Bees from The US Navy who set up camp at our village in 1943. Sawasawaga was a base for the Catalina Sea Planes. The 84th Battalion were in charge of the building and construction of airstrips, warves, buildings etc. during the war. At Sawasawaga they built a dam, mess house and warf. The dam still exists and the concrete floor of the mess house is now the base for our local church. There is also a pontoon buried underwater at the front of the village. Once I get my divers licence, I plan to dive around the bay and see if there are any other war relics to be found.

More piccies from 2007 (Nov.-Dec)

2008-02-29T00:17:00.000-08:00

4th Annual Milne Bay Canoe Festival
Right after the SPREP conference in October last year we had the Canoe Festival. This is an annual event and usually falls in the first week-end of November. Last year was the 4th Canoe Festival to be hosted in the province and one of the best I've seen so far. It is the only festival of its kind in the country and each year it seems to improve with more and more tourists and participants attending. Last year The Milne Bay Tourism Industry group (MBTIG) of which I am a member, played an instrumental role in sourcing additional funding for the event. We managed to secure K30,000.00 sponsorship from Telikom so that was quite a significant achievement for us. Milne Bay being a maritime province, has an amazing range of canoes. I had no idea we had so many different types until I attended the festival.

The market warf was transformed into a VIP area.

Guess who's in the red cap? Yes, it's Habona. The waterfront was crowded as people watched and

cheered for the different canoe races.

These kids had the best view.
Many of the villagers came from distant islands and spent months preparing the canoes and themselves for the event. Most of the preparations are usually conducted in secret with only men in attendance. Often women are not permitted to witness any of the preparations or even set foot in the canoes.

Where there's an occassion to celebrate in PNG, you will always find

pigs and vegetables

Young Milne Bay girls in traditional dress.

These girls are from the Suau area. Young warriors in bilas.

Milne Bay is known for its pandanus baskets and mats

Trobriand Island Carvings

Hand crafted shell jewellery and bilas from Cape Vogel area.

The MBTIG Stall or hut rather. We decided on "Tiggy's Jungle Juice Cafe"

and sold freshly blended fruit juices, water and t-shirts. Pam with a glass of fresh fruit juice. It was a stinking hot day so the

juice bar was a great idea, we certainly had a lot of people dropping in.

Jayesh & son checking out the EMB Canoe Festival t-shirts.
It was great to catch up with dearest Jude,

whom I rarely see as she lives in Lae (Morobe Province)

My Milne Bay sisters and friends for life-Bella Jude & Tuki

with a very unhappy Kaure. Maus o? A4 (Yes, that's his name,well... nickname!) and another

Napatana staff preparing the yummy juices.

Mipla squad ya! Pam Swanson (Napatana Manager) and Habona.

It's all about the t-shirts in PNG! German tourists in Wanigili Centre t-shirts.

Tina Arek-EMB staff in one of the SPREP t-shirts.

Ellen Mesibere-EMTV host wearing one of my own t-shirt designs

"Wotcha lookin' at?" Kaure acting kuti! (Yeah, I can just see him at 18!)

One of the attractions last year was the participation of a Hawaiian team. They were a great bunch of guys who came over with their outrigger canoe to race against the local teams. I have fond memories of the night the Hawaiians cooked dinner (fish they'd caught that day) for us all. We (MBTIG members and Telikom officials) all ended up at Rabe at Peter and Rita Tarumuri's place by the sea, ate great fish, drank plenty and sang along with the guitar under the light of the coleman lamp.Everyone had a great time. Pam Swanson,always the life of the party, even did some boogying with Kala'i the hunky Hawaiian. It didn't matter if we sang out of tune or forgot the words, we had fun and enjoyed the moment, that was all that mattered.

Other memorable moments last year.....

Kaure's favourite pastime is climbing trees.

Heading to the car wash....Dion & Kaure.

Dion was a uni graduate from Adelaide,South Australia (ples blo mi!) visiting PNG for the first time. He was a guest at Wanigili but ended up being more like part of the family. He was a really great guy and was so keen to explore PNG, I ended up referring him to Robert's family so he could travel to Chimbu and check out the highlands. Needless to say, he returned with plenty of stories!One of the causeways towards East Cape.....

a favourite spot for people to wash their cars

We went with Jeanie & family to help wash their ute and have a swim.

"Show us your muscles Mama!" Jeanie having fun.

Zuriel having a swing on the vine!

A quick squiz at 2007 (Sept. - Oct.)

2008-02-10T23:28:00.000-08:00

Gudi! Yes, it's been quite a while since I've posted anything on the blog, from Oct.- Dec. last year, we were flat out. What with a major international conference (SPREP-the biggest Alotau had ever seen let alone hosted!), canoe festival and a zillion kids for camps (ok, a few hundred!), xmas functions hic... etc....there just wasn't enough time in the day to sit in front of the computer and update you on all the headaches and fun I was having! So here's a quick flash back to Sept. last year and I'll try not to bore you with too much text, enjoy the piccies!

Father’s day: Sunday 2nd September
MBTIG (Milne Bay Tourism Industry Group) hosted a Father’s Fun Day at Island Adventure Tours Recreation Park at Divinai (about 25mins drive East of Alotau). The event was held to assist the Milne Bay Tourism Bureau to raise funds to promote the province at the PNG Tourism Expo in Port Moresby (Holiday Inn,11-15 Sept.'07).

The Dads-as long as the beers are there, they're happy.

The day was a great success and thoroughly enjoyed by all, especially the Dads. Napatana Lodge, Alotau International Hotel, Milne Bay Magic Tours, Education Milne Bay, Driftwood, Masurina Lodge & Island Adventure Tours put in a combined effort to ensure everyone had plenty of good food and drinks. Since it was a fun day, we also set up some games for the Dads just to ensure the rest of us were entertained! It was a great day, probably the best Father’s Day I’ve ever been to! We even managed to raise a fair amount of money on the day, it was certainly nice to see the local business community turning up to show their support. Long after the guests had left, the MBTIG members stayed well into the evening to tidy up (errrrm…..and polish off the last of the wine!) before heading back into town. The drive back took a little bit longer (blame it on Pat and her toilet stop!) but was just as entertaining with everyone singing (well, some of us were trying to!), laughing and complaining about me hitting all the pot holes!

Island Adventure Tours Recreation Park- Divinai
The jetty with view of Kellerton Island in the distance.

Island Adventure Tours offer glass bottom boat tours around

the bay & islands, they also have bungalows and a bar on site.

The little haus win by the sea

The mums (except Christine from Masurina 2nd from the left)

The boys jamming at the back of the ute! Go Miah!

Ahh Miline Bay Gels......da way you smile!

Beautiful flowers from Napatana

Pam's scrumptious week-end biccies!

Bruce, ever ready with the wine!

Ai ai time!

Member for Alotau Open and Minister for Culture & Tourism

Hon. Charles Abel also took part in the fun & games!This one's the 3 coconut relay. Coconut scraping was a bit of a challenge for some!
Bring it on!

Jayesh & Peter, before the 3-legged race & looking slightly tipsy.

Jayesh & Peter, after the race!

MBTIG members: (L-R,Back) Maxine,Jayesh TN,Pam Swanson,

(L-R,Front) Christina Aule, Maleta Tokwakwasi & Patricia Sinyoi (missing is Rita Tarumuri) Tyson Neville also celebrated his birthday with a huge cake

shared by all.The kids had a cake fight afterwards.

Independence Day - September 16 2007
Alice Wedega Park, Alotau

Habona-acting police man! Beautiful Bilums & Cane baskets from Ialibu in the Southern Highlands Province

"Kapwa" Charlie Graham and coconut! Not only is this Misiman guy hilarious and a great friend, he is also a wealth of information on anything to do with Milne Bay.
Beautiful Milne Bay faces

SPREP Conference 22-26 Oct.2007

More than 500 participants arrived on our shores from throughout the Pacific,Europe and the US to attend the conference. It was a huge challenge for a small town like Alotau and a mammoth task trying to accommodate everyone, but despite all the hurdles, it turned out to be a highly successful event with a lot of positive feed back from the participants, many of whom were initially scared to come to PNG. After a few days in Alotau experiencing our hospitality and friendliness though, they were happy they came.

(South Pacific Regional Environment Program Conference)

Wanigili Centre

The haus win was used as a meeting place for the many break out sessions.

The Closing Dinner at Wanigili -. Milne Bay style feast. We hosted the dinner for over 600 people and decided on an authentic Milne Bay theme. The guests sat under the stars on woven coconut mats,ate from coconut woven baskets and used their hands or coconut forks to eat. They loved it! It was funny seeing all these dimdims (foreigners) sitting on the ground, but they felt right at home and I was so proud (and relieved!) everything went off without a hitch. This is how we eat at home during village gatherings.

Vivien -the bird specialist from New Caledonia digging into the local cuisine.With the assistance of the church groups we prepared several roasted pigs, traditional claypot food cooked over the fire, sea food galore, fresh fruits, vegetables and salads.

New Guinea Islands Dance Troup
Kate Brown from Samoa-SPREP Conference Manager.

Kate is an amazing woman, she was an inspiration to work with, not to mention a tonne of fun, along with Vainuupo Jungblut, Ruth Pune and the rest of the SPREP team.

Bubu Anna and Cousin Taube visit Alotau

2007-10-15T03:36:00.000-07:00

Mums Anna Nilkare

Kaure's paternal grandma or Bubu Anna came over for his birthday along with Kaure's little cousin sister Taube (Rob's younger brother JJ and Anna Usurup's daughter). They both ended up staying with us for about a week. Mums Anna, as she's affectionately known, was quite content, as long as she had her supply of buai (betel nut), she was happy. It was her first time to spend quality time with her grandson since he was born, so both she and Taube got to know Kaure a bit better and vice versa.
If you can't find an umbrella, grab a banana leaf!
Mums Anna,Little Taube Nilkare and Rosita William
Jamon Simpson- " Max, This banana leaf is so not cool!"

There were some hilarious moments. Taube speaks only tok pisin (Pidgin English) while Kaure speaks only English so watching them communicate was priceless! Taube, although younger than Kaure, has a very strong personality and is quite vocal. She had no qualms in telling Kaure off if she wasn't happy with him, and even though he didn't understand a word she said, he responded right back in English. By the the end of the week Kaure had started saying some pidgin phrases like " Mi les!" and Taube was also saying some English words like "Enough Talking!".
Brekky time for Taube and Kaure-one minute they're smiling,

the next they're scowling!
Taube is just adorable, at 2 years of age she's a little Sine-bada (old woman), very independent with a cheeky streak. I don't think Kaure knew quite how to handle her. After much squabbling though, by the end of the week, they were best of friends.
All dressed up at Gurney Airport

They look so cute!
(L-R) Patty Sinyoi with Taube,Lucy at the back,Mums and Maxine

It was lovely having them over. Both Kaure and I enjoyed their company and I know my friends and family really took to Mums Anna. She's very down to earth, open and I think she enjoyed the change of scenery after being in Moresby all the time. She's already made plans to return soon. I've suggested that perhaps the next time she visits, Kaure and I might take her swimming and snorkelling at our village on Sariba Is.
"Yeah Daddy, Bubu Mums is coming on da plane now,

can you pick her up at da airport?
A tearful Mums Anna saying final good byes to her bubu.

Kaure's 3rd Birthday Party

2007-09-16T00:15:00.000-07:00

Kaure and friends, preparing to blow out the candles.

Each year we try to do something a little different for Kaure's birthday. When he was born, his father (Robert Nilkare) would buy a muffin from Andersons Foodland in Moresby (they have the best muffins in Pom). We'd put a candle on it and sing Happy Birthday to him when he was just a week old, two weeks old and so on until he was a few months old.

The cake from Alotau Int'l Hotel

On his first birthday (we'd already moved to Alotau) I held a small party for him at Wanigili with close friends and family and as usual cooked waaay too much food with the help of our fantastic chef Richie. First birthday's being a big deal,his father had to do it the "Chimbu" way and hosted a HUGE party at Bluff Inn, Port Moresby.We flew to Pom for the event. Rob must have invited about a hundred people (most were his side of the family and numerous friends), then there was the live band, coke bouncing castle, two huge pigs and lots of food. We must have brought back 7 rainbow bags full of nothing but Kaure's presents. We were still opening them by X-mas! So yes, being the only child of the first born son of the Nilkares , he is spoilt (especially by his father who lives in Pom and rarely sees him). One of the many things Rob and I differ in is that with him it's all about excess whereas for me, I like to keep things simple and uncomplicated.

Mum and all the young Aunties put on a feast!

Kaure's second birthday was a more intimate affair at Napatana Lodge. It was a lovely day, the Napatana staff did a wonderful job with catering, and decorating the place. They really took care of us and Kaure had his little play mates over. I baked the cake,his father also turned up. No pigs this time! Just a normal kids party with party hats, games and finger food of course there was wine and beer for the adults too. We even had Alotau's "local celebrity" Habona turn up.

Robert's mother-Bubu Mums Anna flew in from Moresby along

Kaure's little cousin sister Taube for his party.

This year, I booked Island Adventure Tours (IAT)Recreation Park at Divinai (@ 25 mins drive out of Alotau). We packed all of Kaure's pals into the IAT van and drove them out to the park which is on the beach front. It was a cloudy day but we managed to cross the rivers without too much drama and despite a little bit of rain, the weather cleared and everyone had a ball. Here are the photos......Next year, my Uncle's already suggested we have Kaure's b/day at Sariba Is. (where I'm from). That'll be interesting.....maybe we'll hire a boat and do a camp out with all his pals on the island.....hmmm.....20 screaming kids on a 2 hour boat ride?.....then again maybe not!We'll see.

Jessica Ellis & Buta Chris
Gerard
Uncle Ben and Nimrod caught in the rain.
Dad playing cricket with the boys.
Father and son.
Ariel,Javier & Zuriel digging into ice-cream.

Dad showing the ropes to Kaure and Buta Lani.

Miss Milne Bay girls photo shoot

2007-09-15T22:37:00.001-07:00

Miss Milne Bay- Gabrielle Ova and

Vivien Norris (Miss Masurina)

After Gabrielle Ova was crowned "Miss Milne Bay 2007", (for more on the crowning night,please scroll down) Jean and I decided to arrange a photo shoot to feature the swimwear that I designed for our Recycled Clothing label- "RAGS2RICHES". PNG Women love to go second hand shopping,Jean and I are no exception, however we've decided to take our passion for SH shopping a bit further and start making our own garments using second hand

materials,especially denim and jazzing them up with bits of fabric,buttons,sequins etc.

Currently we design for women and are making recycled denim skirts,jeans and bags with plans to do more. For the crowning night, we decided to design swimwear using second jeans and skirts. The jeans were cut up,bleached and printed using contemporary Milne Bay designs. They were a hit on the night.

On a Sunday afternoon, we picked up a few of the Miss Milne Bay contestants including Miss Milne Bay herself-Gabby. We took a drive towards Eats Cape and pulled into a secluded beach to take the shots. Our mate Sean who was visiting from Oz jumped at the opportunity to be photographer for the day. The girls were natural and we all had fun........check it out.

Gabby in a one piece suit featuring
traditional Milne Bay bagi and lime
pot Margie in bright blue one piece suit Vivien in blue bikini & matching sarong Julie,Margie,Gabby & Vivien
Rags2Riches also designs Casual Wear
inlcuding bags like this one made from

a pair of jeans.

On the night of the Miss MB Crowning,

we also promoted education & literacy in

PNG by printing educational messages on t-shirts.

I'm a BIG BOY now! (Kaure turns 3)

2007-09-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

Yaaaay! It's my betdey!

Mi an Aunty Lucy, my baby sita.

I can wid a book aaall by myself

I can bake biskets too!

My betday was on Thursday 16 August. I was 3 yias old, so now I’m a BIG BOY!
On my betday my Mummy cooked me my spesol bwekfast and my Daddy came fwom Pot Mosbi in da big plane. I was weely happy det Daddy came to see me. Daddy bought me my wota pistols and lots of pwesents!

On my betday Daddy and Mummy took me to Alotau Intanesonal Hotel and we ate dinner deya. Daddy bought my favewit….. PWAANS! I love pwans!

Afta da pwans I ate ICE CREAM!! YUMMY!!

Daddy got me stwabewee ice cweam. Dets me an mummy.

Mummy's lookin' a bit spak fwom da wine!

My stomach was weely weely full afta dat. I was playing monsta monsta wid Daddy

and biting his nose off! Haa haaa…… My Daddy’s making funny monsta faces!
I like playing wid my Daddy
I’m always happy when Daddy comes home to visit me!

Mummy tinks I'm going to look like dis

when I'm a big man like Daddy!

Miss Milne Bay Crowning Night!

2007-08-31T01:35:00.000-07:00

Article in Post Courier-Wednesday 8th August '07
The newly crowned "Miss Milne Bay 2007"-

Miss Gabrielle Ova (Miss Education)

The contestants with outgoing Queen Mimousa Mark &

current Miss PNG-Genevieve Robert in the background.

A few months ago, I was approached by the Red Cross to help with designing some of the Casual Wear and Swim wear garments for The Red Cross Miss Milne Bay Quest Crowning Night which was held on Saturday 4th August at Masurina Lodge. I jumped at the opportunity having no idea what I was getting myself into and with the assistance of my good friends Jeanie Callister,Aila Nabwakuleia, a few screen printers, seamstresses and anyone else who was around to help, we put together the hottest fashion show ever to be seen at a crowning night in Milne Bay!(Well, I’d like to think so anyway!!)

It was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. We designed 12 garments in total for Casual Wear and Swim Wear under the label " Rags2Riches". There were only 6 contestants so at least it wasn’t too much of a load. I love working with denim, It’s durable, always in fashion and looks great torn or tailored. Rags2Riches by JAM is the inspiration of three Milne Bay women-Jean Callister,Aila Nabwakuleia and myself. Rags2Riches is all about recycled fashion. We love nothing more than to buy worn out old jeans and make them into something more exciting.

As The National Book Week was held in the second week of August, we decided to create clothing with a message and to promote education and literacy in PNG. It was also an opportunity for us to create a bit of awareness for The Milne Bay Book Drive, something Australian AYAD Volunteer Jane McKenzie and I initiated before she left us in March this year . We’re basically sourcing new and used books from Australia and distributing them to schools around Milne Bay. With over 500 registered schools in the province, it’s a big task, but one we’re passionate about. Currently we have a lot of books in storage in
Australia (Sydney,Brisbane,) and we need to raise funds to ship them up here. To date we have received over 1,000 books and have distributed to 19 different schools (Elementary,Primary & High Schools) in the province.

So many schools in the province and throughout the country have limited resources and access to basic tools for learning such as books, stationary even desks and classrooms! All this does little to inspire children to develop a thirst for knowledge and to stay in school.

Miss Raven Estates-Margie modelling one of our
revamped denim jackets.

Our Casual Wear clothes featured a funky range of revamped denim skirts and jeans that were made from second hand jeans and skirts that were cut up, re-sewn and decorated with sequins,buttons,scarves,lace & bits of fabric. For the tops, I bought t-shirts, cut them up again into different designs and then printed educational quotes on the front and back.
Miss Masurina Ltd- Vivien in another one of our creations.

The hunky male escorts!Poni and Nimrod in Rags2Riches T-shirts.

Miss Samarai Mariculture-Sylvia Benoma
opened the show by bursting through
the Rags2Riches banner.
Sylvia in funky jeans.

The clothes were all about having fun,being bold and confident. On the night, the contestants walked out with books or magazines in their hands and pretended to read on the cat walk. Tanya Doyle's catwalk coaching certainly paid off on the night. I was so proud of the girls, they were so much more confident and it showed! It was certainly something new for Alotau!

Lady in red- Gabrielle

The Swimwear Category was just as exciting. Again, we used recycled denim, this time using stretch denim. We couldn’t find any white denim jeans in the second hand stores so we bleached the jeans instead.Local screen printer-Rohan Bate, dyed them and printed them with traditional Milne Bay motifs and patterns in contemporary colours. It was damn hard work for all involved, but Thanks to the fantastic local talent we have here in Alotau, we were able to make 6 pretty unique and sexy swimwear for our contestants. Pauline Ponifasio sewed the swimwear.
Sylvia strutting her stuff and shown' some leg.
The normally shy Miss Friends & Family -Dako
was nowhere to be seen that night!
Julie-Miss Baycabs, must have had the loudest cheers on the night.

I didn’t expect the response from the audience on the night. As soon as the girls walked out in their bikinis, everyone (ok, mainly the men!) swarmed to the stage to get photos and to get a closer look! What is it about bikinis?? I mean when the girls were in traditional dress with no tops on, it certainly didn’t have the same effect.

It was nice to hear some people saying “Did they make those here or overseas?”You wouldn’t have guessed the swimsuits were made from old pairs of jeans that's for sure!

It was also my first time to make crowns and I can assure you it was not easy! It’s one thing to sketch a design on paper and another to actually make the thing! Thank Goodness for Lucia Warren who was most helpful in helping me source the beautiful mother of pearl shells from Samarai Mariculture to make the crowns. My boss Simon was really supportive too. I also have to Thank our carpenter Philip Pima who almost lost a few fingers in cutting and shaping the shells! I don’t think either of us ever want to see another shell after that experience!(well, not for a while anyway). Jean as always, stepped in to give a hand with the last bit of stitching.

The original sketches for the crowns.
If only you knew how many necklaces

Jean and I cut up to make the crowns!

Miss Charity Queen- Sylvia Benoma.

I'm not even going to mention how many times

I pricked my fingers sewing on the fabric.

As I was too stressed trying to complete all the clothes, my dear friend Henz (Hennah Joku) came to my rescue and organised our clothes for the evening. I totally trust Henz's taste so when she offered to organise our shoes,dresses,make up,jewellery (underwear!! -trust me, Victoria's Secret is still very much a secret here in Alotau!), I jumped at the opportunity! Henz lives on Java Is. in Indonesia where shopping is great and sooo cheap! So after a frenzy of emails trying to specify sizes,and what particular style or cut of dress,shoes etc etc...we finally received our outfits in the mail via Post PNG's EMS service .....on the day of the Crowning!Talk about relief!You should have seen Jeannie and I opening up the parcels!We were like a pair of squealing 2 yr olds at x-mas! It was one of those do or die moments as we held our breaths not knowing if we'd like the outfits or not. Of course we loved them! Jeannie had a lovely green halter neck dress with plunging neckline and strappy silver heels. I went for a more Spanish look with a soft black flowing dress, red hair piece and a pair of red hot heels...which I am totally in love with! Jean Callister-my partner in crime!

Isn't she gorgeous!

Maxine and Jeannie. Wherever we go, the noise follows!

The contestants in traditional attire. Back view of Sylvia.

She is mixed Suau and Logea Is. Dako dancing gracefully to the kundu drums.
Julie is mixed Manus and Raba Raba.

The Raba Raba costume is quite stunning. Vivien Norris proudly holding her family's mwali.
Margie -"the catwalk queen",

she walked like a professional model

and was a natural

on stage.

Vivien looked great in her dress.
Gabrielle's dress was uniquely Milne Bay with bagi shells hanging down her back and a Milne Bay print on the side. It was certainly eye-catching. I designed her dress then she had it slightly modified by the seamstress-Pauline Ponifasio.
Current Miss PNG-Genevieve Roberts was a guest at the crowning night. I found her quite personable, she made an effort to walk around the room and mingle with guests which was nice.
Recognise this guy? I didn't and Yes, it's Habona.

He was clean shaven and had on a new shirt. Tanya Doyle-Former Miss PNG (1994) was instrumental

in organising the event, Mercinta-Elaine Maras-MC and Maxine.

Anne Wood & my cousin Nimrod Nadile.
Mimousa Mark-Outgoing Queen wearing

the crown for the last time.

Samatha & mum Sarah Clark with friend Milli Saul.

Yaa pris!Det wan how? Sista girl Sama.

The Hula dancing girls-Victoria,Marika and Samantha

Maxine backstage with musicians Ben and Jeremiah.

All dressed up! Jean and Betty from Red Cross.

Beautiful smiles from Sam and Victoria.

Market Tok Tok

2007-07-26T23:50:00.000-07:00

Because I do the ordering of food and shopping for the company, I don’t find it as enjoyable an experience when I’m shopping for myself. When it comes to the markets though, I could spend all day there if I wanted to. Alotau market is probably one of the best I’ve been to in PNG, in terms of safety factor, cleanliness and quality of food. Alotau Market.
Kaure drinking niu (young coconut)
Young boys selling lime (made from burnt coral) at the market entrance.Lime,when chewed with mustard and buai (betel nut) produces the bright red colour that is a common sight on people's mouths in PNG.

In fact any market outside of Moresby city, is a lot more pleasant. Put it down to too many bad marketing experiences in Pom (Port Moresby). If you’re female and alone in Pom walking the streets or in the markets, you can often be targeted by pick pocketers,opportunists etc. So usually it’s best to go with a friend. Here in Alotau, I’m free to go alone, take my time and it’s great not to have to check my back all the time. Our market has very strict regulations also. You can’t litter inside, eat or even chew buai (betel nut) so it’s very clean.

PNG has so many varieties of bananas.

I love green banana chips dipped in soy & chilli sauce

or just cooked with coconut,chicken and aibica. Outside the market are numerous stalls selling

everything from food to cigarettes to buai. A packet of cigarettes in the shops costs K9.00,

here at the market stalls it's K8.00

Another common sight around PNG.

Where you find buai, you'll also find "loose" smokes. Anyone for a hard boiled egg or "juice"? (cordial actually!)

I have to say though, nothing beats the Highlands markets. Having grown up in Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province, I do miss the abundant supply of broccoli, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, lettuce and everything was so huge and cheap! Highlanders definitely know how to garden. Here in Alotau people are only just starting to grow these types of veggies and even then, supply is not consistent. We are more known for our yams and tapioca (casava),bananas,pineapples,mangoes and taro. I never thought I’d miss tomatoes, we only get the cherry ones at the markets and they don’t taste as nice as the ones in the shops. Can you believe one tiny piece of broccoli in the supermarket costs K4.00-K5.00?? It’s crazy and if the container ships haven’t been in for a while to top up on supplies in the shops, cooking a meal can be fairly challenging. I refuse to buy frozen veggies, fresh is best as they say.

It’s nice to experiment with local foods too. If there’s no lettuce, watercress is always good and I like stirfrying veggies using all the different types of greens in the market with a dash of oyster sauce or garlic butter. One thing great about being in Alotau is all the fresh seafood you can buy here especially fish, crabs, squid, shellfish etc. Prices are pretty good too.A large handful of shell fish is usually around K1.00, crabs K3-K5.00 each and fish can range from K5.00 - K20.00 for the really big ones. If I buy fish at the market, I like to cook it on the same day, especially with coconut cream and chilli or baked in the oven with white wine and garlic. Once you’re used to eating fresh fish, there’s no turning back!
Early Saturday morning's the best time to

buy fresh seafood at Alotau market
Shells-great as a soup!

Forest ferns-something I've acquired a taste for

since moving to Alotau.

Some of the more exotic dishes you’ll find at the market include; tree possum, bandicoot or flying fox cooked whole and creamed with coconut!! Ewwww! I’m always one to try anything once so recently I tried the bandicoot (with rice and chillis) which I thought was cuscus (tree possum) and it wasn’t too bad I must say until I reached the paw, then I had to stop…it was so tiny and too much for me to handle! It didn’t help that I had Elaine and Jamon on the side screwing up their faces and saying GROSS!!! As for flying fox? If I close my eyes, yeah maybe but……..ewww….don’t know if I could bring myself to eat something that reminds me too much of something out of Aliens vs. Predator! I mean is there even any meat on those things???!

Flying foxes in coconut cream-

Doesn't this remind you of that scene in Alien vs.

Predator when the Alien's eggs start hatching and

the little aliens start slithering out!Arrghhh!!

Yes this is the badicoot's tail and NO I didn't eat it!

Jamon wasn't too impressed!

Milne Bay women love to bake so they also sell great buns and biscuits at the market. There’s one lady I go to who makes the nicest, crunchiest coconut biscuits with a hint of leukot. Often you’ll see ladies selling bright coloured pandanus baskets and mats-another thing Milne Bayans are known for.
My weakness is usually hot sago and chestnuts eaten with smoked squid, fresh water prawns or shell fish in coconut cream, threaded and sold on a coconut broom stick. Tastes great with fresh seaweed also and you can get all that for under K3.00!

A few bites of this and you're stuffed!

Sunny days again in Alotau!

2007-07-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Bums up!Kaure and friend Buta Chris
Fun in the sun.
View of Haus Win from

upstairs verandah-Wanigili Centre,EMB

Ground floor view of Wanigili Beachfront

When I’m not working……

2007-07-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

My cousin Patricia Sinyoi modelling one of

my designs made from recycled denim

One of my passions is designing clothes, it’s something I’ve done ever since I was a kid. I am by no means a professional designer, it’s more of a hobby for me. I love nothing more then to pick up second hand garments at the markets or shops in Pom and turn them into something more interesting.

Maxine at 2003 Mama Lewa Art Exhibition
Port Moresby

Over the years I have accumulated numerous scrap books filled with nothing but sketches of one design or another, all are gathering dust. In 2002, while in Port Moresby, I worked up the courage and entered The Ice Fashion Awards, a nationwide fashion design competition. I came up with the idea of combining recycled denim and synthetic bilum (string bag) for a contemporary PNG look. I made it to the finals. That was 5 years ago. In 2003, I took part in an all woman art exhibition in Port Moresby entitled “Mama Lewa” which was organised by The Business and Professional Women’s Club. That was my first exhibition experience and I actually featured four paintings and a few of my denim n’ bilum garments. Amazingly,I sold 3 paintings, one was auctioned. The purpose of the exhibition was to raise funds to provide scholarships for young women in Port Moresby to further their education. I’m keen to organise a similar exhibition here in Alotau, perhaps early next year to coincide with International Women’s Day. Here are some of my creations (special Thanks to Cam Hollows for taking all the photos-except the last two,and his assistant Jane McKenzie). Temari modelling bilum n' denim skirt
Joanne in bilum n' denim mini skirt and top
Bilum Thongs
Bilum coconut tree pattern on jeans
Joanne,Durand and Temari

Over the last few years, bilum outfits have become a lot more popular. There’s a lot of work involved in creating and weaving a bilum outfit and a full outfit can fetch anywhere from K300.00 and upwards. Not cheap!The garments however, are very eye-catching and unique. One of my paintings

Kaure's Bubu - John Nilkare

2007-07-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

Kaure's Bubu John Nilkare(centre) dressed in

traditional Simbu costume at a recent rally

at Omkolai,Simbu Province(Highlands).

It's election time in PNG and Kaure's Bubu (Grandpa-Robert's Father) is currently standing for the Gumine Open Electorate Seat in his home province of Chimbu/Simbu.Here's a recent article about him featured in The National Newspaper.
_________________________________________________________
Nilkare: Nationals to push for return of village services dept

By ZACHERY PER

A PNG National Party-led government would strive to revive and restore the village services department initiated in the 1990s but had since gone into hibernation. Prominent businessman and former politician John Nilkare revealed this during a PNG National Party rally in Omkolai in the Gumine district of South Simbu last Friday. Mr Nilkare said PNG National Party had strong policies in reviving and strengthening services meant for the rural areas of PNG.

He said if he wins the Gumine seat and is in the engine room of a PNG National Party-led government, the village services department of the Government would be revived for efficient services to filter down to the village level. Mr Nilkare, who once led the National Advancement Party in the 1990s succeeded in establishing the Village Services Department, aimed primarily at delivering goods and services to the village level. He is still a strong advocate for village services and is adamant that if his party gets into government, the programme would be revived. He told a big gathering at Omkolai that they would ensure that village court magistrates, peace officers, peace mediators and councillors were put on fortnightly payroll.
“Funds earmarked for the district would be channeled from Waigani directly to the respective districts,” Mr Nilkare said. He challenged the people of Gumine that if they voted him to be their MP, he would ensure all deteriorating roads and bridges would be maintained before December this year. “If I fail to deliver this promise to you,I will slaughter several cows and pigs for you, and if I succeed in delivering my promise, you the people of Gumine will slaughter
the pigs and cows for me,” Mr Nilkare said.

The former Gumine and Simbu Regional MP said Simbu province had a lot of highly educated professionals who were working outside. “A National Party-led government would ensure the creation of an environment attractive enough to bring them back to serve their own people and their country.” The Gumine seat is currently held by People’s National Congress (PNC) party man Nick Kuman. Simbu Regional’s People’s Progress Party candidate Aiwa Olmi also attended the rally and spoke to the people about his aspirations.
_________________________________________________________

Something tells me whichever way things turn out, there aren't going to be too many pigs or cows left in Chimbu after the elections!Kaure's only met his bubu a few times in Moresby,otherwise,there's not much contact with him.

Finally, I voted!

2007-07-11T06:46:00.000-07:00

KB Community Hall-where voting took place

It’s election fever in PNG and for the first in my life, I actually voted!This was last Friday 6 July. I don’t know why, but for some reason I was expecting a bit more excitement, perhaps some fireworks, drum roll, a tribal fight or two maybe (nah, just kidding!That doesn’t actually happen in our part of the country). Maybe it was the end of the week and everyone had just had enough of all the election hype! Whatever the case,voting was a quiet and civil process that took place in a community hall in KB under the watchful (and rather bored) gaze of a few cops and electoral commission officials.

While the rest of the world is terrified of coming anywhere near PNG during the election period, we here in Alotau are carrying on with our daily lives as usual with little fuss and not much to talk about in the way of election-related dramas. I’m still walking the streets (ok,street!) with my son and nothing’s happened to us, people are still doing what they do everyday with no disturbances. I think the most dangerous thing I encountered on Saturday was my cousin Nimrod on his way to The Miss Milne Bay Quest-Sneak Preview at Cameron High.The guy was so gelled and spruced up I barely recognised him!

Eeny Meeny Miney Mo.........Who's the fairest

leader of them all? Who should be our next Governor?

Not much of a choice I'm afraid. Can some people

please smile o? Sgt.Neasi & Town Manager- Mr. Elliot,

keeping a close eye on things.

The polling booths
View of the other side
The Ballot Boxes

Good governance is one of the major themes covered in the six x 40 min Radio Drama Programs we’re currently producing (a Media for Development Initiative project), as a result, I’ve taken a lot more interest in Politics these days. For some interesting reading on our current members, check out http://milnebayelections.blogspot.com/2007/02/sitting-members.html.

Rait Man! (I mean, the guy wearing the shirt!)

Some candidates printed bright t-shirts (like our current governor-Tim Neville,some drove around in their trucks up and down the highway talking on their loud hailers until their voices broke, many put up posters or banners around town

Kaure Muala with Aunty Francesca Semoso-

Deputy Speaker-Autonomous Region of Bougainville.

This is one amazing and dynamite of a woman.Franco and I

used to work together at PNG FM Ltd. many years ago. She has always been an advocate for women's issues and is an amazing public speaker. She has recently been awarded an OBE.She was here a few weeks ago attending an HIV/AIDS workshop hosted by PATTAF.

The community radio drama programs we’ve been working on for the past 10 months now are almost complete. Jobby Paiva (sound engineer, program director-CDI) is currently working on the last two episode while in Kutubu. So hopefully we should have them completed by mid August!!What a relief that’s going to be!It’s been a looong process, but one that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed.I can’t wait for the programs to be aired on Radio Milne Bay. I’m told the last radio drama programs were aired on the station some 5 yrs ago so am hoping we’ll get a good response from the public. The programs, covering HIV& AIDS as well as Domestic Violence in our province, are very entertaining and are presented in Milne Bay English and Tok Pisin.

You know you've been in Alotau for a while when......

2007-07-03T15:36:00.000-07:00

The Taxi driver says pay me later
You start wearing thongs (slippers) everywhere
You start greeting people with “How” or "Gudi"
Y ou start chewing betel nut more
You become very fluent in Milne Bay English,therefore......
Your ability to form basic sentences in English becomes more and more difficult and you start saying things like " My head is paining" or "Ewaa, det one how?".
Your idea of take away is hot sago,chestnuts and smoked squid or fish at the market.
You go for a walk and every second person says Gudi or Hallo to you!
You start planting tapioca and yams in your garden.
You actually start gardening,baking and sewing!Activities you would never have dreamed of doing before life in Milne Bay!
Habona adds his shopping to yours at the check out counter
You know how to ask for betel nut in 6 different languages
You refer to everyone older than you as –Aunty, Uncle or Bubui
You’re buying new towels every month cos your relies keep
walking away with them.
The only jewellery you have on is your bagi
Friday nights you’re either at Napatana’s Trivia Night, Masurina’s Family Night or partying at The Jetty-Alotau Int'l Hotel
You find a relative working in every shop or company you walk into.
Every other person you meet was either your Mum or Dad’s classmate at Cameron High School. This is one of my Bubui's (Mum's mum) younger sisters- Bubui Goini who lives on Galahi Is. She may look like she's wearing lipstick but it's actually sada (betel nut). She's always smiling,is loud,loves a laugh and has a weakness for beads and bright coloured necklaces.

Another of my Grandmother's younger sisters-Haliesa (namesake), we both share the name of one of my great grand bubus-Adinaleu (pronounced Ahdeenahleooo). Haliesa was sick recently so has been in Alotau seeking treatment. She lives on Logea Is. and has a very gentle nature.

Some old photos

2007-07-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

I was recently sent some old photos of Kaure when he was around 4 months old by my friend Hennah Joku. Hennah lives and teaches at Malang State University on Java Island,Indonesia. She has a gorgeous daughter Shontae who lives in Port Moresby with her partner Paul Wynn. Hennah has been awarded yet another scholarship to further her studies in linguistics at Yogjakarta which means she'll be in Indo for the next 4 years!! Kaure and I will definitely be visiting!Hennah and I share a creative streak, we love to brainstorm and come up with crazy business ideas and we especially love to go second hand shopping together (fact: PNG women love to go second hand shopping!). On that note, Henz is probably the only friend I know who can fit into a 5 yr old's jeans and t-shirt- she is that tiny!

Check out our beautiful babies!I can't believe how fast he's grown! Kaure now knows how to answer the phone, he helps me cook, he loves to be told stories and prefers to select his own clothes in the mornings (I think Spiderman and Batman suits are getting a bit worn out this week) He also runs very fast so I should be losing that 10 kilos any day now.Something tells me he's going to be very athletic.

Kaure Muala at 4 months

with friend Shontae Wynn -Port Moresby

Enjoying milkshakes with Mum and

Shontae at Airways Pooside Cafe-Port Moresby

Here comes the rain!

2007-06-25T06:41:00.001-07:00

It's wet season in Milne Bay so yes from here on until about October, it'll be nothing but rainy days ahead. Actually they say it's usually around March/April that the wet season kicks in. Lately we've had a few sunny days but they are becoming rarer. Sometimes it feels like 4 seasons in one day! And when the rain does come,it almost sneaks up on you and then pours down on you when you least expect it. The sound of the rain is quite loud and thunderous in our building,after two years,I'm used to it but initially it was frightening. I've grown to appreciate it now and from our location, it's quite beautiful to watch the rain or a storm rolling in across the bay.Just so you get an idea of what it's like here at the moment, have a look at these images.

Alotau Market on a Saturday morning
Main warf, Sanderson Bay
Two yachts in the bay
Early morning at Gurney Airport
Driving in the rain
KBD Beachfront
Kaure muala and his funky liklik puk puks

(little crocs) from Uncle Cam &

Aunty Jane

Breakfast by the beach

2007-06-25T05:15:00.001-07:00

Wanigili Beach front facing Waga Waga

Sometimes on a Sunday morning if the sky's clear and the sea's calm I like to take Kaure paddling in the canoe. We pack a few munchies and a drink and paddle out to have brekky with the fish. Kaure's always intrigued, he loves looking at the fish and just being out on the water and it gives me a chance to practise my paddling skills! A few Sundays ago, we had Javier and Jamon Simpson over for the week-end and decided to have breakfast on the beach for a change.

Kaure,Javier and Jamon Simpson playing.

Having come up with the "brilliant" idea to cook pancakes over the fire, I soon realised it wasn't as easy or as fun as I had imagined it to be. Number one I had to find dry wood (it had been pouring with rain the whole week so trying to find anything remotely dry was pretty challenging), Number two I had to make the fire which didn't happen right away (when you have 4 hungry kids staring at you, it can be slightly stressful!), Number three, I had to actually make the perfect pancake which was no easy feat let me assure you, not when you've got smoke coming at you from every angle, your eyes are watering and you're constantly being told by an eleven year old (Jamon) just what the perfect pancake should look like!!

The quest for the perfect pancake!

So what was meant to be an easy going relaxing Sunday morning brekky by the beach ended up being a rather stressful and exhausting experience! No, it wasn't that bad really, after 2 flops with the pancakes (I was using an el cheapo frying pan so had to change it to the heavier one) by the third round when I finally did make the perfect pancake all the kids actually cheered!!We ended up having pancakes with honey and french toast -hey it was all worth it but when Jeannie (my girlfriend) called later that morning and suggested we make a fire and have lunch by the beach I had to decline- I was all fired out!

Rosita and Kaure digging into his pancake

Smiles at last after finally having a taste of
pancake! If you're wondering what that bright

red structure in the background is,

it's a Gogodala war canoe from Western Province

(it fits up to 50 men)

In the distance is the way home to Sariba Is.

We even managed to make French toast

a la fire!

Not sure what that is? it's an upside down coconut.

My Daddy and me

2007-06-14T04:16:00.000-07:00

Hallo!It's me Kaure.Last week my daddy came from Mosbi to see me. My daddy's name is Robert Nilkare. I didn't see him for a looong time so my mummy called him and he came in da biiiiig plane to Alotau. I love my daddy.

I like sleeping wid my daddy.

Daddy and me have da same nose.

I love mummy too.

When my daddy comes, he used to take me in his car and we used to go for spin in town.

I'm tired

My daddy's from Chimbu,in da highlands where deyas plenty of biiig mountains. Mummy said it's very cold up dea. I want to go dea wid my daddy one day.

Me an daddy spinning in da car.
We went to da airport to leave daddy.
We went to da riva before da plane came
I like trowin' stones in da riva.

My daddy used to take me to Papindo to buy my prawns den we go back to the house and he cooks dem for me. I love prawns, so does mummy, but daddy can't eat prawns, adawise he might get sick. Daddy always cooks me yummy food.

Det's me eating daddy's pen

My daddy went on da plane.
I saw daddy going and I cried.
I'm not happy wid daddy.

My daddy lives in Mosbi.His office is in town. He stayed for short time an den he went back in da big plane. I was sad when he left me. He made me cry when he got on da plane. I want to go to Mosbi an see my daddy but mummy said later we'll go.

The cocktail affair of the month

2007-06-07T01:55:00.000-07:00

It was the perfect evening. Along the beach front, the torches were lit, the decorations were up, the food was prepared, the D J was playing down the tunes, all was set for the cocktail affair of the month. Friday 1st June 2007, Alotau Enterprise (Alotau Supermarket/Family Store/Hard Ware) celebrated it's 25th Anniversary at Wanigili Centre. 300 people flocked to our venue, the majority of the guests were management and staff of AE and the rest were visitors from out of town.

Upon arrival, guests were greeted at the main foyer by a line of Trobriand Islanders in traditional dress. The auditorium was a kaleidoscope of colours with people decked out in pacific island shirts and dresses, grass skirts even saris and of course cocktail dresses. I’d never seen so many glamorous people at Wanigili! Thankfully,the rain had disappeared, replaced by an air of excitement and anticipation as the crowd warmed up with the beers and wines while waiting for the evening program to unfold.

Some of the guests arriving at the function.

Maxine behind the scenes.
Some of the delicious nibblies prepared on the night.
The spring rolls were delicious!

The Kiriwina dancers and Alotau Enterprise
Staff waiting to meet guests.

First on the agenda was the traditional Chinese Lion Dancing. This was a spectacular show performed by a troup of Moresby-based Chinese dancers. The two lions danced, jumped and rolled to the beat of a drums. It was my first time (and Kaure’s) to see Lion Dancing up close. The costumes were striking and the dancers extremely well co-ordinated especially with two dancers per lion. The highlight was when the lions moved onto the board walk and danced beneath the fire crackers-pretty daring stuff!.These went off with such a loud bang a lot of people freaked out (myself included!). I swear my ear drums popped! I think a few people probably shat themselves! I recall one concerned guest screaming at us to “ PUT THE BLINDS UP! THE BUILDING’S GOING TO CATCH ON FIRE!!”.Nothing of the sort happened of course!(As if we’d let that happen!)

The lions danced to the drums and not sure what the

other instrument is, a tambourine-type-thingy?

Close up of the lion-beautiful colours!

Lions doing some tricky stunts.

The fire crackers were the highlight of the night!

Alotau Enterprise General Manager-Tim Seeto

(in the middle with brown shirt) and family and

the lion dancers from Moresby.

Following the dancing, the speeches took place and then it was the Trobriand Islanders turn to steal the show. The dancers came out in full costume, singing and dancing. They had travelled all the way from Kiriwina (Trobriand Islands to Alotau is about 18 hours by boat) to provide some local entertainment especially for the function .

"Kuma Besa Tapioca!!"

The beautiful dancers in their traditional finery

I don't think I've ever seen a Trobs dancer with

saggy boobs!(hmm probably because they only get the young ones to dance!)

Afterwards, the cake was cut, the music was turned up and then it was time to party, and party we did!The Trobriand Islanders wasted no time in grabbing a partner and hitting the dance floor. They seemed to respond naturally to whatever music was playing. Venga Boys was certainly a hot favourite!Normally I can't stand techno but that night I was jumping up and down and grooving with the rest of them whether it was to Venga Boys or Tolai Rock!??? Strongpela Samatex acting Tolai!I didn't even have one drop of alcohol all night!What can I say,

we all got into the spirit of the night and even the Filipinos were going off!We all had a ball, so much so that despite dancing bare foot all night, my feet were killing the next day!

Mr & Mrs. Seeto-parents of Tim Seeto

Vero-our head chef cutting the absolutely

scrumptious (and huge) chocolate cake baked

by Raphael-one of the Filipino managers.

Pacific Island style shirts were the go that night.

"Oh Geez! Where do I look?"

Harry,Joeena & Javier Simpson

join the party.

"Wow there's two of them!They must really

like my moves!"

Tanya Doyle-Looking divine and

showin' some serious moves on the

dance floor.

Trobs girls givin' it to Venga Boys!

The Trobs boys were pretty good too!

Zen Alaluku and Maxine in party mode!

Our Garden

2007-06-03T00:12:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about being in Milne Bay is that everything grows so easily here. I love tropical flowers, the brighter, the better, especially hibiscus,frangipanis and heliconias so am often collecting and exchanging different varieties with other people. When I first arrived at EMB two years ago, there were no plants around the bungalows and not many flowering plants, now there's a lot more. Take a look.

Our bungalow surrounded by greenery,

a stark contrast to when we first arrived.

Foot Massages & Couch Therapy at the Bungalow

2007-06-02T16:05:00.000-07:00

Couch Therapy at my bungalow is something that has accidentally become a bit of a ritual for my friends and I, especially on Sunday mornings. Elaine, Jeannie or both of them usually turn up some time in the morning or evening for coffee, tea,brunch,wine or left overs. It's basically an excuse to catch up and talk and laugh and talk and laugh some more.

I have a large cane couch on my verandah that I inherited some years ago from my dearest friend Haley Whitfield who now lives in Brisbane,Australia. It's a very comfy couch, perfect for recovering from a hang over or just lazing around on. Last Sunday we invited the lovely Anne Wood, a Beauty Therapist who's new in town, to conduct a bit of foot therapy on us. Originally from Normanby Is. and Australia, Anne was previously working at The Nail Bar -Holiday Inn Hotel-Port Moresby. She is currenty looking at setting up shop here in Alotau which is great news for the ladies (and men-she even offers back waxing guys!) I'm not one to wear nail polish every day or pay much attention to a daily beauty routine, but every once in a while, it's kind of fun.

Jeannie's first time to use a foot spa.

Anne cleaning Maxine's foot
Maxine's feet after the foot makeover.
There's nothing like having your feet
pampered after a long hard
week
If you're in Alotau and you
need some serious beauty therapy, see Anne
Wood. She runs "Perfect Paws-for people" and
offers Manicures, Pedicures and Waxing

for men & women.

Afterwards, Elaine whipped up some Pisang
Manis (Sweet Banana,honey & lime) for us.
Kaure loved it!
Couch Therapy the night before
with candles,hibiscus & a bottle of Port.

Jeannie & Kaure

Somebody's not very happy!

Elaine after a few glasses of Port.

Trobriand Carvings

2007-06-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Traditional Lime Pot made from a

gourd which has been smoked

over the fire then scraped

to form intricate patterns.

The lid is made out of a pig's tusk

and tightly rolled banana leaves.

In Milne Bay,Trobriand Islanders are well known for many things, most notably for their Yam Festival, their famous and very provocative "Tapioca" dance, their loud and boisterous manner and their carvings which are quite unique. For some reason memories of being encircled by a group of very excited (and I mean EXCITED) Trobriand male dancers comes to mind. Yes, now I recall, that was at the closing dinner for the SPREP conference a few years back.

I find Trobriand Islanders to be very open about their sexuality, more so than people from other parts of the province. Theirs is certainly a fascinating culture and although I'm from Milne Bay, I still have so much to learn about the many different cultures in our province. One thing I've noticed is that when there's a big event or cultural festival on, The Trobriand Islanders usually get the loudest cheers. They are often the highlight not only because their costumes are bright red and eye-catching but also because they are highly entertaining to watch.

Whenever we host a conference or we have guests in house, you can be sure to find several Trobriand men sitting under a tree in the yard selling their wares. While I don't mind most of the time, sometimes they can really test your patience. Like when they sit around till 6pm even though they can see there's no one around to sell to!! Anything for a sale.

Here's a warning too. If you buy something from them, don't be surprised if they keep coming back week after week after week to sell even more carvings to you. Unfortunately at times there just aren't enough tourists here to sell their wares to, so it can be pretty tough for them. Check out some of the amazing carvings they produce.

May Madness!!

2007-05-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

The 2007

PNG National Secretaries Conference

Wanigili Centre - Education Milne Bay Ltd.The notice board at the main entrance

The conference was officially launched by

The honourable Governor Mr. Tim Neville

There were 200 participants there.
The lovely Mea Lou-President of The PNG
Secretaries Association.

My two beautiful Aunties-Lydia and Julie
also attended the conference.
Gretel-multi skilled and always
efficient.Here she awaits guests
to come up for lunch.

Part of the unique Wanigili experience is our
Claypot Cooking. Milne Bayans traditionally
cook in claypots. We like to add a contemporary
touch by cooking chicken or lamb curries in addition to the

usual local vegetables in coconut cream.

A traditional wooden Milne Bay bowl decorates the table.

Lunch time! The ladies certainly enjoyed the food.

Alotau International Hotel's "Jetty" night club

was transformed into a dining room for the ladies'
closing dinner function.

Sandy Givens-well known Australian Public Speaker and
facilitator for The Secretaries Conference.

She was fantastic andtotally inspiring.

Here she's decked out in gifts presented to her by the secretaries.

Later that night while waiting for the

secretaries to finish boogying at The Jetty,

I caught up with Elaine and my cousin Nimrod.

The 2007

National Health Conference

Wanigili Centre,EMB.

Flags from all the different provinces were

displayed at the entrance to Wanigili Centre.

The auditorium,before the arrival of guests.

Wanigili auditorium can accommodate

more than 200 people.

Traditional Milne Bay dancers preparing

to greet guests upon arrival.

Guests after arrival at Wanigili.

At the end of the conference,

the dancers came out. The boys brought the pigs.

and the ladies carried the yams out to be

presented to conference participants.

Poor little piggy wiggy.

Ok, so it's a BIG piggy wiggy!

One of the five pigs presented on the day.

Conference participants listening to speeches

Closing speeches were held on the board walk.

Wanigili Theatre Group performed an item

about lack of medicine and health services

in rural PNG. Maxine relaxing with Wanigili Theatre Group

members-Rose Ila and Andy Tari at the

closing dinner, held at Masurina Lodge.

This has been one extremely busy month for Education Milne Bay. Last week we hosted the National Secretaries Conference for 200 Secretaries from all around PNG. The week prior to that we hosted the National Health Conference, also with over 200 people from all the health centres throughout the country, and this week Friday 1st June, we are hosting a cocktail night to celebrate Alotau Enterprises's 25th Anniversary. We expect up to 300 people.

Am I stressed? Well... not really actually. I think the last 2 weeks have been good practice for all of us here at EMB. I must admit, our staff have been fantastic! They put in a monumental effort with catering and house keeping etc. I was so proud of them! We only have about 20 staff (many of whom have had very little formal training or experience) and with the additional assistance of 10 extra girls, we managed to host two highly successful events. As a result we received so many positive comments from the organisers and guests alike.

200-300 guests is probably the norm for most large estbalishments, however, this is actually the first time EMB has hosted conferences of this magnitude since launching into full operation last year. Previously, I thought 60 guests was a huge event!? It has certainly been a challenging 2 weeks, made all the more so when the toilets decided to get blocked during the Secretaries Conference. Picture 200 secretaries busting to go to the loo at morning tea time and having to line up to use the toilet in the bungalow... one at a time. We even had to ferry some of them to Napatana Lodge to use their toilets! Thank Goodness the problem was rectified before the end of morning tea!

If there's one thing I've learned about Secretaries during the conference, it's this......you don't want to mess with them!Classic case- Saturday afternoon flight to Pom (Port Moresby) was cancelled, the little Milne Bay guy behind the counter just about had his head bitten off by a hoard of very big, scary and disgruntled secretaries who were all desperate to return home to their families and weren't too thrilled about lugging their 10 rainbow bags filled with yams and buai (betelnut) all the way back to their hotels. Happy viewing!

Mother's Day at Napatana

2007-05-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

One of the traditional Milne Bay features at

the lodge's haus win.

Three Mamas and a bottle of wine spells trouble!

Natalie English,Moi & Evelyn Numa.Crikey! ?

Smile o?

Each table featured a lovely posy.
The blackboard at the foot of the stairs.
I love the flowers in the clam shell.
The view from the bar overlooks a little path
that leads to the sea.
Quaint little touches like this shell chime,
carvings and large clam shells are scattered
throughout the lodge.
Carving with bad hair do!
Jeremiah,Laurie & Bruce entertained us with
"Guitar Girl", one of their own songs.
Habona,a well known face and "local celebrity"
was also present. He was giving Kaure a
friendly hug, but Kaure is obviously not enjoying it!

Gretta Kwasnicka (in pink on the left)-Manager of
Napatana Lodge. If you want to know what's
happening in Milne Bay in terms of tourism,
business etc. she'll fill you in.
The food was scrumptious,loved the steamed fish!
Elaine and Maxine being served by the lovely Bruce
who always takes care of us when we're at Naps!
That's part of the reason why I always enjoy going there,
the staff are great!
An enjoyable afternoon with friends.

Uh oh....Kaure needing to pee pee while

picking a flower for me.

I love the carvings scattered throughout

the gardens.

When filled with flowers and candles in the

evening,these giant clam shells look gorgeous!

Napatana Lodge is built from traditional materials

and has a great bar upstairs and lovely atmosphere!

This is where everyone goes on a Friday night

for Fish n' chips and trivia.They have

the best Fish n Chips in town!

The two stooges! Jeannie & Elaine

doing a bit of " Karim Leg"!

Isn't he just adorable?

Kaure Muala exhausted but still managing a smile.

Belated Mother's Day greetings to you!

I've only been a mother for the past 2 and a half years but I think it's safe to say I've pretty much got the hang of it now (motherhood that is). The first year was crazy,unstable and down right painful both emotionally and physically as I learned to adjust to having a little bub permanently attached to my boobs. I'd put on a tonne of weight, was jobless and had to rely on my son's father for financial support,which did not sit well with me (I'm used to earning my own money) . The fact that he was constantly unfaithful did not help either. As soon as I got the job with EMB and moved to Alotau though, my life changed for the better.

Being a single mum is one big roller coaster ride. I've been through five babysitters over the last 2 years, there were times I had to leave Kaure alone in the bungalow so I could rush to work and attend to guests, sometimes I'd make his bed in the office while I worked,I discovered early on that a lot of people here aren't too fond of highlanders so I had to deal with racist comments from members of my own family,complete strangers and even expatriates when they learned my son's father is from Chimbu. I grew up in the highlands amongst highlanders, my mother was a lecturer at Goroka Teacher's College so we travelled and visited many rural communities within the highlands. I loved growing up there, the people were wonderful to us and the scenery.....amazing. My son is blessed to be from two very different parts of the country and as he gets older I think it's important for him to learn about both sides of his heritage. It saddens me how people can be so ignorant and cruel especially towards a child. Despite all the initial trials of settling into a new environment, we survived.

My beautiful son turns 3 in August, he's the best thing that's ever happened to me.I know I'm being corny but hey...it's Mother's Day (well was).When you've had a rotten day,there's nothing like coming home and being bowled over by hugs and kisses from your son.

Anyway, now that I've got that off my chest!! Here are a few tips about being a mum:

1. Get a reliable and good babysitter/housekeeper (reduces your stress levels)

2. If you scream at your child, he/she will scream back at you, so try your best to speak calmly

even if it's through gritted teeth (it takes practise, trust me)

3. Watch as much of "Super Nanny" as possible, the naughty chair...really does work.

4. Before you leave the house, always pack spare diapers/clothing,water,nibbles,toilet paper,

wet wipes..what else......oh and your baby of course!

5. Never ever underestimate your child, they watch your every move and copy every single

thing you do and say (often when you least expect it).

On Mother's Day -Sunday 13 May, Jeannie,Elaine and I decided to treat ourselves to Buffet Lunch at Napatana Lodge which is within walking distance from EMB. As always at Napatana, we had a wonderful time and the food was delicious. The menu featured an assortment of exotic dishes,most notable was the watercress and carrot quiche, green pawpaw salad,steamed fish and dessert was my favourite-lemon and lime tart with ice cream, totally mouthwatering!

Kaure loved the ice cream so much he had 3 bowls full!

Max and friends

2007-05-14T03:32:00.000-07:00

Maxine

Gudi! (pronounced Gooody) When in Milne Bay, that's the standard greeting. While English is widely spoken, most people here are multi-lingual. On the mainland, Tawala is the main language then as you head out to the many,many Islands, there's Dobu (Fergusson Islands), Kiriwina (Trobriand Islands), Suau,Misima,Rossel etc etc.There are said to be more than 50 different languages in Milne Bay.I speak Sariba but not fluently. Because I've spent a lot of my youth outside of the province and country, when I'm home,(Sawasawaga village-Sariba Is.), everyone loves to listen to me attempting to speak Sariba and the minute I make a mistake they crack up and never let me forget it! At the same time though, they appreciate the effort and I must say it's always interesting communicating with my bubus (grand-parents).

My bubu taubada (mum's Dad-Elia Nadile) was a young boy during The Battle of the Coral Sea

when The Allied forces (American and Australian soldiers) set up camp in our village. I recall one particular conversation we had at about 1am when everyone else was fast asleep. Here's how it went:

Bubu(in Sariba): Mekisini (Maxine), before when all the Amelican soldias were here, all the time, I used to hear them say -"Son of a bitch, Son of a bitch,ede tena saha (what does it mean)?"

Me:(trying very hard not to crack up!) Oh Bubui, tenata se wane kedewa natuna", (Bubui, it means child of a dog).......somehow it just didn't sound right and the more I tried to explain the phrase to him, the more I confused him. Of all the things he remembered after all those years!!!

Anyway,I'm supposed to be introducing you to my friends.....

Allow me to introduce you to Jean Callister-The Smartest,toughest,sassiest,craziest,funniest and most unselfish person I know. She's also married with three kids (sorry guys!),business woman, supermum.....you wouldn't think it though as she often passes for a 15 yr old and has the wickedest laugh not to mention sense of humour. Jeannie's part Misima and Manus. She's an amazing woman and mum and if you ever hear a tiny lady with a really loud voice yelling out something to someone on the road as she flys past in her ute.....that's probably her! Here's Elaine, as she's known to us.Her full name is Mercinta-Elaine Maras. Recently employed by EMB to assist with the Distance Education School, she is also sweet,smart and a tonne of fun!.Elaine's background is in Education,she speaks Bahasa fluently amongst other languages and she's Kavieng mix Indonesian and Central. Already she's been mistaken for a Milne Bayan.....which I have trouble understanding as she has legs like Naomi Campbells' and is often likened to Pamela Anderson for some reason (well, a PNG version anyway)....hmmm, most Milne Bayans are very,very short. Perhaps it's because she's picked up Milne Bay English in no time- "So How?", "Det one oledi I did it!"

Elaine's a breath of fresh air in Alotau and has become more like family really. Always positive, she's also well travelled, great to talk to, awesome with kids,a fantastic cook and I love all the wonderful spicy Indonesian sauces and dishes she makes for us.

This is Murray Abel and Delcie Chariton's haus win by the sea. We (Elaine & I) turned up to pick up a couple of sauce pans that I'd left at their house a few months back and ended up enjoying a bottle of red with them well into the afternoon!Murray and Delcie are such a wonderful couple and always so hospitable. I always enjoy their company. Needless to say we left their house and only remembered the pans when we arrived home.

Delcie and Maxine
Sigh, just one more glass..........
and then we'll be on our way home.

Murray and Delcie-always the perfect hosts. Kaure enjoying the back yard

Kaure Muala and friends

2007-05-14T01:19:00.000-07:00

I love reading books! Dis one is my fevrit!

Last time we had one black out,my friends Javier

and Jamon came and we stayed at my house.

Javier and Jamon making monster faces.
"Mummy, I want to pee pee!"

My friends and me at the beach.

We made one small fire and ate popcorn.

Aunty Jin Jin and me looking for

da snake at Napatana

"I tink I saw da snake deya......Eeeeee I'm scared!When I'm not running,I like to climb everything!

Rosita is like a big sista to me.

She's one of my best friends!

Powder fight!!!

Arghhh!!!Don't tickle me! "Mummy,don't force! I don't want to laugh!

Sometimes, I wear my mummy's crazy socks

and go sliding all over da floor!

I look like Big Birdie on Sesame Street!

Aunty Lucy is my new baby-sitter,

she looks after me and I really like her. Mummy, you how?

You went to town and where's my supwise?

"Don't disturb me! I'm very busy in my office!"

Wanigili Theatre Group

2007-05-08T04:56:00.000-07:00

Andy Tari "Tabu" leaping for joy after being

released from the curse of selling the bagi to

the dim dim

Rose Ila "Tabu's sister" dancing with the

bagi in his dream

John Napoleon "Mwali" trying to reverse the

curse on his son Tabu.

Tabu's "sister" and "mum"-Leanne Wilson
Terence the "Dim dim" giving Tabu his shirt
after buying the bagi.

Mwali and his dying" father" Robin Noel.
Gerry Philip-playing the garamut backstage

Robin Noel backing up with rattles

An emotional moment between father & son

Tabu falls ill

The group rehearsing

The err...Director-

Master Kaure Muala Nilkare

Drama was followed by music

presented by some of the extremely

talented distance education students.
Samantha Clark plays the guitar and
sings beautifully.

Mili Saul,another talented singer

and guitarist

The back up vocalists-Leilani Warren (left)
& Victoria Fitzgerald (right)

Wanigili's all girl band

Over the past 7 months Education Milne Bay Ltd.(EMB) has been involved with a community radio & drama project funded by The Media for Development Initiative (MDI). Jane McKenzie-an AYAD (Australian Youth Ambassador) volunteer who was based at EMB for the past year,was instrumental in training eight local talents (most are unemployed & living in the village) in the art of drama & theatre.They call themselves "Wanigili Theatre Group". For more info ,check out their blog- http://wanigilitheatre.blogspot.com

The main objective of the project was to create and produce a series of 6 x 30 min. radio drama programs addressing key issues in our province (& country) including; HIV/AIDS,Domestic Violence & Good Governance. It's been an exciting...... and looong and challenging journey which isn't over yet. For more info check out Jane & Cam's previous blog (Cam Hollows is her partner,the nicest guy who is never short for words or laughs & makes a mean Chicken Panag!) http://camnjaneinpng.blogspot.com

Jane has now returned to Oz (actually right now,she's probably walking the streets of Venice with Cam-check out their latest blog- http://camnjanecontinued.blogspot.com). Jane is a drama specialist who inspired us,challenged us and taught us skills that we'll never forget. I was her counterpart and was also involved in the workshops. Even though she left us in April, she is sorely missed and we still think of her and talk about her. Because there's so much to share about Jane,I'll need to dedicate a seperate post just on her (and Cam). For now, here are some photos of The Wanigili Theatre Group taken this week. They performed an original item called "Bagi for Money" for The National Cultural Commission who are currently conducting a workshop here at EMB. The workshop is about " Model Law on The protection of traditional knowledge and expressions of culture" so it was a very appropriate play, which was enjoyed by all. The group performed really well, I was so proud of them!

The Office

2007-05-06T01:59:00.000-07:00

View from the balcony overlooking

the Win Haus and sea.

The lounge area in front of Simon's office.
View from Simon's office looking towards the
kitchen and dining room.
View of the ground floor auditorium which also features
a large stage and can seat 250 - 300 people. We often use this
area for large gatherings & conferences.

Now that I've proven that it is actually possible to have a social life in a quiet and sleepy town like Alotau, allow me to enlighten you on what I actually do for a living. As previously mentioned,I work for Education Milne Bay Ltd. a small company which specialises in training,community development and providing development services to various organisations within the country. We have a small team. Simon Ellis is our General Manager and he focuses on the training and educational aspects of the company while I help manage the Centre. We also have Guy Edwards-an Australian volunteer who works alongside Mercinta-Elaine Maras and Michelle Benua in managing the Wanigili Distance Education School. This is the first year of its operation and we have a total of 8 students (all doing either yr.9 or 10) doing correspondence with Dubbo School in NSW-Australia.We also have a wonderful group of kitchen,maintenance and housekeeping staff whom I'll introduce to you soon.

Wanigili Centre is our headquarters and is situated a few minutes from main town Alotau in the KBD area. It is a large and spacious property located along the seafront. On site we have 2 rustic bungalows,a guest house with 12 rooms and the main building, which features several office spaces, conference rooms which we regularly hire out in addition to a resource room with several computers (access to internet), printers and photocopying machines.

The building was designed by a local Milne Bay architect from Suau Is. and built by local builders.All the timber was sourced locally. It has an eco-style design with lots of open spaces and beautiful rosewood walls and large posts. I never really had an appreciation for timber until I came to Wanigili. On a sunny morning as the sun creeps up on the building, the walls and posts literally light up with a warm golden glow,it's quite breathtaking, as are the views from the balcony that surrounds the entire building.

See the photos for yourself.....I know, I pinch myself all the time and Thank God that I've finally found a job where I can meet interesting people,walk around barefoot, run home in 2 seconds to see my son, and be near the sea every single day.

It all started with a glass of wine........

2007-05-01T19:15:00.001-07:00

Argghhh! It's alive!
Harry Simpson giving some crab-eating
tips to Kaure.

Joeena and daughter Jamon getting carried

away with the crab

Great company, good food and wine...

what more do you need?

That's how my week-end began.On Saturday, Harry Simpson and his wife Joeena invited me to have a glass of wine with them and to share the delicious steamed crab that Harry had prepared for lunch. Harry,Joeena and their 2 kids Jamon and Javier have been our guests at EMB for the past few months. They are such a lovely family and the kids are always so pleasant and well mannered. Joeena works in Moresby so she flies back and forth to see her family.

Anyway, after a rather dreary and cloudy morning,the skies cleared up by lunch time so we sat out on the balcony at Wanigili Centre and got stuck into the crabs and white wine. It was Kaure's first time to eat crab so Harry gave him a few pointers and then that was it, he couldn't get enough of it! He may be part Chimbu but his taste buds are definitely coastal. Kaure loves eating any seafood especially fish & prawns (just like mum).

Elaine eventually joined us and we got so carried away with the conversation and company we forgot all about our BELLY DANCING appointment with Bubu Zen at 3pm! Until Jeannie called us on the mobile to say Bubu Zen was already at her place and they were waiting for us!Boy was she (Jeannie) pissed at us. Being the great friend that she is though, she picked us up. When it comes to Bubu Zen (and Jean!), time is TIME!

Jean had gone second hand crazy that morning so when we arrived at her house she had every shade and size scarf imaginable awaiting us, in preparation for some serious belly dancing.

The Middle Eastern music was playing, the scarves were thrown,twisted and tied on and then the dancing begun! Having had a few glasses of Chardonnay to warm up with, we literally threw ourselves into a dancing frenzy, girating every which way, attempting to roll our hips from side to side without moving our buttocks as instructed by Elaine our belly dancing guru who showed more coordination than ermm.....some of us. Belly dancing eventually turned into 80's dancing when Bubu decided to change the music to 80's Disco.

All came to an abrupt halt however,when baby Ailalana fell down the steps in her walker. Panic, shock took over but was eventually replaced with calm once she was consoled and thoroughly checked by Nurse Aila& Mum. Then, as we started warming up again to the music another accident took place and this time Lani had somehow found a knife and cut his finger.So, with blood dripping onto the kitchen floor and Lani screaming his poor little head off, that pretty much ended our dancing session. Jean raced Lani to the hospital down the road where he had stitches on his finger. He was very brave! Who says nothing ever happens in Alotau????

Belly Dancing in Alotau!!???

2007-05-01T02:29:00.000-07:00

Yes,we did it and here are the pics to prove it!

Bubui Zen Alaluku strutting her stuff

Jamon Simpson shows her moves!
Elaine Maras,Jamon & Zen shaking their hips!

Belly Dancing was eventually replaced by
80's dancing.Elaine,Aila & Zen

Elaine & Aila creating some new moves

while Lani looks like he's in a bit of pain!

Spiderman made a brief appearance after

being inspired by all the dressing up!

Zuriel (Aka spiderman) with "Birdie" the

parrot and Jamon & Ailana.

Princess Ailana,bruised but fine after the

accident

Kaure and Maxine relaxing after a

hectic but thoroughly enjoyable afternoon!

A sad occassion

2007-04-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

Aunty Gwen and I
Aunty Gwen and Gillian Cholai
The coffin after it was placed on the boat

in preparation for the long journey to the

Fergusson Islands.

Mack and Lyn preparing to board the boat
at Sanderson Bay.
Kaure and Mummy Lyn Kaure and small Uncle Mack Our first photo together- Jarrotte,Kaure,
Lynette,Me and Mack

Last Thursday afternoon, I met my Aunty Gwen (my dad's sister) for the first time in a long while. It was under sad circumstances that we had to meet again.She was bringing her husband's body home to be buried in Fergusson. David Tauaule was her husband of twenty-something years, he worked closely with the Prime Minister and was known by many. I never really knew him that well and while I have much to learn of my Aunt, I was still touched by her loss.

My parents spilt up when I was 3 yrs old and my mum raised me on her own. I had little contact with my father (and his family) and I grew up always thinking of myself as an only child. In actual fact my father remarried and had 4 children (plus one adopted son so 5 kids in total). I never met those children until I arrived here in Alotau 2 yrs ago. I'm still getting used to the idea that I have siblings.

When you grow up an only child, all you long for is to have brothers and sisters like everyone else. To wait this long to finally meet my very own brother and sisters has been amazing and weird at the same time. Lyn is the eldest after me,then Zone,Jarrotte and Mack who are both at Cameron High and a younger brother who was adopted-whose name I've forgotten. I had a rare photo opportunity with Aunty Gwen,Lyn,Jarrotte and Mack while we waited for the coffin to be placed in the boat.

The only person on my Dad's side whom I have had any type of contact with, is my Aunty Gwen (and Lyn). Aunty Gwen's an awesome woman. One thing about Milne Bay people is that we love to laugh and smile and Dobuans especially have a wicked sense of humour. Aunty Gwen is no exception, she always cracks me up with her stories. In case you haven't picked it up by now, my father's from Dobu Island,he's Rex Leleibuna. So that makes me part Dobu and Sariba. Lyn's mum is also from the Fergusson Islands.

Here are some pics from that night.

Memorable Moments with Kaure Muala

2007-04-30T02:33:00.000-07:00

Kaure & Buta Lani
"I want my doo doo"
Waaaaahhh!!!I lub yu mummy!

Posing on the mat at home

"Mummy,I'm tired, I want to sleep"

I've never attended an Anzac Day dawn service but last Thursday, I decided to go with Kaure and some friends from EMB. After waking up at 4.45am and having a lightening fast shower that even Superman would've been proud of then bundling a very sleepy Kaure into the bus, we arrived at The Memorial site, only to find out they were still setting up. Although late, it was a lovely ceremony. Things were going along just fine until the Catholic priest said a prayer and asked everyone for 2 minutes silence afterwards. We were barely into the first minute of silence when Kaure Muala decided to sneeze.......and fart at the same time, loudly of course! this prompted the school kids behind us to burst out laughing.(sigh) Yes, very embarrassing.

Here's a conversation between Michelle Benua and Kaure.

Michelle: Wow! Kaure, I like you shirt and trousers, new ones ah?

Kaure: Yes, my mummy bought dem.

Michelle: Ok, and are you wearing any underpants?

Kaure: (very confidently) No, I'm wearing bolo bolos!

If I get cross and smack Kaure for being naughty he'll bawl his eyes out, come up to me and with big tears rolling down his face and kus flowing out of his nostrils cry out " I lub yu mummy" "I lub yu" then he'll start planting kisses on my arms and face. (sigh) It's hard to stay angry when he's like that.

Kaure has a very inquisitive nature so when he's in the toilet, I always have to keep an ear out for him because he likes to go through all my things on the shelves(while still sitting on the dunny!). Our conversation usually goes like this-

Me: Kaure, you ok?

Kaure: (immediately) Yes mummy!I'm not doing anything,I'm just pee peeing!(sounds of rustling)

Me: Are you sure?

Kaure: Yes mummy,I'm not doing anything,don't come in,don't come in yet!

This is usually my cue to go in!

Every week Kaure's going through some new phase. Last week each time he came with me to drop off the staff in the bus, he had to bring his little plastic stool along with him (despite it filling up half the space in the front seat!)

We always have fights over his blue gum boots! Rain or shine, he has to wear them. Even if it's stinking hot and he's sweating like a pig, he has to keep his beloved blue gum boots on. As a result, I'm constantly hiding the boots and he always ends up finding them!

Kaure loves to share everything with his friends! The last time I bought a nice packet of biscuits that I was hoping to last a whole week, he took the whole packet from the fridge and went to all his pals and yelled out " Who wants biscuit? Of course they all yelled out "Me!!". I was left with

the crumbs.

Afternoon Tea and Ice Cream

2007-04-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

Biscuits,Chiffon cake and chocolate & ginger
and citrus ice cream...the perfect Sunday
Afternoon! Bubui Zen,Jeannie,James & Elaine at the Win Haus overlooking the valley
The "Sexy Pink" heliconia,one of
the beautiful tropical flowers in
Bubuis' garden
All dressed up for Afternoon Tea
Bubui Morris showing Jean & Halene
the fish pond
Kaure Muala with his Wahas
(Great Grandparents)
Morris & Zen Alaluku

Recently we had a French chef here teaching our kitchen girls how to make a few different dishes. Apart from the hotels,there really isn't much in the way of restaurants here in Alotau so of course the minute an experienced chef (esp. a French one!) arrives on our shores everyone (hotels that is) wants to pounce on him, including Elaine! (until she realised he was lapun,married and had a child and wasn't the hot 30-something guy I'd made him out to be....I know I'm a bitch but you had to see her face when I finally introduced them-Kilim paia blong em stret!). There's a new swish place just out of town (near gravel pit) called Driftwood, that's where you'll find Jean-Pierre if you're ever in town. I'm told he's a great cook!

Anyway, Jean-Pierre taught us how to make ice-cream and because I'd been raving on about how delicious it was, Bubu Zen wanted to sample some so, we arranged to have afternoon Tea at their place last Sunday.

Bubu Morris & Zen Alaluku have a lovely home in Goilanai overlooking the bay. They spend a lot of time in their garden and it always looks so lush and green! We decided to make an occassion of it so we all (Jeannie,Elaine,Kaure,James & I) dressed up in our Sunday best.Meaning we all wore skirts,well I wore a dress for a change!Excluding Kaure & James of course.James is an Aussie volunteer,working as a carpenter here.

He's a real clown and a crazy driver!

I ended up making two flavours-chocolate and ginger ice cream and orange & lemon. Bubu made a scrumptious chiffon cake topped with chocolate icing and sliced almonds and Jeanni bought biscuits. The ice cream hadn't totally set, but it still tasted gorgeous with the cake (if I may say so myself). Everyone enjoyed it! I was giving tips on how to make the ice cream, being the seasoned chef that I was (yeah right).It was actually the second time I tried the recipe. The first time was at Lani's B/day party. I made Lani's very own marshmellow & banana ice cream, apparently it was so sweet Jeannie said they had to drink a glass of water after each mouthful!

It was a very pleasant afternoon,I always enjoy catching up with Bubus. We ended the arvo chatting about Belly Dancing and before you knew it, we were sucking in our guts and practising the moves. This was no easy feat after having consumed several slices of Bubu's cake!

Elaine took the lead since she's had more experience than us! Bubu Zen had a cd of Belly dancing music and was so enthusiastic we even organised to meet on Saturday's for Belly Dancing lessons. Crikey! The things I get myself into!

The morning after!

2007-04-26T06:31:00.000-07:00

Rosita, Kaure & Javier. Maus o?

He may look nothing like me, but that is definitely a Max expression!

Is that the guiltiest look you've ever seen or what?

Kaure and his pals rehearsing for the "Chorus Line".

Yes,Hales, I'm sorry but finally after 6 years......they broke.

But it was all worth it girl!

And Thank Lord it happened just as we were leaving The Jetty!

So how's my hair ?Elaine,the next morning.

I had to save the best for last. Yes, it was that bad.

At least after a few mouthfuls of spicy chilli & egg noodles,

I could actually open my eyes!

Following Lani's Birthday party that Saturday afternoon, the adults decided to attend a party
of their own,this time at "The Jetty". In Alotau the two "hottest" clubs to check out on a Saturday night are Alotau Int'l Hotel's "Jetty" which is literally on a jetty overlooking the bay and the other is the Cameron Club.Ok so when I say clubs, I don't mean like Lamana Hotel's "Gold Club", hey it's Alotau...... actually, by the time you've had your fourth glass of rum n' coke, believe it or not it actually does start looking a lot like The Gold Club!

Since we were invited to the launching of The Miss Milne Bay Quest, we chose The Jetty. It was a cocktail affair so surprisingly most people (especially the ladies) were dressed up to the nines!This is a rare sight in Alotau so t'was a pleasant surprise I must say.It was all about stilletos, bare skin and some rather daring thigh high splits for some. As I said, this is not a common sight in Alotau not to mention The Jetty, where t-shirts, jeans and thongs/slippers can often be the norm!We, as in Jeannie, Pauline,Elaine and I ruled the dance floor and had such a ball. Elaine being the new girl in town caused quite a stir with her errm....pole dancing moves!

In the end despite the aching feet, broken shoes, heat,crappy (& expensive) rum, fight in the car park umm what else...we had an awesome night!Here are some piccies of the morning after.....a far contrast to the night before I can assure you!While we relaxed and lazed on my verandah, Kaure and his pals kept us well entertained.

Buta Lani's 3rd Betdei Pati!

2007-04-22T06:06:00.000-07:00

Buta Lani and Uncle Geoff wid his big red tongue.
Uncle Geoff likes chewing sada (betel nut).

Bubu Cathy and Aunty Jin Jin after da pati.

All da Misima Aunties who helped cook all da food.

Aunty Elaine,Aunty Jin Jin,Aunty Aila & Aunty Sio

and da chiken!

Uncles made Sago Mona in da claypot. My fevrit!!

All da yummy food.Aunty Aila makes da best pizza!

Buta Zuriel sang da loudest out of all da boys

Aunty Jin Jin and da boys chasing all da flies off da yummy food!

Uncle Geoff,Baby Ailalana and Buta Lani

Buta Lani

Hello! It's me Kaure. Last week Saturday my buta (brother) Lani had his betdei party at Top Town. Lani he's my best friend, but sometimes we used to fight. Lani's mummy is Aunty Jin Jin and his Daddy is Uncle Geoff. Zuriel is Lani's big brada and dey have one small sister-baby Ailalana.

I went wid my mummy to deya house and we had a big party wid lots of ada chilren an I played wid my friends and ate plenty of betdei cake and food. Aunty Jin Jin and all da ada Misima Aunties and Uncles cooked plenty food. Da food was really yummy. I ate and ate and my stomach got really full up det my belly button nearly fell out!

All of us played games, sang songs,ate and had lots and lots of fun!

Easter Excitement

2007-04-10T06:13:00.001-07:00

Belated Easter Greetings! Ours was a fairly quiet week-end although we did have some excitement on Saturday morning and Sunday evening.

As all the shops were closed on Good Friday, you can imagine the chaos in town the next morning when the entire population of Milne Bay converged on the main street of Alotau town swarming like ants to sugar as they raced into Papindo,Cheongs and Alotau Supermarket to grab all they could before closing time at 12pm. I cannot stand shopping on Saturdays but as we had guests,( Monday was also a public holiday) and we needed to top up on our supplies, I had little choice but to face the crowd.

Earlier that morning we had actually arranged with our friend Jeannie Callister to take a drive down to East Cape (the most south eastern tip of PNG) to buy some fresh fish at the market,something we hadn't done in a while. After waiting in the queue at the ATM,then the shops, then trying to avoid every pedestrian on the street while driving at a snails pace, we finally met up with the Callisters in typical Milne Bay timing at 12.3opm.The initial plan was to meet at 9.30am!

Anyway, we eventually loaded the troops into their toyota hilux and set off for the 45 minute drive to East Cape(the troops being 5 kids and 8 adults). Five minutes into the drive and the rain came thundering down, yes when it rains in Alotau it pours!!The guys in the back tray were saturated!We almost turned back a few times but Jeannie kept assuring us the weather would clear up further on. Sure enough it did, but things got a bit tricky or should I say sticky when we left the comfort of the sealed road and hit the dirt road. Thank God we were in a 4wd and the tyres were brand new! Several times we almost slid off the road, it was that muddy!Amidst Jeannie's escalating squeals of "Geoffrey,Geoffrey,Geoffrey!!", (Geoff's her hubby),Geoff's sheer determination behind the wheel, Elaine and I holding our breath and sending silent prayers at the back.......we eventually made it! (phew!)

It was still drizzling when we arrived at the market and despite the rain, the fishermen continued to arrive along the beach front with their canoes filled with the morning's catch. After checking all the canoes I ended up getting four large coral trout for K1.00 each,Jeannie bought a huge mackeral for K30.00 and Elaine (one of my colleagues at EMB) also bought a few. It was a very pleasant afternoon had by all as we sipped hot coffee, chewed chunks of smoked makeral,chased our kids and munched on clams in coconut cream.

The drive back was just as adventurous, we made it over the muddy hills only to be greeted by more rain.This time all the rivers were flooded so there were a few scary moments when we were certain the vehicle would be swept away. I actually had visions of us floating out to sea somewhere between Misima and Rossel Island but.... we made it back finally, exhausted and content that our mission was accomplished.....we came back with fish. (Sorry no piccies this time)

Sunday night Jobby Paiva,Elaine and I were busy working on one of our projects-a series of community radio drama programs. Actually Jobby was editing and showing us the ropes, we were observing. We finished about 11.30pm, went home and crashed only to be roused at @ 2am by the phone ringing. It was Elaine calling on her mobile. She was frantic, telling me to call the police because her next door neighbour-Pat was screaming at the top of her lungs for someone to help her! Not much more info was given but I called the cops-no answer, called Masurina Hotel (to get in touch with their security supervisor)-no answer,called Elaine's house number (to wake up her flatmate Guy who lives upstairs)-still no answer!By the time I called Elaine back on her mobile, she told me some of the other neighbours had come by and scared off the intruders! Talk about excitement!Poor Pat! She told us later that four men had cut her fence and were attempting to barge into her room downstairs. While they were pushing on one side of the door, she was pushing on the other side! No wonder she was screaming!Luckily the police overheard the other Masurina security guard on the 2-way radio and turned up to check. The rascals had long gone though.

Pat was ok but shaken. She strongly suspects her own security guard was involved and they also suspect an ex-giligili escapee but, the matter is still being pursued.

Am now getting up every time I hear a noise. This sort of thing incident doesn't usually happened in our area, but it's a wake up call that's for sure!

Eauwedo from Alotau!

2007-03-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

Eauwedo everyone! That's hello or Thank You in Sariba language. For those of you who aren't familiar with all things Milne Bay, Sariba Island is where I come from and is a 2 hour dinghy ride from Alotau. Alotau is the provincial capital of Milne Bay which is in the South East of Papua New Guinea.

That said, Milne Bay is often referred to as Size 28 country, or land of the midgets, you guessed it, most people here are short, well shorter than me (I like to think). That's one thing I love about being home, finally I can actually look people in the eye!

Anyway, I live and work at Education Milne Bay, no not The Dept. of Education, Education Milne Bay Ltd, a small private company specialising in training and education. I'm a single mum and I've been based here for almost 2 years now.I'm here with my son- Kaure Muala, who is 2 and a half years old going onto 20!

Having lived in Port Moresby for about 10 years, I decided to make the move home after giving birth to my son. I wanted my son to grow up in a place where he could be free to run around, swim in clean waters, walk in the forest or on the street, safe and unharmed. I've found that place and it's here in Alotau. Don't get me wrong, we have our fair share of incidents, crime is on the rise and Alotau is changing but compared to Moresby, it's paradise!