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June 16, 2005
Day 2 - Maubara
DAY: 2
LOCATION: Maubara
NAUTICAL MILES TODAY: 12
NAUTICAL MILES TOTAL TRIP: 22
LATITUDE :08degs, 37.08'S
LONGITUDE: 125degs, 10.71'E
Before going to bed last night we set up the infared security shield around camp. One of the major issues of camping on the beach every night for this leg will be theft of equipment or the kayaks while we're sleeping, and inquisitive crocs entering camp, so our friend Sharon Kessler in Colorado kindly organised for a system involving infared beams forming a perimeter around our tents and the kayaks to be sent out with Kenny.
After just an hour of sleep the alarm went off (there's a sensor I keep inside the tent by my head) signaling an intruder in zone # 2. At 11.30 pm there was still just enough moonlight to see without a torch. Instead of a 2-foot lurking about however the culprit turned out to be a 4 footer - a stray dog that was making a beeline for one of the cooking pots containing the remains of the evening's meal. A good first test of the system!
After a late start (9.15 - we allowed ourselves a lie-in on the first morning and compensate for the all-nigher the previous evening) we managed to make it to Maubara by around 2.30 pm, just as the wind was really starting to pick up. This included a 50 minute break half way to allow Ina to be sick on the beach. Poor thing has been under the weather all day, possible from a dose of flu that she picked up before leaving Dili. Many pods of dolphins traveling eastward up the coastline, entertaining us with acrobatic displays that had all of us ooing and aahing.
Tomorrow morning Ina's husband Isa will meet us at 7.30 am to transport the kayaks down the coast for our first big logistical hurdle clearing through the border into Indonesia. Good news to relay tomorrow evening we hope!
Posted on June 16, 2005 12:34 PM