KUNA anchored at Nukufero -
West Bay
Nukufeo inlet map -
S9º01.719 E159º04.830 marks the passage through the reefy entrance of this deep inlet. The Garmin electronic chart above is not very exact (the paperchart is not rectified for WGS84), this is why the waypoint sits on the reef! The reef extends on either side, and has very shallow spots so enter in good sunlight. The village side is marked by a stick, but stay well clear as it is for canoe draft! One can anchor in the bay on the northern side of the inlet in about 15m , opposite Samata village, but the holding, on hard rubble, was pretty average. This spot is pretty protected, though so it still would be safe in light NE- SE winds.
Having been in and out of this reef guarded inlet during the BBC crocodile project, it was easy to revisit it, this time with the excitement of sailing the flat waters all the way to Nukufero, and the joy of finding deep mud and all round protected anchorage!! While it was very stuffy there in May, the August tradewinds reached all the way, providing a fresh breeze and no mosquitoes, yay! This pristine mangrove anchorage with views over the rainsforest of Pavuvu is most peaceful, surrounded by bird and frog calls at night and it would be a good cyclone hole too.
looking for crocs in May!
S9º03.212 E159º05.218 is the Nukufero anchorage.
Any further south into the inlet, the mud bank rises rapidly to a depth of 1m, don’t go too far!
Conveniently placed between the village of Nukufero and its gardens, a traffic of canoes constantly comes in and out of a mangrove creek at the end of the inlet. Intercepting them to trade some foods is easier than going to the market! There is a market to in NUkufero on Saturdays and Wednesdays. It takes place in “the club” an old corrugated shed, at 7 am, just after morning prayer, so hurry up as soon as you hear the prayer bell and you may get a chance to buy some fresh bun cake (bread)! Other goods, apart form betelnut, are rare and generally intercepted and sold half was through the football field before their seller reaches the market! So I found easier to send the children to hunt of some fruit and vegetables and trade pencils!
A lot of people friendily visited the KUNA in their outrigger canoes, offering coconuts, etc.. none of them as timid and reserved as their melanesian counterparts, a friendly trait that I found even more on Tikopia!
going out with the girls!
Young girls even dragged me into their play area in the bush for eating germinated coconut and to teach me how to make Tikopian baskets-
Tunnelled by tall mangrove trees, a magic shaded creek extends 1.5 km inland from the end of the inlet and is a great dusk trip. With night guides on dug out canoes, we explored it for the BBC croc hunt, and it is certainly croc infested as every one we passed gave us a warning for crocodiles. In the next inlet East (Kukunaon Inlet) a young man who was diving at night on the coral to catch fish, was killed and they only found its legs, which they buried.
Later, a walk further up the river to a waterfall was guided by David and Muriel, a local young couple. Muriel is 26 and has not got any children yet (this, I was surprised about), which leaves her the time to come on strolls, unlike many other women.
David and Muriel
The waterfall is locater in between the two main hills of Pavuvu. There is very little gradient there, so it is not so specky but refreshing!!!!
Walking up the freshwater end of the river was certainly a bit daunting due to crocs, but most obvious threat was this little freshwater snail whose nasty spikes quickly got into my feet before I could put on any shoes.
A freshwater snail with a nasty spine!
The people in Nukufero are Polynesians, and very different from their melanesian neighbours in Samata village or Kukunaon Inlet.
so are their canoes, melanesian canoes do not have an outrigger, as below, a lot more dangerous in crocodile country.
People settled from Tikopia in the 1950’s when there was a lot of work in the coprah plantations. Although so remote from their mother island (800 miles away), they keep a close contact and their Tikopian customs. During the KUNA’s first visit, all were mourning the loss of their older chief number One, Late Kafika, on Tikopia. They keep contact with the mother island by HF radio, message are relayed via Lata in the Temotu Province. People from Nukufero rarely get the chance to visit their mother island, because transport by ship is virtually inexistent. People from Tikopia who come to Nukufero, rarely go back there either. The same tribal lines are present in Nukufero and Tikopia and I found fair resemblance between this Tafua man, Tomas, and Chief Edward so I asked if they were related and of course they were!
- Thomas in his house -
So, having visited Tikopia myself for two weeks, it was great to come back to Nukufero and bring them some news and photos. I burnt a DVD of pictures and a music CD with the sing sings I recorded on the beach with the Ipod and gave it to the community, which was well appreciated. The trick was for them to organize viewing sessions of the DVD and sharing generator fuel costs for this very purpose. I was amazed at how many DVD players were in the village (Tikopia has not even a CD player!)
a village house, on high posts
The negative impact of exposure to modern customs was problematic for Chairman Andrew, the community leader: whilst any alcohol is banned on Tikopia, and it is also in Nukufero, but young men found a way around by using Cava (the traditional Vanuatu root drink) and fermenting it into alcohol, sometimes adding quinine or other drugs to make the mix more explosive. Now the community is all getting off on it: in May, there was not a sound to be heard at night, but this time, party music was doofing in the distance every night the so called “Cava” was available and we’d sadly hear of sore heads the next day.
