The crew from Suva arrived yesterday at about 2:30pm. With their help we set up our base camp and settled in for an evening of relaxation. No sooner than we had our cup of tea, a group of young men arrived with yagona (kava or grog). We all enjoyed a few bowls of grog before hitting the bed at 10:30.
We woke up to the sounds of birds right over our head at about 5 am. Today’s chores included completing the pit toilet, setting up an outdoor cooking area, clearing land for planting, and planting Yasi (Sandlewood) seedlings. We were able to plant about 35 seedlings today, only about 300 to go. Yasi take about 10 to 15 years to mature and when harvested with bring approximately $150FD per kg. Our goal is to eventually plant about 1000 trees.
We finished off our day with a 20 minute walk to the nearest river for a swim and to wash our laundry. We don’t have our water source yet so need to fill up our water jugs at our neighbours and haul it back.
Our internet has been on and off but I finally found a good spot for reception.
August 30, 2015
Wow! What a first day! Big step forward! I’ll be glad for you when your have your own water source!
August 31, 2015
I envy the outdoor living…….but have to admit, I like the way the ‘canadian-style tent’ would keep out the crawly-creatures….
September 1, 2015
Absolutely better for mosquito and ant control – the main creepy crawlies