Labu Beach

Here are some pictures from our expedition to Labu Beach last weekend.

On Sunday we travelled from Lae Yacht Club to Labu Lake which is behind a strip of beach on the other side of the Markham River from Lae town.  We travelled in a 'banana boat' with another AusVol and two of her mates, the tour operator and her daughter and three crew.  It was a 15 minute trip and we'd gone from busy Lae wharf to a freshwater lake where the only signs of humanity were some derelict pontoons from a WW2 Australian naval base.  This is Labu Lake fed by several rivers and creeks flowing in from mountain ranges all around.  It is placid and the water is cool and clear.  It is fringed by mangroves, palms and thick tropical vegetation.  We travelled up several of the creeks to get a good look at the vegetation, unfortunately the birds were all hiding. 

Emma from Lae About Tours, Steve and me standing on the sandy floor of the lake.  There are  shell fish living in the sand that are harvested by the locals as well as fish in the lake caught in nets.

Local boats taken out on the lake for fishing and also to get to gardens in the bush away from the coastal village.  There are sago palms both local species and other more productive types the villagers have planted.  Sago processing requires quite a bit of fresh water and is done close to where the palm was growing.  There are tracks through the bush to get to the sago.

This is the village school.  It goes to Grade 8.  The children don't see many whitefellas so wanted to get a close look.

A drum to summon villagers to meetings or to warn of danger.  There are 5 churches along this small stretch of beach - one Lutheran, one Baptist and three evangelicals.  PNG is an exclusively Christian country.  The cemetery was all crosses.

A beautiful beach for a swim.  Clear water as warm as a bath, shady trees and a cool breeze.

 Then home to contemplate going back to work on Monday!