Larantuka Harbour at DawnBen and Wolf had been on the boat since Bali a month before, a Californian Lawyer and a German working as a Royal Flying Doctor out of Perth respectively. Paul and Haley, Canadian couple on the way to work in Oz, had gotten on in Labuan Bajo, Western Flores, 4 days previously. A quick Bintang and off we headed to our tiny berth to settle in for our first night on the water.
We left Larantuka at dawn, planning to clear Flores that afternoon and head overnight for Atapupu in the Indonesian side of Timor. Crystal clear water, dolphins, flying fish, fresh air and good food. Perfect. To expedite the sorting out of crew permits and passports we hopped off at Atapupu and made our way by moto and ancient taxi to Dili, where we spent a few quality days soaking up the tense but fascinating vibes that permeate the place. The locals get fairly rowdy on a Friday night in town, what used to culminate in pickup parades through town with AK-47s now manifests itself as a crazed frenzy when the DJ fires on “La Bamba”.
After fueling, watering, and flooding up the boat we set off again for the Eastern tip of Timor. We set a few lines off the back and after the first day we're setting up camp on a remote beach cooking up fresh Spanish Mackerel, a 4 ft specimen hauled in and chopped up by Ben. Before the fire is even lit we're engulfed by police and army pickups with forces from Sri Lanka, East Timor and African Nations. What are you doing out here? Fair question. After contacting HQ and the area commander we were promised that we'd be looked after for our stay with rotating shifts of soldiers close by and a contact number for the commander if we needed anything. Fantastic bunch, can't wait to get the photos from Haley.
Our second night on the move we pull in to Lautem farther east from Dili on the northern coast. Poverty and decimation from the Indonesian withdrawal in 1999 are very evident. No power, no infrastructure, nothing to do for some people except break up small rocks into smaller gravel by hand and wait for somebody to drive up and buy your pile of pebbles. Our industrious assistant Dino tracked down Benzine and Bintang for us for a small commission, fair play to him. We spent the night anchored off the beach and set off again at dawn, waved off by even more police on the beach.
We sailed across the Timor sea for 4 days and 3 nights, taking 3 hour shifts with 3 rotating teams. Not good for sleeping patterns. Waking at dawn to see 20 dolphins playing in our bow wave makes it all worthwhile. At some points we were seeing up to 50 dolphins in one area, with up to 20 of them jumping at the same time. Breathtakingly beautiful. Sea snakes, giant bats and even a whale were all sighted at some point. Our lines bagged us a few tuna at dawn which made for some sashimi and a serious steak dinner. Doesn't get much fresher than that.
Seamus and Neil keeping watch
Ben, Wolf, Tuna
Dolphins, Timor Leste
As the sun rose on the 4th day we spotted some land in the distance, Bathurst Island at the northern tip of the Northern Territories. By nightfall we were approaching the lights of Darwin and settling in for one more night on the boat before we could clear quarantine and customs in the morning. Fingers crossed that they would let us in.
By midday we've been given the immigration thumbs up and off we go to track down a kangaroo burger and some croc-on-a-stick. Darwin is a funky little town, aimed mainly at tourists with everything concentrated in the middle of town, a short hop to the beach. A room at the cheesy Travelodge will provide air con, a shower and a proper bed for a couple of days. Bliss.
The obligatory night out in the local Oirish Bar does not disappoint, with pints and grub in Shennanigans the onwards to every club we could find until the posse ended up at Throb, home of some very interesting dancing she-males. Seamus is glad he wussed out early and headed to bed.
Now that we're sort of Australian, for 12 months at least, we set about the boring tasks of opening accounts, getting tax numbers, Ozzie mobile phones and all that stuff. Mostly we're enjoying the sunshine and sat around soaking up the ambiance and whatever else was going. Our shipmates, except for skipper Neil, are all heading their separate ways, back to the US, Perth or onwards to Melbourne. New crew are required, the boat needs a hose down and the galley needs some serious stocking for the next few weeks. The plan is to head east across the Gulf of Carpenteria then south along the East Coast through the Whitsundays and Barrier Reef as far as Byron Bay. Onwards from there in new car hopefully, to Sydney, Tasmania and Melbourne as our final destination.
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