Tawaroga’s
Namo – a great paddle
I have travelled to
Tawaroga many times in the past. But I didn’t know there is a great place to
paddle through there. In 2009 however, I got the biggest surprise. The paddle
was almost 30 minutes upstream meandering under tall mangroves, maneuvering
between their long black twisted and tangled roots.
As we paddled up the Namo,
local for stream, just wide enough for a small dugout canoe - different types
of fish jumped up and dived on either side of the one my cousin Esau Masuguria
and I were traveling in. We were ahead of my nephew, Billy Nahunanga Jr. Soon,
we saw a huge mud crab scurry for safety under long tangled roots of a nearby
mangrove tree. A few minutes later, an iguana - afraid of my nephew Billy’s two
dogs running on the banks, and not us - ran for its life and hurriedly climbed up
a tall mangrove tree.
The stream meandered
ahead and the ripples caused by our paddling twinkled in the long thin patches
of sunlight that pierced through the semi-dark cover of mangrove leaves.
On top of the tall mangrove
trees, many varieties of birds chirped in unison with a deafening shrill of
cicadas and crickets resonating around the unfathomable plantation of
mangroves. I kept looking up at the tall slender mangrove trees, occasionally
glancing left and right trying to see where the natural plantation of trees ended
or began. But I couldn’t. The mangroves spread over a vast flat area of mud,
home to a myriad of insects, crabs, iguanas and birds.
Because of the canopy
created by the mangroves, the mid morning light was like evening and hence the
amazing crescendo of cicada shrills and other insects that lived in the
environment.
My cousin, Esau Masuguria,
and nephew Billy Nahunanga Jr. said we were paddling up the Namo during low tide.
“During high tides the
water normally covers the entire mangrove forest so paddling usually isn’t
restricted to the Namo,” they said.
Another big fish
jumped just ahead of us and they said it was a red snapper.
“A red snapper in the
middle of the bush – I can’t believe it!” I interjected. But they assured me it
was true.
The Namo is on the
east coast of Tawaroga village, east Makira, which flows through a thick
mangrove forest - a great paddle for the enterprising visitor to the area.
Although it is narrow, the Namo is big enough to allow a small dugout canoe to
travel up or down. Under lush green tall mangrove trees, it is a calming and soothing
experience to paddle up and down it.
The good thing is
there are no dangerous animals in the Namo so the adventurous visitor doesn’t
have to worry.
There are two
swimming pools and betel nuts or ripe bananas to enjoy at the end of the
paddle.
It ends where nephew
Nahunanga Jr. has his gardens of food, betel nut and kava.
To the east of the
mouth of the Namo is a new tourist set up which David Masuguria, elder brother
of Esau, and his brothers have started building last year. To date, Mr
Masuguria has told me by mobile phone he’s completed this and is now adding an
extension to it. He also said he’s expecting some funding for this initiative
from the government around December this year.
On the sea coast, the
white sandy beaches offer a relaxing atmosphere for those who prefer to meet
locals who collect shells or fish for their everyday meal.
Although the area has
many tourist attractions, it is still untapped because of it remoteness and
lack of regular shipping services.
However, there are
infrastructures in place already such as the Santa Ana Island airstrip or the
Namuga wharf about twenty to thirty minutes away by outboard motor.
Solomon Airlines
operates a three times weekly flight to Santa Ana and going to Tawaroga by
outboard motor is less than an hour.
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