Our last stop – a small island with an interesting history. A bustling trading post between Australia and East Asia. Traded in copra. The town is well organised in a grid pattern with huge trees, a special type of bat local to the island. For a small population of about 400 a considerable number of churches and a large number of dilapidated buildings which were destroyed by the British during WWII so that it did not fall into Japanese hands. We arrived to a wooden jetty and a bustling market as well as the traditional welcome sing sing.

We were shown around by Jessie, a local woman who took us to various sights including Kim – an Aussie who had been on the island for 22 years and was in the cultured pearl industry. He showed us how he planted a seed into each shell together with some mantle tissue which would help the nacre of the pearl develop.

The trees were magnificent- like this flame tree with orchids growing all over the branches and trunks.

We were farewelled by a capella of singers on the jetty.