This morning, we have an early 5 a.m. wake-up call for a dawn photography session organised by Nick and Peter on the island of Samarai. It’s like returning to Africa and getting up for the 5 a.m. Safari. We head to deck 6 to grab our cameras.

Note: The cameras are on deck 6 because the ship is air-conditioned, and outside, it’s very humid. If you keep your camera and lens in your cabin it’s going to take about 30 – 45 minutes for the camera and lens to acclimatise, in the mean time you cant see anything because your camera is all fogged up.

Once we have all our gear we head down to the swim deck, jump into the zodiacs and head for the island, just visible in the early morning light, not too far away.

We’ve been backtracking during the night and returning south into the China Strait Islands.

*Map of the region showing our heading -* ***Google Map Link***

Nick and Peter, in their presentations, have been discussing the best time to shoot and dawn is a favourite time of theirs and they are keen to get set up before the sun is too high in the sky.

We arrive at a small wharf at the island but there seems to be a bit of confusion amongst the zodiac drivers and there is a bit of radio chatter going on. We don’t disembark but head off in another direction, seems as though some of the expedition team are on another island. Oh oh, we’ve turned back again and are heading back to the first island we went to, unfortunately by this time the sun is getting higher and higher in the sky and I think Nick’s upset that we’ve missed getting to the island in time for the sunrise.

The zodiacs pull up next to a small landing on the wharf and we all hop out and head up the steps to the main landing. There are a few people on the wharf, some loading gear and boarding a small boat, the others watching what we are up to.  

In early 1900, Samarai Island was the thriving colonial capital of the territory of Papua, and the town’s streetscape reminds us of its past glory. It was once described as one of the most beautiful places in the South Pacific. By the 1920s, the town had declined in importance. After the outbreak of World War II, the Australian Government ordered the evacuation of the island in 1942 and destroyed the wharves and buildings used by the advancing Japanese.

Samarai was reestablished after the war but never returned to it’s former glory and has assumed an atmosphere of slow decay. Which means for those of us visiting the island a wonderful photographic opportunity with all those textures of rust and faded paint. One of the most striking and oldest surviving buildings is St. Paul’s Anglican Parish church. It’s just a short walk from the pier and by the time I’ve finished up at the wharf everyone else who was on the zodiacs have already moved through this section of the town, so I’m all alone so I in the quiet early morning standing in front of this wonderful old church.

I next notice this old man with a big white beard, dressed only in board shorts, walking up to a large gas cylinder suspended above the ground. He bends down, picks up a rock, and bangs the cylinder that rings like a bell. Instantly, dogs all around town start barking madly as he bangs away.

When he finishes, I ask him what he’s doing. He tells me he looks after the church and rings the bell at 6 a.m., 12 noon, and 6 p.m. I’m not quite sure if he’s calling the faithful to church or if it’s just the village wake-up call. I wish him well and head toward the wharves.

On the way to the wharves, an intersection and a path is heading off toward the hills. At another crossroad, further up the path, I could see a memorial that I found out later is dedicated to Christopher Robinson, the one-time administrator of the island who committed suicide here in 1904. The inscription noted he was ‘as well-meaning as he was unfortunate and as kindly as he was courageous’ and that ‘his aim was to make New Guinea a good place for white men.’

I found the wharves; as I mentioned, the old ones were destroyed in the war. Some have been partially rebuilt, and some local boats still use them.

Time was flying; it was about 07:00 am, and it was time to head back to Orion for breakfast. I met up with the other early bird passengers, and we returned to the wharf and the zodiacs for the trip back. On the way back to the wharf, Kelly spotted the bell ringer watching us from his home next to the church.

We hopped in a zodiac with Nick and Peter and returned to the Orion.

After breakfast, it was time for another trip to Samarai Island. This time, it was a general disembarkation, and most passengers would be heading ashore.

This time, it would be a wet landing. [A wet landing is one where you don’t have a wharf to tie up to and basically hop over the side of the zodiac into shallow water and walk onshore.]

The zodiacs pulled up to a small beach alongside the wharf we'd arrived at earlier this morning.

I looked at the church this morning, and it was amazing. The building was in a pretty bad state of repair and looked like it could collapse at any moment.

I wanted to capture its look, so I brought my 360-degree Panorama gear with me. Once we landed, I headed back to the church.

This time, I was met by a different man, who was also connected with the church; I asked him if I could photograph inside it. He was quite happy for me to do so, so I headed in to set up my gear.

Shooting a 360 Panorama requires a little preparation as I need a tripod, a rotator [a device that I attach the camera to and that turns in a set number of stops], a camera and a wide-angle lens.

I’m using a Canon 5D MkII and a Canon 15mm lens. I take six images around and one up. Once I’m done, I stitch the images together to make an Equirectangular image that becomes the source wrapped around a cube. This allows a viewer to look in any direction in a complete 360-degree orientation.

*Interior of Church (Equirectangular view)*

Note: To see the church as I saw it that day and to read more of it’s history, I’ve written up a blog post, Anglican Church - Samarai Island. Two years after my visit Mick Fogg had returned to the island only to find the church in a very sorry state with the roof collapsed and the back wall missing.

Once I’ve finished in the church, I head off with other passengers to look around and work our way up the hill to the old Hospital. I can't believe how much the town is full of wonderful surprises that provide great photo opportunities.

There is the skeleton of the old Burns, Philp & Company warehouse.

At the entrance to the warehouse, you can still see the old company logo created in the concrete. The splatters aren’t blood but the red juice spit out by the Papuans chewing Bettlenuts.

At one time, Burns, Philp & Company were one of the major traders in the South Pacific arena and was the first company to offer tourism to New Guinea. In 1884, the ‘New Guinea Excursion Trip’ was advertised.

The building is abandoned, but the walls provide a tapestry for graffiti and comments.

Just down from the warehouse is an old Shell depot, all locked up, overgrown with weeds and seemingly deserted.

We continued walking and turned a corner into a small side street, off the main path, with an amazing display of native flowers with the most brilliant colours.

Our trip to Samarai ended with a hike up the hill to see the old abandoned hospital.

By this time, it was pretty much a ruin, with only one building still standing.

I finished up on Samarai, wishing I could have spent another couple of hours walking around, meeting and talking with the residents, but ship timetables wait for no man.

After lunch, at 13:30, we were scheduled for a quick trip to the island of Kwato. Just 3km west of Samarai, the island is apparently very peaceful. Among the trees, we could see the remnants of boat-building equipment. We hopped into the zodiacs and headed to Kwato for a wet landing.

By the time we got there, it was bucketing down with rain; trust us not to be carrying any wet weather gear :-( Kelly was lucky and managed to score a plastic poncho while I kept ducking under trees and, at one stage, even sheltered with a family on their verandah to avoid the rain. One of the villagers saw we were getting soaked and offered us shelter in an old wood mill.

Finally, the rain eased, and we followed the old tree-lined road up the hill until it cleared the forest. In the clearing, we came to a stonewalled church built in 1937 from materials from Scotland. Unfortunately, The Kwato Church suffered a decline in the 1970s, and it stands today as a testimony to the missionary of a bygone era.

It’s been a hectic and long day already, but we have one more excursion before we finish. We head back to the Orion, and once we are all onboard, Captain Frank repositions her close to a small island called Deka Deka. Here we will do another wet landing and then spend the afternoon swimming and snorkelling. It’s still overcast but hot, so it’s a great way to spend the afternoon.

Fish we saw while snorkelling (I need Mick Fogg to identify the fish!)

So, after a really long, hectic, but fantastic day, Kelly and I are lounging back in our suite. Tonight, we’ve ordered room service so we don’t have to get all dressed up, and we can sit back in bed watching one of our favourite video series, Breaking Bad, that we’ve brought along with us.

We can hear the ship weigh anchor and feel it get underway as we head for Kitava.

Day #5: New Guinea Adventure - Samari Island

Tony Redhead