Year 2- 25 July 2025 – Kei Kecil -Ngiar Varat Island

It was good to get a full night’s sleep – the first in eight days. It was a greyish morning when we woke and we enjoyed the view. After breakfast William and Nicola set about untwisting the main sheet which had become very twisted. I am not sure why but it was quite a brain twister to work out how to untwist it. We then set about bringing up the outboard as I will have to get it fixed in Ambon if I can. I therefore got out the spare outboard which had been serviced last in Panama.

We got it on to the dinghy and then it took a little while to start but it then ran well. We went ashore and took all our rubbish and washing. They took our rubbish and the washing. We could only get cash from the ATM in town which was 16km away.  However, there was a mobile phone booth on the beach and William & Nicola got a sim card and I got one as well. We then organised a guide who was to take us into Tual the nearest town and she suggested that we got to a restaurant which was very good and the President of Indonesia had been there.

We got into the car and headed off. Initially there was a track to the tarmac road which was really single track as the jungle had begun to swallow it. The jungle was very dense and green and we passed huts made out of wood and bamboo with palm tree roofs. This was obviously those not well off living quite a primitive lifestyle. We then came to a village where there were some houses made of breezeblock with corrugated iron roofs. There were lots of little scooters which seemed to be a very common form of transport. Our guide Fino explained that there was little public transport here other than to take children to their schools.

We carried on and came to a larger road which then took us on to the town of Tual. As we got closer the buildings increased and were again made of breezeblock and more of them had normal rooves. We passed a cemetery and I notice each grave had a corrugated roof over it on its own frame. Fino said everyone is buried here and there are no cremations.

The town itself was quite busy with lots of scooters and cars and trucks. We pulled into the car park for a supermarket and where the ATM’s were. The currency here I the Indonesian Rupee and I IDR is 0.000045 pence. A million IDR’s is about £46. You are therefore having lots of large notes 50,000 or 100,000. We got some currency out and went to look at the supermarket. It looked very different – the shelving etc – it seemed to me Chinese influence. Our guide says there is such influence. She said there are 6 religions in Indonesia and they all seem to live in harmony. There were a few unusual individuals wondering around as there is in many cities.

Once we had looked around we then drove round to the restaurant which was down a track and was on a lagoon. The first thing I noticed was the doghouse of a fishing boat in the water. Fino explained that it sank and they have just left it. The restaurant was charming and had been built out over the lagoon. It had walkways over the water and platforms with tables on. Nothing fancy but sort of elegant in its own way. When we walked along the walkways we could see some large fish asleep on the bottom. They were either in the sun warming themselves or in the shade.

We then had a great meal of fried fish, rice, yellow fish soup, waku bowl, prawns, seaweed and spinach. It was very relaxing and a number of other boats came from the rally. What a treat to be in such a lovely environment with a wonderful view across the lagoon with an island in front. Fino explained that although they all speak Indonesian they have their own language in the Kei Islands. She also explained that they are not allowed to work abroad until they are 35 (so I guess keeping young people in Indonesia) and that unless you work for the government there are no pensions. Fino has 2 sisters and 5 brothers and her parents are still alive nearby.

We were well satisfied and our driver and Fino joined us for lunch. The lunch cost £30 for all of us which was very reasonable. We returned to the back retracing our steps. At the beach the wind had increased and it was quite blowy. William & Nicola stayed and sorted out their next travel plans. Adam and I headed back to Stormbird to get our swimming costumes and we returned to the beach. We walked along the beautiful fine white sand and had a great swim. The water was very warm and after all we are in a tropical paradise. There should have been some hammocks hung from the trees!! The picture of the day is all of enjoying our lunch with Fino.

We then returned to meet William and Nicola and returned to Stormbird for a shower and sundowner. It was a magnificent sunset and we had a grandstand view of it from the rear deck. Nicola kindly made a fresh pasta tomato sauce which we had with salad and parmesan which was enough and delicious.

We plan to go on another tour tomorrow of this lovely Island. The Kai Islands (also Kei Islands) of Indonesia are a group of islands in the southeastern part of the Maluku Islands, located in the province of Maluku. The Moluccas have been known as the Spice Islands due to regionally specific plants such as nutmeg, mace, and cloves that originally intrigued the European nations of the 16th century. The coastal zone of the islands are identified as a site of highest marine biodiversity importance in the Coral Triangle. The Kai Islands are a part of the Wallacea, the group of Indonesian islands that are separated by deep water from both the Asian and Australian continental shelves, and were never linked to either continent. As a result, the Kai Islands have few native mammals and are a part of the Banda Sea Islands moist deciduous forests ecoregion. Kai Besar in particular is mountainous and densely forested. Kai is famous for the beauty of its beaches.

Need/Opportunity Year Three

In year three I will be going from Thailand to Sri Lanka, India, Maldives and then on to Chagos, Mauritius, Reunion, Cape Town, St Helena, Azores and back to the UK.  I am looking for crew from Mauritius/ Reunion Island to Cape Town and from Cape Town to the UK. If of any interest do email me.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com