WATCH THIS SPACE

Well as some of you may know already; Carmen and I are headed to Canada in a few days. I haven't been able to do much hunting here, except for hunting fish (spearfishing), and I'm looking forward to going on a Duck hunt with my brother-in-law Clark & my Dad. Who knows I might even get a duck this time instead of feathers! I don't have any new pictures to post...maybe from home. Canada here we come!

ASU ISLAND

Asu is one of the local islands off of Nias, and it is a small slice of paradise. There is one place you can get food cooked for you, but there is no menu, and the choices are: sandwich, spaghetti, french fries, fried rice, or fried noodles...oh yeah, you can get a banana pancake if you get up early enough. Carmen and I spend most of our time in the water, snorkeling, swimming, and fishing. I caught three fish with the spear: two striped ones, and one nice parrot fish. We also bought some lobster off a local and had a great dinner on our last night. It is difficult to get to Asu, but once you're there you won't want to leave!

VOYAGE OF THE PEARL

Saturday was spent getting "The Pearl" ready for her maiden voyage. I had a few locals helping me to install the pontoons, since I had absolutely no clue how to tie them so they wouldn't fall off, and to help carry the boat to the beach.

Carmen and I ended up getting into the boat the hard way (by getting wet first), and then jumping in. I'm glad the camera didn't get wet because we did get some good pictures. Some local boys were being a royal nuisance by trying to sink us, splashing us with water, and being plain pests...such is life as a white person in Indonesia.

The good news is that the boat floats...although there isn't a whole lot of room between the ocean and the edge of the boat, I don't think it was built for big people. I also learned the hard way that it can hold a lot of water...yes, a bailing bucket is essential when going for a ride in "The Pearl". I don't know where the leak came from, but I definitely need to get it fixed (finding fibreglass might be a problem).

Also essential to have on board is an anchor...yes, I ended up a ways from shore in a leaky boat and it took me a while to paddle back in. I was prepared to fish for the day, but didn't get the chance since I was too busy bailing water...

Sunday was spent making repairs (I made an anchor out of a rock), and am looking to patch the boat by the guy that made it. It wasn't the most pleasant fishing trip I've ever had, but I'm sure that next time I go out will be an improvement. Don't worry, I won't go far from shore.

Ahoy me Mates!

THE BLUE PEARL

Well this isn't pirates of the Caribbean, but on Nias we have warm tropical water, palm trees, and a few nice sandy beaches. I can think of no better place to own a boat. Yes, it's true, I am now the proud owner of a brand new boat! "The Blue Pearl", is her name, and she now sits at the office in Gunung Sitoli awaiting the maiden voyage. The boat is really a dugout canoe that has been hand carved out of a single tree. I paid over 1,200,000 Rupiah for her, but she's worth it (About 120 US Bucks). I didn't have a lot of time to look for the boat, so a few guys from the office found it for me while it was still being made! It comes complete with three seats, some balancing pontoons, and a hand carved oar. It was difficult to pick the boat up with the Medair vehicle, since it's not really work related, so I paid a "becak" to deliver it to the office for 50,000 Rupiah (5 bucks).

The only downside about having a boat is that my fishing rod is completely destroyed. The end of the rod got caught in the motor of our hired fishing charter (which is a completely different story and was more of a glorified boat ride). Next weekend I need to buy some new fishing gear and take the "pearl" out to catch some tuna. Stay tuned!!!!

THERE'S A SNAKE IN MY BOOTS

We haven't seen a lot of snakes in Indonesia with the exception of a few dead ones on the road. In Aceh I saw an honest 6' foot python road killed and a few smaller species; but this week we have had two encounters.

On Sunday night some of our local staff were sitting outside talking when suddenly a snake decided to interrupt their party and inspect our footwear. Hesti, one of the watsan staff, grabbed a shoe and swung at it...at this point the snake raised up and hissed at him, but he ended up killing it anyway. He told me it was a "cobra", but there is some debate about this since the locals say that there aren't any cobras on Nias Island. It wasn't very big, so he dug a hole and buried it before I had a chance to look at it.

Then, just yesterday, I went out near the tool shed and saw a small snake close to the house. I quickly grabbed a dustpan (with a long handle) and smashed it...the snake kind of ended up in two pieces. I'm not sure what kind of snake it was, but the locals were saying it was a poisonous one. It was brownish red with a black and white head and a yellow / orange belly. Usually when a snake has that many colours it's a warning for other things to "stay away" from it (poisonous). I'm trying to look up what species it is to make sure, but haven't found it yet. It's a good thing we sleep in a tent that zips up!

FISH MARKET

I haven't caught much lately. Mostly because I haven't had the chance, or the time to commit to getting out. Last weekend when I was in Aceh, I went fishing at "radio tower island", and I didn't catch a thing. I did, however, see a great big sea turtle, and a small reef shark (which was cruising around in knee deep water close by). This week the water was too dirty to go with the spear, and when I tried casting off the shore I only had little tiny ones stealing my bait. I will have to get out at the end of the week in a boat or something...maybe then I can get the big ones, but for now I've been buying them at the market (it's a lot easier).

PIGTALES & A LOBSTER

When I first came to Indonesia I thought I might get a chance to catch a pig...now I don't want to (although I have thought about killing the neighbors pigs because they wake me up in the morning). During the last two weeks in the village of Hiliotalua I have eaten enough pig for two lifetimes.

In Nias the pig is the livestock of choice: they slaughter pigs for parties, they trade pigs for dowry's at weddings, and they raise pigs to make money. In fact at the local restaurant in the village, although there are chickens running around everywhere, you cannot order chicken; only pig. This is because chickens are bred for cockfighting, and they gamble money on the winner, so why would you eat something that makes an income for you?

The pig itself is only served in a soup bowl, and it has chopped up pieces of everything in it (kind of like a hotdog but not ground up)! You have a choice of eating just the pigfat, the skin, the liver, the intestines, or ocasionally a real piece of meat...I have had to do some heavy duty picking at the soup just to get fed. So much for bacon... The pictures were taken when I was living in Aceh, wild porkers that fed near our house and scared the dickens out of us while walking home at night.

In other news, I finally caught a sizable lobster last weekend while snorkeling! I actually found a lobster hotspot, there were more where this one came from, but I ran out of time to get them. It was quite good with garlic butter...mmmmmmm lobster.

BIG & TASTY

Easter weekend was a great time for the Medair staff to chill out and bond. We spend our time on Pulau Asu, and it was one of the best islands I have ever been to. It had amazing clear water, good cheap food, and hardly any people or crazy tourists! There was a small church on the island and it seemed like everyone showed up on Sunday; what a cool witness. Carmen and I went snorkeling every day, and I went spear fishing in the cool deep water.

There were plenty of reef fish around to catch, but I've found that these are getting too easy and there isn't much meat on them. I was looking for the big ones: Tuna, Grouper, snapper, or maybe a barracuda. You see these kind of fish once in a while, but they are usually taking off very fast in the other direction, or are too deep to go after. I guess they don't get big for being stupid...when they see something that looks like trouble they get the heck out of there! After swimming along the shore for an hour or so, Carmen and I decided to head back to the bungalow and then it happened...

I happened to glance along the coral bottom and I noticed a pattern that was inconsistent with the rest of the bottom about 6 meters down. I went down for a closer look and realized that it was a huge fish trying to camouflage itself with the bottom! I came back to the surface and told Carmen that I was about to spear a huge fish (yeah I'm kind of cocky sometimes), and then I dove for the bottom. As I approached the fish I noticed that it was laying flat on its side, and I wondered to myself if it was dead...but then its eye moved to meet me and I knew it was now or never. I released the spear and nailed him right above his eye, a perfect shot, I didn't wreck any of the meat on him! The fish fought me all the way to the surface and I felt like I should get the fish out of the water right away since it was bleeding quite a bit (I'm not a fan of having a lot of blood in the water when I don't know what kind of sharks are around)! We swam towards the rocks and then a wave pushed us up faster than we wanted to go...we got banged up a little, but managed to get out of the water without too much problems.

That night we had a grouper BBQ. We managed to find a Weber charcoal BBQ on the island, and Carmen prepared the fish with lime, black pepper, and garlic...man was it good. It fed the five of us, and I managed to climb a palm tree and get a few green coconuts to drink to boot; it was a perfect day!

For those of you who are not aware Pulau Asu is a popular surf destination in Indonesia. Tim Sorensen eat your heart out! By the way Tim, I'm working with a guy named Joe Miskov, you knew him from Honduras when you were on Roatan!

TO FISH, OR NOT TO FISH?

Carmen and I are now living on Pulau Nias in a nice house that overlooks the ocean. It's a great view with clear water, and I can go fishing out the back door (the only downside is all the garbage the neighbor throws in the sea). We will be here for the next two months, or until a field base can be found.

Last week Carmen and I got back from Pulau Weh and I had a chance to do some more spear fishing. I wasn't quite sure if I would be able to do it because many people go there to check out the reef and do snorkeling and diving. I wanted to be sensitive about it so I asked one of the locals at the resort we were staying at, and one of the tourists. They both said it was "ok" for me to fish there, and they encouraged me to get a few fish for the BBQ that night! I was stoked to go because of the amazingly clear water, and the abundance of fish! I saw a nice parrot fish about 6 meters down, and I went around the back side of the coral bed to get behind him. I got the fish on the first try, brought it to shore, and was told by the cook to go get another one!

On the second trip out I saw a huge squid (cuttlefish), and took him with the spear. I then returned to the shore again, and the cook was really excited because it was so big! I put it in a bucket on shore and went out for another snorkel. When I returned two German tourists were on the beach...I hadn't even begun to take my mask off before the shouting began, but I took it from their comments that they weren't too happy about seeing the dead squid.

Now despite what some people may think, I am a conservationist at heart...I don't want to see all the fish or animals disappear because people are selfish and take more than what they can use. At the same time I have no problem with taking a fish or two, or shooting a deer to have meat for the year. I think God made fish for the specific purpose of BBQ (especially salmon...mmm). I got a strip torn off me about being a "cold blooded killer", and "how could I have killed this animal; it's so beautiful and it's my friend", and "squid are rare we don't see them often", etc... I was quite ticked off to say the least. Most of what was said was a load of bull (squid are not rare the locals eat them everyday); I guess they are not used to seeing their food before they eat it. I'm also pretty sure that they eat fish themselves, so they're being pretty hypocritical. Then the rumors started flying around the resort...the one German girl kept telling everyone she met that I had killed an Octopus and that I was a real bastard, and I ended up getting a few dirty looks from one or two tourists. I didn't invite them to the BBQ that's for sure!Other people didn't care in the least and told me not to worry about it... In fact, the cook only Barbecued the parrot fish, and the locals ate the squid themselves...I didn't really want to demand to have it since I had caused an uprising already so I didn't fight it. This episode hasn't dampened my spirits in the least; I'm going fishing tomorrow!

SPEAR FISHING 101

Spear fishing is a new activity that I'm really beginning to enjoy. I bought a spear several years ago in Australia when I was backpacking with Dan Bidne, but didn't really have much opportunity to use it until I arrived here in Indonesia. The biggest hindrance to spear fishing is water clarity, it's much harder to spear a moving target when you can't predict it's movement. Last week I was really lucky; the water off our main beach turned clear for two or three days in a row! I was only able to get a mask and snorkel for one night, but managed to get three fish (yeah they weren't huge, but they are getting bigger). I was especially excited to see a really nice parrot fish that was about 4-5 pounds, but it wasn't meant to be since it's favorite hangout was underneath a huge rock. Every time I attempted to get him, he would retreat into his cave where the spear could not reach, and then it would tempt me by coming out as I surfaced to breathe. Some fish are really easy to spear. I don't know what kind of fish they are, but they are either daredevils or just plain crazy. I have had several of them come and nibble at the end of the spear! They are way too tiny to be worth spearing, so I "usually" ignore them, but I have been known to get trigger happy...sometimes things look bigger underwater! Today I was lucky and found my first lobster. I happened to see two antennae sticking out from under a rock, so I reached down and pulled the lobster out...to bad he was only three inches long...I tossed him back in the sea to get bigger. Next week Carmen and I are going to be on our R&R and we plan on going to Sabong Island for a break. Apparently it is one of the best diving areas in Indonesia, so we are excited to go with a diving team and refresh our skills. Until next time...

STRAIGHT SHOOTIN'

Over the last few weeks I have been gathering some hunting and fishing pictures from friends who have been successful. It's always a cool thing for me to hear their stories, and listen to all their lies about BIG FISH that got away, or monster Deer that took off before a shot could be fired. Every once in a while someone gets lucky and actually ends up bagging something. This is definitely the case with Chris Jensen and his first Deer. Chris shot this Doe on the run with a muzzle loader; thatta boy! According to him he is a hot shot and he dropped it from quite a distance. Too bad he shot it in the gut! He claims that it was a clean shot, but I really don't believe him. Just kidding man!Amanda Piechnik reminds us all that hunting is not strictly a guy's thing! I am stoked that there are a few girls out there that aren't squeamish about getting sweaty, dirty, and a little bloody for a chance to have some fun. Amanda shot her first Elk near Kimberly while hunting with her Dad, Frank, and friends. Frank also shot a nice whitetail buck on the same trip. Amanda is thinking about writing an article for a hunting magazine, and I hope that she gets it published.
Nathan Kelly is a friend of mine from Northwest Bible College. Nate is from Cranbrook and is part owner of Total Outdoor Adventures LTD where he works as a guide / outfitter. If you want to do some serious hunting Nate is your man. Check out his company: http://www.toaltd.com I don't know much about this Mountain Lion that he shot, but I can say that it is the biggest monster I have ever seen!

Well I'm all out of stories for today, and can't think of anything else to write at the moment...mosquitoes are eating me alive! Keep your stick on the ice.

REDNECK'S IN EVERY COUNTRY

Sometimes I really miss driving my truck. There is nothing better than shifting into 4WD, spinning the tires, and climbing a hill (or spinning out in the mud). There is some freedom in it; especially when you can go where few others have travelled. In Indonesia there aren't too many people who own vehicles locally. Most families are lucky if they can afford to purchase a scooter/motorcycle as the main mode of transportation....and then there is Apoang (pronounced A -pong). He drives a 1972 Holden (El Camino Style) boat, with Harley Davidson stickers on the side, and a picture of a gun on the rear window. His car is well known, you know it's him before he even see him, and he doesn't need a 4x4. This car goes wherever it wants; whenever it wants! He is my kind of friend; especially since he goes fishing at every given opportunity.
Over the last few weeks I have fished with him three times. Two of which have been disorganized and crazy; just like any typical guy who is planning on going fishing. One night he invited me to go lobster fishing. Upon arriving at the boat he then informed me that the water was too murky so we would do some fishing instead. This was fine news to me. So we got into the boat and were prepared to go when Apoang threw out his line and began fishing before the boat left the beach. I asked him what he was doing, and he replied "fishing, What, did you think we were going to leave the beach?" It was really funny to me, especially because his girlfriend got seasick (without leaving shore) and he kept fishing even though she was feeling green. It was hilarious. We didn't catch much.
This weekend I had a feeling that our luck would change. Apoang had arranged for a boat to take all of us to a local island for the day, to fish, read, relax, and maybe go for a swim. We were supposed to leave at 8:30am but his girlfriend took the 1972 Holden to Calang to get bait for the trip. The car broke down and she didn't arrive until 10:00am and from there we went indirectly to the beach. At 10:30 we left the beach to head to the island and we were all excited. It turns out that he didn't really know anything about the island we were going to, and we couldn't land the boat there because there was no beach, just sharp jagged rocks. We ended up taking an hour boat ride to a different beach, which was very nice and beautiful; however, we could have driven to in 10 minutes (it was a part of the main island)!

We had a nice afternoon, but couldn't catch any fish. Then we took another one hour boat ride back home in the hot afternoon sun. It wasn't my idea of a well planned day, but hey I'm not one to talk. I've done similar things back home with guy's camping trips!I think next time Carmen and I are going to plan this weekend ourselves! We had a good time, but not what we expected. I guess there are Rednecks in every country.

FISHING IS GETTING BETTER

This week has been great for fishing! Usually the water at the beach in Jabi is a little bit murky, but the last few days have been amazingly clear and I was able to try some spear fishing! I did nail a few small ones mostly because things look bigger underwater, and because the small ones didn't take off as fast as the big ones. This was the biggest fish I caught spear fishing, I'm not going to show you the pictures of the other ones; they were really tiny! Today Carmen and I went to "Radio Tower Island" and did some fishing in the morning. As usual, I don't realize how long I am spending out in the sun, and got totally burned. I also had one small fish sting me and it hurt a lot; it felt like a bee sting and my finger started to swell up, but after an hour or so it was back to normal. I threw all of the fish I caught back because I kind of felt like I was fishing in an aquarium; they have some amazing colors on them! Today was a good day for fishing, and I caught 5!

Carmen and I are going to go swimming at the beach tonight. I'm hoping that the water is clear enough to take the spear; there is a nice little reef really close to us. This time I want to only get big ones, no more small ones because they are easy!

I've noticed that all of the small fish are in close to shore, so on our vacation we have been talking about doing some deep sea fishing! Who knows what will happen...stay tuned...

RAINY DAY FISHING

There is nothing quite like a rainy day in Sumatra. Sunday is the only day that Carmen and I have off work, so we decided to head for "radio tower" island rain or shine in the early morning. We don't know what the proper name for the island is, since it is so small, but it has a large tower on it, so "radio tower island" seems to fit.

The day wasn't going as planned; I broke out in the night with a rash all over my body (some sort of reaction to the heat or something I ate). I was quite miserable with the rash and lack of sleep, so we decided to wait for the afternoon to head to the island. After an anti-histamine my rash disappeared, but when we went to leave a big thunderstorm was starting. Well, as I said before, rain or shine, so we went fishing in the rain. It was great because it was the first time since being here that we have felt the slightest bit cold! Yes, we had chattering teeth, and we loved it, it was great and refreshing. I got lucky and hooked into a nice fish (shrimp for bait works well), and after 45 minutes of toughing it out in the rain we left for home. I cooked the fish Canadian style, with lime, onion, and black pepper. It was really good, but kind of small! Oh well, I'm having better luck now! This Saturday night I'm going Lobster fishing with one of our local staff who knows the area; it should be a lot of fun. Until next time...

MEMORIES FROM LAST SEASON

Being in Indonesia is great, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's the little things in life that you miss. For Me, I miss hanging out with the boyz! Scotty, Zank, Dan, Tim, Andy, & Let's not forget Marty! You Guys Rule, it would be fun to hang out again! The other things I miss are home cooked meals,Tim Hortons, and the adventures of the hunting season. Hunting with my Dad, Clark, Hartwig & Tina made the last season a good one. I feel so blessed to have such great friends and family to share these experiences with. I love being outdoors in God's great creation, and having the privilage to bring meat to the table.

Clark and Guiness were good company, especially chasing ruffed grouse on Mt. Aarowsmith, too bad the big blue grouse always seem to evade us! Sometimes we were lucky enough to bag two! Guiness was a star in hunting ducks and made several good retrieves in the water, although he wasn't too fond of blackberry bushes. I wish Clark would show him the difference between a duck and a dead salmon (oh well, and least we didn't have to get wet)! Dad and I went on our first BIG hunting trip this year, and it was a trip that I will never forget! It was the first time either of us had been to Nothern BC, and it was amazing country! We caught some big fish, saw lots of animals, and had some excellent hikes in the backcountry!Neither one of us got to shoot off our cannons, but we bagged a few grouse and Dad got a lot of naps. Above is a typical group of Mounatin Caribou that weren't legal but were fun to see and take pictures of. Clark was fortunate enough to get his first moose this year! It was his first big game animal and everyone was proud of him, although Dad wishes he would buy his own tags next year!

Clark wasn't the only one to bag his first big game animal last season. As it turns out I drew a LEH tag for a Mule Deer Doe and Hartwig and I hunted two weekends in a row in Lone Butte to find one. I was able to drop my first deer in one shot to the neck from about 25 yards, and the only thing I could think to say was, "I got one"! It was a great hunt and I'm very proud of my first deer, thanks Hartwig and Tina!!! The great thing about going up to my In-Law's Place is that Hartwig and Tina know the area well. This season was good for them and more than one deer got put in the freezer. Now, my father-in-law doesn't like to boast, so I'll do that for him, and say that he's a good hunter. Here is a nice three point he got this year.

Carmen also shot her first grouse this year, and I can honestly say that I'm more proud of her than she is of herself. She went hunting with a .22 with her mom, and shot the grouse in the neck with one shot! Then she felt bad when she saw it flop and I wonder if it will be hard to get her to go hunting with me in the future! Carmen I love you, you make me a happy man!

These are some of the memories that I have of the hunting season and I am looking forward to coming home during the next one! Too bad the boys from the island don't have their licences! Matt Neilson, I haven't given up on you yet! Remember where we are planning to go in the Fall of 2010!

FISHIN' AGAIN

Well, I don't have much of a story to tell. I haven't really caught many fish although I have tried to. Today Carmen and I walked to a local island, it's knee deep water, so we just wade over. I brought my fishing rod, and managed to snag a small fish for bait. After that I just caught bottom...
Last week I was more fortunate. I caught a small grouper with my fishing rod, and managed to spear a small fish with my Hawaiian sling. The funny thing about the sling was that I was aiming for a larger fish but missed, and ended up getting a small one! Since I haven't been catching much I think I will just buy them instead...lobster here is cheap!

ATTACK OF THE TIGER

Thursday was an interesting day. I traveled North about an hour and a half to do a survey for a water source up in the jungle. The Jungle Trek was about a half hour hike through some of the thickest bush I have ever seen! We surveyed the source and have decided to do a gravity flow system to meet the water demands of the village. Despite the annoying leeches, yes I got two stuck on my bum, the TREK went smoothly. We returned to our home town, to find out that the same day a local hunter was mauled by a tiger only a 10 minuite hike into the jungle! So far he's alive the tiger didn't kill him, but still, kind of scary. So far the only dangerous thing that I have seen are wild boars. One took a run at us as we walked home one night, then headed for the bush as soon as he got within flashlight range. I've started carrying a pocket knife for the walk home. Indonesia is a great place, exciting, warm, friendly people, and interesting wildlife...until next time...

HUNTING AND FISHING IN INDONESIA

Well most of you know that I'm working in International relief with MEDAIR in Indonesia. It is a passion of mine to work with people who need assistance, and as a Christian I feel called to this line of work. However, some of you might not be too familiar with two other influences in my life...hunting and fishing. I have always been interested in wildlife and all the little critters that creep and crawl. When you hunt and fish, you can get up close and personal with some animals, and they taste good on the BBQ. While I'm here in Indonesia, I will try and keep you updated on these two hobbies when they happen. Stay Tuned...