After an incredible few weeks in Base Camp C it was time to journey east to Manusela. On the day of our walk, which took us through Salimena – another enclave of villages, the weather was glorious with a stunning blue sky and clear views to the mountains. My stay in Manusela was brief – only about a week, just long enough to appreciate the fantastic work that venturers had been doing in constructing a new schoolhouse for the village. I also had the opportunity to do an overnight walk to a bat cave.
With a local Nuaulu man as our guide, we followed one of the rivers into the rainforest to the cave and then spent a couple of hours exploring this unique environment and the small insectivorous bats that dwelt there. We spent the night on the riverbank and our guide created a wonderful fire that provided warmth and the opportunity to cook our meal and boil our drinking water. Once again, I was amazed at the versatility of bamboo. Dead pieces were used to create and fuel the fire that boiled our water, which was placed over the flames in tubes of freshly cut green bamboo. A great little video showing how the Nuaulu do this can be seen HERE
