SAVING LUCKY the TURTLE

SAVING LUCKY

By BIG PAT

This is the story of Lucky, a little sea turtle.

Thanks to the good heart of a fellow islander, Lucky is still out there in the deep blue yonder.

Lucky's tale began somewhere, maybe close by to Kitai Island in the Engineer group of Islands in Milne Bay province when it hatched and crawled off a coral cay into the brine.

During the festive season holidays, good Samaritan Ms Talusia Sonawa was on a holiday in her home islands.

She decided to journey to Kitai with her in-law and that's where she chanced upon Lucky.

Well on the day she met Lucky, its luck seems to have run out. The sea turtle had wandered too close to the island and was quickly snapped up in the shallows by young boys from Kitai.

On seeing Lucky in such an unlucky desperate situation, Talusia was saddened by its soon to be potted fate.

Talusia kindly asked to see the turtle. On close inspection, she noticed Lucky had a damaged flipper and she took more pity of the little turtle.

So our nature loving animal friend asked the boys to release Lucky back to the sea.

It didn't take long for the island boys to realise the predicament of their captive animal. After all, they always exist in harmony with nature.

Gently they dropped Lucky back into the ocean and it was gone.

To get to Kitai, one has to travel by boat. It takes 3 hours by motorised dinghy and 6 hours on the slow boat from Alotau.

The weather is normally fine. Besides the sea gulls patrolling overhead, the sea guides of sleek dolphins and the usual jetsam and flotsam, you might just see Lucky.

Or as the Samarais blush in disbelief and yawn, tamada, det wan hao?

pictures courtesy of Ms Talusia Sonawa

1 & 2 Lucky the luckiest turtle

3. Glorious sandy shores of Kitai Island