COME JOIN US AS WE EXPLORE YULE ISLAND

 

‘EDDIE THE EAGLE’ of KAIRUKU

 

A bungalow on Yule Island

The old road looks narrow and like all outback roads – dusty.

But if you can withstand the bumps and the dust long enough, you will arrive at Poukama on the Kairuku coast in Central Province.

Across the bay lies one of Papua’s hidden gems – Yule Island – where the Catholic missionaries landed and the faith was transcended all over Papua.

A boat ride and bingo, you’ll be heading for Rabao Rocks – home of the jumping spider and the delicious lobster, and the region’s first university graduate George GO Obara.

Ask for our host and local legend Eddie Edward Aisi.

An electrical engineer, Edward Aisi is an electrical spark’ of an inspiration to his Kairuku people.

Beach fun.

From Yule Island, Aisi is one of the few Kairukus to own and manage an electrical company, Edatec Engineering, which is based in Port Moresby.

An accomplished sportsman, he led PNG twice as captain of the PNG Amoas (national volleyball team) to the Pacific Games where the Amoas won a silver medal.

Now retired due to a knee injury, Aisi still maintains an active role as president of the PNG volleyball association. 

Aisi, who is a vocal islander on many issues in his district, is going one step further from his silver lining and aiming for gold in the Kairuku race in June.

Like many of his fellow Kairukus, Aisi has become concerned over the diminishing stock of lobsters around his island, which was once upon a time, the lobster hotspot in Papuan waters.

He believes that the LNG pipeline offshore has greatly hindered the migration of the bottom dwelling lobsters.

Young man heading for Yule Island

“These are marine life that dwell on the sea floor, they don’t swim, they crawl, and when you have a pipeline blocking their way, they cannot crawl over on their way to Yule Island,” Aisi declares.

The loss of lobster fisheries led to the demise of Yule Aperana, a lobster and crayfish company that put Yule Island on the map in the 70s and 80s.

He says Yule Island should also be a tourism hotspot if the ring road from Agevairu to Kubuna turnoff is graded and patched. Currently, it is impassable during rainy seasons.

Yule Island offers getaway opportunities for city slickers with fishing, scuba diving, birdwatching or simply enjoying a swim on paradise beach, and watching the beautiful sunsets.

And if you are a spider man fan, there is a legendary spider species on Yule Island. It is called the jumping spider, according to Wikipedia.

Whether it still jumps around there, we don’t know. The only way to find out is to go there.

“Take a break, come and visit my people at Yule Island, we are friendly, keen to take you fishing,” says Eddie.

For Christians on a pilgrimage, there is the old Catholic chapel on the hill. Missionaries landed here in 1885 and spread Catholicism to Mekeo and Goilala. Papua New Guinea’s Red, Black and Gold National Flag, was designed at the Catholic run school on the island by a Kerema girl late Susan Karike Huhume.

On his off days from his busy electrically charged engineering, Aisi finds time to spend with his family and relatives back on Yule Island.

In the peace and tranquil setting of his island home, Aisi catches up on the latest news in PNG via his favorite newspaper Post-Courier.