Hi Nick ,

Before I forget and get reimmersed in the real world I want to thank you for the trip to Ramata . We had a great time and it more than exceeded our expectations on all counts - people , food , fish , weather . The bonus was that we were there for their Independence Day celebrations which included our party being happily dragooned into making speeches and singing the Aussie national anthem to match the performances of the locals . All the excess stuff we took and left was much appreciated - clothes (tee shirts , caps and shorts), toys (frisbees were a hit) ,soccer balls , food treats ( muesli bars ,savoury dry biscuits eg BBQ shapes , peanuts , non sugary sweets all well received) , magazines , fishing gear. The beer was excellent and cold and a week without meat was no pain at all- in fact I think I am now 25% vegetarian !!!

Thanks once again for the organization ,

Denis Long, July 2011

Hi Rachel

In response to your email I would like to offer the following comments. I would stress these are my observations and do not represent those of the group, although I feel they would have similar sentiments.

Having departed from Brisbane with a degree of in trepidation of what was in store for us, I was extremely pleased with the overall experience.

Mavo is very removed from mainstream civilisation as we know it, but after accepting the 'resort' as it exists, with the minimal in everyday facilities, it was comfortable in a roughing sort of way.

We could not have asked more of the management and staff, they were always very happy, and helpful.

House Keeping:

Our rooms were maintained (swept, rubbish removed, and clothes washed) and beds turned daily (while we were out fishing), and then turned down and the mosquito net set, whilst dining in the evening. On one late afternoon during a period of extremely torrential rain accompanied by strong winds, I returned, after fishing, to find 3 ladies endeavouring to hold the curtains to our cabin in place, to prevent rain saturating the beds.

Meals:

No one went hungry, in fact on the first day after having breakfast (after fishing) at 11am, lunch at 1.00pm and dinner at 6.00pm, we suggested breakfast and lunch be combined into 'brunch' which was quite adequate for our needs. Again in view of the remoteness and lack of access to mainstream supermarkets, the diversity of meals was limited. However this did not prevent local fruit and vegetables supplemented by a range of sea foods, being served and consumed with gusto by the group, each of whom had reputations as big eaters. Before each meal, kitchen staff responsible for the preparation of the meals, explained the specifics of each meal, following which grace was said prior to the meals being eaten.

Fishing:

The expertise and ingenuity of the fishing crews has to be seen to be believe. The boats are certainly not luxurious, being approx 22 ft long with timber seats, open deck with no shelters from the sun, and certainly no GPS, nor communication devices. Bottom bashing (fishing) was in 300+mtrs of water, and it is amazing to observe the crew keeping the boat over the preferred site by the use of oars on the bow and stern, a la a Gondolier in Venice, and as needed, assisting with the removal of the catch, baiting of hooks or the re-rigging of gear. On return to Mavo the crew then arranged the filleting and packaging of selected fish for collection by the group on return home. Fish such as Trevally, barracuda, mackerel and tuna, not required by the group, were given to the resort or villagers for use as they desire.

Assisting local Villagers:

Due to the remoteness of Mavo from mainstream shopping, and the lack of business and industry opportunities, the region would be considered quite poor on our standards. As such the people are appreciative of any items of a personal or household nature that visitors may choose to donate. When not fulfilling their roles as crew on the boats, they must catch fish and grow vegetables or fruit for their families to eat.

Prior to the trip, our group had arranged to take soccer balls, sport shirts, books and pencils, all of which were gratefully appreciated by the school children. We had also decided to leave unwanted fishing gear with the fishermen, but were amazed by the desire of the locals to accept our items of summer clothing, footwear, and reading glasses.

As such, should you be organising future trips for groups to Mavo, impress on them the needs of the local villagers, and if the group is that way inclined, suggest they gather any suitable similar personal items for leaving with the villagers.

On another aspect, I am a members of Ashgrove – The Gap Lions Club and we intend putting together a package of clothing, utensils, spectacles and items of a personal nature for the Mavo villagers. Should you have groups going to the region, who may be able to take such items in their luggage, could you refer them to us on the off chance they may have space for the items.

Hopefully this may be a cost effective and secure means of ensuring the items reach the people at Mavo.

Many Thanks

John Andersen, June 2011