On Tuesday 21st October, we arrived in Lobo in the small hour of the morning. Everybody rushed on deck to gaze in wonder at the misty show dissipating over beautiful karst reliefs.

Arriving in Lobo – Copyright : S. Quérouil / IRD

It took us 6 hours to reach Lobo. Here, in Triton Bay, the sea is very still.

Trip map: from Kaimana to Lobo

A delegation landed to talk to the villagers. Both ships were allowed to dock and a space was made available to set up camp near the village. The vegetation was cleared by the women, while the men cut bamboo stalks to hold up the tarpaulin covers. The children stared at us with curiosity.

Our boats arouse children’s curiosity – Copyright : S. Quérouil / IRD

From now on, there will be two teams, one on the ground and one on the Airaha 2.

We need to transport all the base camp material by land or sea. Then we need to set up camp: build the wooden structures to fix the tarpaulin covers, make tables and benches, put up big tents for the kitchen, the computer server, and the most precious equipment… Everyone puts up their tents and prepares their material.

On board the Airaha 2, the marine team also has a lot of work to do. The ship’s deck is full of diving equipment which must be prepared and organised. Everyone is busy preparing to be able to start the explorations first thing tomorrow morning.

Transporting the equipment to the base camp – Copyright : S. Quérouil / IRD

(translated by 2nd-year “Earth Sciences” students, L2 ST, Group 2, UM2, France)