We arranged with Barry, the local that guided us to the Bat Cave last Saturday, to take us, along with another yachtie couple, into the bush to show us how he catches freshwater prawns. So, with mask and snorkel, and miniature pole spears, we followed him a short way into the jungle to a small stream.
We waded upstream, hopped from rock to rock, climbed over small waterfalls, stopping at pools along the way to hunt. Donning mask and snorkel, we lay down in the pools looking for prawns. There were many all around, but most were too small to bother with. The spear consisted of a piece of bamboo about a yard long, tipped with splayed points salvaged from the ribs of an old umbrella, and powered by a strip of rubber seized to the opposite end. This is exactly what I've used for many years hunting fish, except much smaller, so I immediately got into the game, bagging several prawns. Barry was the expert here, though, and it was just as much fun watching him. He knew every hole along the way, and came up with prawn after prawn. Several times, he disappeared under the water into some dark hole for a surprising length of time, making me think of Gollum in the Hobbit.
We finished the day with the four yachties on Mintaka for Thai curry with prawns.
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