My First Fishing Trip

Ray comes back from New Guinea and tells us a lot of stories about his experiences in the Territory, he’s been to a few places and we learn about his fights he got into in various pubs.

Urs tells me later, he was asked to leave New Guinea as he was getting into too many fights. I believe him, he goes to the pub every day and insists we go with him, but there he is argumentative and makes a lot of people upset. At home with Zenya he is different. We still have dinner together frequently and he is a different person during those times. It must be Zenya who keeps him calm.

Sue invites me on a boat trip. Another lady who lives in her block of flats, has a sugar daddy, an architect from Melbourne who owns a boat permanently moored at Jacob’s Well. He is coming up for a long weekend and has asked Sue and me to join them on a four day fishing trip amongst the islands off Jacobs Well. We leave on Friday and come back on Monday.

I talk to Brian about having Friday off. He is very understanding and tells me to take a ‘sickie’ on Friday. If Urs would ask, he would say I had called in sick. He is a great bloke for a non-drinker.

Friday, we drive down to Jacob’s Well. The four of us plus another chap from Melbourne. The boat looks great. It’s quite big and sleeps six people. We motor out amongst the islands and throw fishing lines in the water. It doesn’t take long before we catch a few decent fish and the girls prepare lunch consisting of cooked potatoes, salad and fresh fish. We drink a bottle of white wine with it. It beats working.

Jacobs Well

At dusk I feel itchy. I notice all these little bites on me everywhere. Sandflies I’m told. During the night I’m in agony. I scratch and scratch, I hardly sleep at all.

At breakfast, the other chaps prepare a sailor’s drink, rum and hot milk. Yuck! I try but I can’t get it down, I stick to coffee.

We’re cruising up and down through the islands, fish and have a great time. In the evenings we listen to the old architect’s stories of which he has many to tell. The four days go by much too quickly.

Urs calls me into the office and hands me my full electrician’s license. I didn’t need another interview. The license just came in the mail. Australia is a great country.