Tidal Current Assessment; Buka Passage, Autonomous Region of Bougainville, PNG

When I visited Buka, (19th of October 2015) I had to take along a flow meter to test the ocean current speed. The Global Water's flow meter had a propeller with a small magnet attached to it so that when it is propelled, a small electric signal is generated to give speed indications. It has a probe of about 6 meters long and pushed back into the handle for portability. The whole length has to be immersed completely into the water to give speed reading at depth. The calibration factor was kept as factory set.
The Buka Passage is a channel that separates the township into two; Buka town on one side where most shops and government head quarters for the new Autonomous government is located, and the Kokopau on the other side, the main island of Bougainville.

Buka Passgae in view on Google earth

Bougainville has a history of a very long and bloody conflict in the Pacific in the modern era which costed thousands of lives and also brought down to its knees the once world famous copper mine The Panguna Copper Mining Giant, (BCL). Their's was certain as it had a definite start and and ending dates unlike our friends in the Western Niugini Island (The West Papuans) whose fate, till to date is still uncertain.
So much so that when I arrived, it was all the memories, the scars of both before and aftermath of the civil war. This time, peace has slowly made its way into Bougainville but a lot of things has yet to be learnt from them as they have missed so many opportunities during the seizure of  their land. Things and people on the ground are completely different from what the media used to portray about. Any body could tell whilst on the ground that they have a very long and prosperous future in waiting.

White house building at Arawa; PNG's 10th anniversary building

That morning, I arrived at the Jackson's international airport terminal at five in the morning and waited till 09:15 to be told the flight was delayed by an hour. At 10:25, we were told the flight to Buka via Rabaul, flight PX 252 was cancelled. I asked the Airniugini terminal staff to book me a hotel to stay overnight which they could not do, even when I showed them that I was a transiting passenger, they demanded I provide the receipt for last night's accommodation. I did not have one as I was running on a tight budget and had to stay with friends. The university (USP) gave me some funding just enough to spend on food only (no accommodation fees) for my two nights transition at Port Moresby and on Monday I would have to leave for Buka.  I had to stay with friends on arrival from Fiji on Saturday, and did not like to stay just one more night again in Port Moresby. Anyway, whilst waiting, I overheard of another flight going to Keita/Aropa at 13:25 that afternoon. I got no choice; even when I did not know about Kieta and Arawa, I got to tell the staff to change my booking for Kieta for that afternoon flight. They did not charge me any additional fees for changing the flight. I had to board the flight PX 264 to Kieta/Aropa instead. That was a blessing in disguise as the  failure of the Fokker 100 aircraft that morning provided me the opportunity to visit my birthplace, the Arawa General Hospital. It was here that mum first brought me into the earth about some 30 years ago. It was fortunate for me, yes thanks to Airniugini Fokker 100 for making this possible! And also thanks to USP for sponsoring my journey. By the way, I was only about a year old then when civil war broke out and dad had to quit his job with the then BCL mine to bring us home to Finschhafen.
When I arrived at Aropa airport, the place was calm and serene. People were so friendly; few of them waited to welcome home friends. I looked an obvious red in the dark. I asked for a PMV to Arawa and was directed to an open back Toyata land cruiser with a mounted canopy. We went pass Toniwa, then Kieta harbour, with fascinating scenes of rundown buildings and structures, some partly covered with vines. Truly a commemorative view to fit up with what used to be the best township in the early days.  Finally we arrived at Arawa and I was admitted to the Sunrise Guest House, a place just on the opposite side of the main road near to the gateway entrance of the Arawa hospital. I paid ten kina to the driver and turned in to register for the night's accommodation. They charged me K200 lodging and meal fees which I later paid, when I got the money from the nearby BSP bank ATM. The guest house was very good and the setting was very beautiful except I was unable to excess the internet with my Bmobile dongle. I don't know if Bmobile has extended services into Arawa as yet.

The remains of Toniwa township

Next morning, very early at five I took another PMV, also an open back Toyota land cruiser and four hours later, we arrived at the Kokopau town with dust covered faces. I was charged K50 for the fare which I paid upon arrival at the Kokopau town. Then  I walked over to the boat stop and started calling my friend Dallas.
He was working with the family firm on the main town of Buka on the other side of the Passage. Few minutes later, he arrived on an outboard motor; a two kina taxi fare across the passage.
I did not recognize him quickly because he has grown so huge for my size. Indeed, he left us six years ago at Unitech. He pointed his finger at me and shouted my name. And that was when I realized it was him. I rode on and we crossed over to the other side. To be frank, Buka has one of the very hot climates on earth, much hotter than Lae, Madang or even Port Moresby where I found most nights sleepless. Sunlight here is endless; generally, PNG climate is endless summer as we all know.
Anyway, I was tired so had to reschedule my line of work for next day. We had to probe the Buka Passage. There were three other guys who came to assist. Max commanded the boat, Jarmain and James, a friend of half Yalu (Lae) parentage helped me did the measurement. We started on Wednesday; We had to measure both day and night. Our aim was to obtain a maximum velocity and we did not want to miss that, so every minute was important. Also because I did not have enough time as my ticket was paid and confirmed for Monday return flight from Buka to POM.

Probing the Buka Passage

That is why we had to make use of every minute, just to find the maximum current speed. As we rode onto the boat, I realized that I had never seen such a mass of water flowing like a river in the sea. Again, it was only when I started reading about tidal currents, that's when I knew tides could flow up to 3.5 m/s maximum but did not expect to literally see  the flow. For the Buka passage, it was different. We had to measure at 2.5 to 3.6 m/s maximum most times for two days and when we noticed the computer reader exceeding 3.6 m/s, the probe vibrated rigorously. And I feared it might break very shortly so we had to call off. The meter reading hit exactly at 4.7m/s and the probe bent over and almost fractured.
We took it out, fixed it and I told the guys it was okay, we had to stop somehow because we could not force the instrument anymore. 4.7 m/s was the maximum speed recorded, which is enough for our knowledge,
https://www.google.co.id/maps/@-5.4333986,154.680751,4508m/data=!3m1!1e3

But according to local knowledge, the tide did not flow to its peak level when we were probing. I saw it flowing on the Monday morning, whilst waiting for my flight. The sea was moving fast like a flooded river,

Bougainville bar; 100 thousand dollars on my palm

except there was no sound from it.
One last thing, gold. Yes Bougainville is
truly the home of Gold. I was fortunate to be shown few pieces and that small piece, a 1000g piece on my palm was taken out from a small furnace that day.
I left with my mind full of memorable experiences. The people were very friendly and welcoming.  If there was any place with a wonderful atmosphere in PNG, I would definitely recommend it is non other than Bougainville.
I had to thank my Kiaras  Dallas, Jarmain and their family, Axil and Max, the boat skipper. So much so that when I returned, I had just one most important thing in my mind. I was borne here but brought up elsewhere. Hahahaha......a wonderful experience!