Goat Island

Goat Island

Kauwa Island

Mansion House

Steve and I went for a 2 day trip to Goat Island and the surrounding area. It is a Marine reserve. We were able to go on a glass bottom boat and see all the underwater wild life that they work so hard to preserve. We were planning on snorkeling but the water was 60 degrees and I'm just not bold enough for that. Many were out in their wetsuits having fun in the water just not us. We also got to boat over to an island called Kauwa. It was a major copper mine and the main house was turned into a mansion. What we did not know was that the boat we took was also a mail boat. It started out a little frustrating with all the stops but then I started to embrace part of the culture here. There are many islands around that people choose to live on. This particular island has mostly vacationers but there are about 300 who live there year around. There are usually no roads on these islands. Boat is the only way to get supplies. There is one cafe on this island but they carry the newspaper, bread and milk so that those on the islands can have easy access to them. Everyone seems to help everyone. People were on the dock when the boat came in. They know the captain and were very appreciative to him for bringing there supplies . The boat carried mail, groceries ordered, and anything else people ordered from the mainland. Along with that it carried people touring as well as residents who live on the island. Everything has to do double duty. The boat doesn't make enough money doing tours so it does the mail and supplies. This would not happen in the US. The mail would have to have its own people . The groceries their own delivery people and no one on a cruise in America would tolerate making so many stops. People here, however, see it as a normal part of life. You do what you can for each other and to make money. It may have taken longer to see the island but I was glad to get a glimpse of people helping one another out.