By Anne Gordon
Tell a North American fisherman that he can catch fish with a spider web and he’ll scoff at the idea. Then tell him that a rattle made of coconut shell and bamboo is a sure thing for luring sharks and the response will be equally incredulous.
In Papua New Guinea off the northern coast of Australia, fishermen gather spider webs from the forest at daybreak. Attached to kite tails, trailing webs when skimming across the water lure drummer fish to the surface. Then, tangled in the fine strands the fish are drawn in.
As for luring sharks, David Kirkland, an Australian photographer, had first-hand experience of that dangerous undertaking. Joining what he thought was a seasoned “shark caller” he paddled out to sea in a flimsy outrigger canoe. Lowering a coconut shell and bamboo rattle into the water his companion shook it. Within minutes a curious shark emerged from the inky depths. At the sight of the monster, the Papuan – obviously a novice – took fright. Tipping the dugout, he unseated Kirkland who landed foursquare on top of the shark. “I shot off that bloody shark like an Exocet” said Kirkland. “My camera equipment … sank to the bottom.
In the ocean surrounding Papua New Guinea, divers can expect to see scorpion fish, ghost pipe fish, pygmy sea horses swaying beside giant sea fans, Eagle Rays advancing like an army of predatory space-age birds and sinuous evil-eyed eels peering from cavities in the coral reef.
Schools of barracuda swirling in glittering funnels lit by a filtered sun sweep out of the blue, while silver tip sharks cruise by, slow and menacing. From the daintiest sea slug to the gargantuan proportions of a gliding whale shark as it sups on masses of krill each time it opens its mouth, this ocean with its islands, atolls and coral reefs is ranked among the world’s finest diving destinations.
Land exploration in Papua New Guinea is equally magical. Western crowned pigeons and Birdwing butterflies live alongside jungle wallabies, possums, tree kangaroos and echidnas who at mating time link up with a train of other lovelorn males to pursue a single female for sometimes four weeks at a time.
