A soothing Marshall Lagoon outing

By ISAAC LIRI
AS he stepped outof the banana boat at the Kelerakwa beach on the Aroma Coast, he was lost in time.
It’s not like he time-travelled to a different dimension or anything, he was on planet earth just like you and me but his mind was far from stress, his mind was in paradise.
Former PNG Kumul (2000-2002) Eddie Aila likes to call himself a mind mechanic. In Port Moresby, he’s a psychologist and he goes out and about giving positive talks encouraging people to change their mindsets.
This time around it was the other way around, Eddie was captured in a trance and nature was now giving a mind refresher to one of her own sons.
The coastal breeze brought peace to his mind, the smiling faces on the children’s faces brought warmth to his heart; the mind mechanic was having a time of his life somewhere along the eastern shores of Central.
Eddie had just returned from Kupiano after witnessing the launch of the Marshall Lagoon Rugby League. He was a guest along with Abau district’s very own passionate rugby league coach Chris Enara.
Even though Eddie is part Central, Delena (Kairuku-Hiri district) west of Port Moresby, to be precise, it was his first ever trip to Kupiano.
As a first timer, he couldn’t get his eyes off the magnificent Marshall Lagoon scenes; all he could say was lovely, everything about the place was lovely. Marshall Lagoon captured his heart with love.
“I’ve never felt so much love like this in a while, I’m grateful I came along on this trip,” he added.
Heading back to Maopa from Kelerakwa by vehicle, we were travelling west so the view of the sunset in front of us seized everyone’s attention, everyone was quiet, peaceful silence it was.
When we arrived at our host Chris Enara’s home in Maopa on the Aroma Coast, dinner of pork, fish, bananas, taros and yams, was served. Our tummies were satisfied.
Eddie’s first trip to the Marshall Lagoon was a memorable one, the wonderful Abau hospitality touched his heart and before we left, he told me that the experience was worth treasuring with hope that one day he’d visit again.
The trip had surely been a refresher for him as a mind mechanic and accompanying him during the trip as a journalist was a great experience for me as well.
The highlight of Eddie’s trip to Marshall Lagoon was the boat trip from Kelerakwa to Kupiano and then back to Kelerakwa.
The trip also got him to go back in time and realise that some thousands of years ago people came to live and settle in the Marshall Lagoon area and no doubt it was welcoming back then like it is today.
Marshall Lagoon is home to people of Kupiano, Gabuone and Aroma Coast and a boat trip on the lagoon is no doubt breathtaking to any first-timer.
Even locals from the area are proud to call Marshall Lagoon their home and any visiting tourist either local or international would surely enjoy the Marshall Lagoon.
The trip to Marshall Lagoon was made possible through the Central Dabari bid team to the 2019 Digicel Cup season.
Enara, who is the Dabari bid team coach, is working using his connections and resources to help establish rural affiliate leagues in the Abau district so that a pathway from rural talent is available when and if the Dabari enter the Digicel Cup in the near future.