23 January ARK

ARK, or Animal Rescue Kayak, as we now call our orange kayak has been in action...
On our journey from Phuket to Langkawi we made three overnight stops; the first was in south Koh Lanta to rendezvous with Sue and Bill of Camomile. They'll be beginning their Indian Ocean crossing in the next week or two meaning this is probably the last time our boats will cross paths, but not the last time we'll see them I'm sure.

Au revoir Camomile

Our second stop was at the beautiful twin islands of Koh Rok. On the way we had 20 knot winds, but these died as we arrived. We picked up a mooring ball and enjoyed a wonderfully quiet night. During the day the beach is busy with day trippers arriving in fast boats; by sunset they have all gone, the beaches are empty and the only sound is water lapping on the hull and bird calls.
Next morning we left early and motored in no wind to the Butang island group. Here we anchored on the east side of Koh Adang which gave us good protection from strong north easterlies which kicked up overnight. Why does the wind blow when you are on anchor and stop when you want to sail?
Anchored off the beach of Koh Adang we'd been using the binoculars to watch the eagles and herons catching their fish suppers from perches on the rocks or flying above. We also spotted a couple of dogs, one a mid size tan and black, the other a small black dog, who'd found their way along the beach and around the boulder outcrops which appear at intervals between the sand. Not many people live on Adang; we'd seen a handful of local houses on the south, but this is a steep, rocky island suitable only for trees and dense undergrowth. I digress.
After dinner when there was only moonlight we thought we heard monkeys howling just up from the beach. The sounds were continuing; howling, crying, sad crying like a dog hurt or trapped. This crying went on through the night and we came to the conclusion it must be one of the dogs we'd seen yesterday.


(internet image, not our puppy)

As soon as we had daylight we unloaded the kayak (the dinghy was stowed on deck for travelling) and paddled ashore with our rescue kit; crocs for climbing rocks, a torch for searching holes and bowl and bottle of water). On the beach we could still hear the crying. David had begun clambering over the boulders, without his shoes as they slipped on sandy rocks, towards the noise when an wagging tail tan and black Mummy dog, obviously with feeding pups by the size of her teats, came running towards me. 'Where's your puppy?' we asked and she understood. She tried to follow David up the rocks but they were too big for her. Instead she darted to the back of the beach and disappeared into the undergrowth behind the rocks.
I waited on the beach as the rocks were too big for me to climb, and you need a rescuer at base! After what seemed ages a dishevelled David appears from where Mum dog disappeared clutching a black bundle under his arm.
He told me Mum dog had guided him to a gully. She could leap down one level, but not all the way to the ground and be able to get out again. David followed her down and then down to the lower level (mindful there might be snakes!) and heard some scuffling. Under a bush was the puppy, little blue eyes looking up as if to say 'Have you come to help me?'
The clamber back wasn't easy and he said sometimes he had to put pup down, or up, on a rock, and then climb to it and continue carrying it. David was covered with twigs and cobwebs, little toe nail ripped off and bleeding. Back on the beach we gave both dogs the water we'd brought and neither seemed worse for the experience. Both were friendly dogs. We did try to put them on the kayak to paddle them back to the village but you put one dog on and it jumped down to return to the other. Impossible and we left them to continue gambolling along the beach.
And that's how the orange canoe became the ARK, Animal Rescue Kayak, but really David was the hero of the hour.

Polly demonstrating the ARK