After four weeks of biodiversity field surveys in the forests of Gulf Province, Papua New Guinea, the ERIAS Group scientific team took the opportunity to unwind at the end of the day with an occasional game of beach rugby with the local village kids.
The location of the final field camp for a recent survey was at Orokolo Bay on the Gulf of Papua, which is an idyllic setting at sunset as the heat of the day is replaced by a cool sea breeze.
Each afternoon this long stretch of beach is a buzz as people emerge from the fringing villages to cool down, socialise or greet the returning fishermen in their dugout canoes to buy freshly caught fish for the evening meal.
The village kids joined in on an impromptu game of rugby one afternoon, and thereafter each day they would wait on the beach after school for the scientists to finish their work and come down to the beach to recommence the match from the previous day.
After a few days at this survey site the scientists packed up camp to return to Port Moresby but there was no way they were getting the ball back! But that was always the plan.