Adventures of McDuck Part 12

Part XII




This morning Rascal's lump is no better and so she is off to see the vet.



I am staying here with Pepsi as the whole idea of medical examinations makes me quite queezy!


The girl came back via Ron's house where Rascals had met Nessi and Tattoo while Lisa had sent a few messages to those left at home. The lump has been put down to a 'trauma' although none of us can recall when such a 'trauma' could have happened. The vet said it was nothing to be concerned about and the lump would hopefully go down again over the next week or two. He gave us some antibiotics just to be sure plus a shampoo and flea treatment for the rash. Rascals, he has proclaimed, is allergic to the fleas that were running over her. We were to wash her first and then, when she was quite dry, we were to treat her for the fleas.



Rascals was not at all keen on being washed, the sea was one thing she said but being covered in soapsuds was something else!



She took the treatment in the manner it was intended and was soon sleeping in the sun, her gleaming coat drying in the heat.


With all the excitement of the morning over with, it was unanimously decided that we should all have a relaxing afternoon. A day of sun and sea. Rascals shaved area where the vet examined her was catching the sun so Kerriann put some Factor 30 sun cream on it until her fur grows back.



As the sun shone down on the beach the girls moved their loungers down to the sea edge marvelling at the way they could simple sit as the sea washed their toes in warm gentle caresses.



I prepared bowls of fresh pasta with a rich tomato and sweetcorn sauce for the girls to eat as they were working so hard on their tans!



Pepsi asked if she could share in some of Lisa's dinner but was firmly told that as Lisa didn't eat her food, she wasn't to eat Lisa's!



This was of course followed by our delicious Frozen banana and ice cream



Having spend the afternoon in a calm relaxed state we then spent the evening relaxing on Sarah and Gary's balcony. Sarah and Gary had wondrous tales to tell about all their adventures around the other islands and motos and it was quite late again before we returned to our beds.



Part XIIb

Sarah remarked last night, that there was a garden she wanted to visit called the Kellin gardens. She had read about it in a book she had on the Island and wondered if we knew anything about it. The garden belongs to a friend of Kerriann's called Marimari. As far as Kerriann knew Marimari didn't do tours of her garden any more but she said she would call Marimari to see if we could call up.




Marimari said she would be delighted to receive visitors and at 10am we walked the 1k up to her garden.





Marimari's place is a wonderful place of wonderment.





Statues and corners are fill with statues and flowers,





trees rise majestically from the greenery, pathways lead to hidden areas.



Her parents had arrived on a 4 masted sailing boat many years ago to explore the area . Her grandfather, also aboard and having been persuaded by her father to attend a land auction in the area, turned out to be the only bidder, which resulting in him buying the entire valley. With this purchase her parents decided to settle, learning quickly the rudiments of plantation work.





They had built their house with a large open area below it that served as a cool outside inside room.





A beautiful painting adored one wall,





a large table and chairs occupied another





while a pool full of fish ran the length of the room along the garden side




Over the years Marimari's parents had farmed and managed the land, watching how things rapidly changed. When they had arrived there were no roads or shops, everything they required had to be provided by the land or brought in by ship.



They had lived long and worked hard passing all they has acomplished onto their only daughter Marimari.



Her father had died in 1990, aged 92, her grandmother in 1992 aged 90. Marimari had also seen huge changes to the island over the years, as the tracks of her childhood were replaced by roads and people moved in and built homes where the jungle had once been.


The population of the Island had grown rapidly and a few years previous the government had taken back all the land her grandfather had bought. She had kept the house and the extensive gardens but the rest had been returned to the Island.


Marimari showed Sarah and Gary around the gardens as Lisa said good-bye to Highness. Unable, due to a prior engagement to join Gary and Sarah in their tour, Lisa, Kerriann and I hurried back to the house. The oven had refused to light despite everyone's best efforts and today the French speaking cooker man was coming to look at it.


He arrived at the appointed hour and quickly deduced it was simply a faulty switch which he fixed in a matter of moments. The oven was lit, smiles were exchanged and money exchanged hands. Everyone was happy. Sarah and Gary arrived back about two hours later full of the wonders of the amazing tales they had heard and with their camera bursting with photos of the garden.



With the oven now fully functional we have invited Gary and Sarah to dinner this evening. Kerriann is delighted to have guests as, as a chef and cook by trade, she has missed being able to cook for more than one or two. Lisa laid the table with flowers and leaves in true Polynesian style and I had just finished laying the table with napkins and glasses as Gary and Sarah arrived, just after dark, bringing plates of salad and bottles of wine. We all sat around the table discussing the joys of the day as Kerriann served our meal.



With the main meal over and the dogs looking on expectantly, Kerriann's wellys, brought over from Rons, were put on, the bucket was grabbed, the rake was sought and an entire Tupa hunting team headed for the garden. Gary and Sarah laughed and screamed with the rest of us as we chased the Tupas this way and that. Lisa offered to let them pick them up but they declined saying they were happy to leave it to the experts!



Having completed our garden tour we returned to the table for our bowls of frozen bananas and ice-cream complete with their toppings of crushed biscuit. Sarah and Gary had never eaten frozen banana before and they were both very impressed with this new dessert. I am sure that half a dozen peeled bananas were popped into their freezer upon their return across the beach divide.

The Adventures of McDuck Part 11

Part XI


Gary and Sarah have invited Lisa and I to join them for a day of exploration. Kerriann has loads of things she needs to do so she is staying with the dogs at the house. Our destination lies just behind the huge mountain behind the house.



Apart from the dramatic views that can be seen from this angle there is also a 'College of Agriculture' up near the Belvedere look-out point that we would all like to visit. Kerriann has also asked if we can take the water bottles with us to fill, normally she and Lisa cycle up to the sanctioned water outlet with their baskets full of empty bottles but as Sarah and Gary are taking the car we can fill the entire boot and have enough drinking water for the next week!


The drive up to the water taps is short but steep. The water here is tested on a regular basic and treated to make it safe to drink. People arrive with their plastic bottles through out the day and evening, filling and chatting as everyone patiently waits their turn.


The views from even this far up the hill-side are breath-taking. With the bottles full and back in the car we wandered up to the centre and got our directions for the main tour.



We were issued with a map where each stopping place on the map had a written explanation, explaining the whys and wherefores of the area.




We passed huge pineapple fields, some recently planted, some ready for harvest.




I read that the baby plants are taken from the parent plant once it has fruited, you can also grow a pineapple just by putting the cut off top of an ordinary pineapple in the ground like the one Kerriann grew at Ron's house.



We found the pig enclosure where enormous snouts pushed their ways upwards to be stroked.




Some of the pigs were out in the cooling mud and looked very pleased with themselves as they lay caked in the grey mixture.





There were flowers everywhere.





Berries clung to the branches,





tiny blossoms bloomed upon stems.





We walked through the heat of the day,






taking more and more photos of our surroundings.





We found fruit trees,





ancient Maraes, the old places of worship used for so long on these Island





and everywhere we turned more and more incredible local flowers fill our eyes





Up at the lookout point we joined up with some other people to discovered the dramatic view so often portrayed in the brochures.





Both bays on the northern shore can be seen from this point.





The ring that was once the crater wall stretched out all around us.




Many many years ago, the entire northern side of the volcano sank into the sea allowing the water to flood in and form the two bays. 100 miles away this land tilt was balanced by the raising out of the sea of a coral atol. The island as it ihas since become due to its size, rises a straight 100m out of the sea, its coral drop off now its cliffs, its beach now its plateaux.



A large cruise ship lay anchored in Cooks Bay, tiny from this distance yet still impressive in the small bay.



In Opunahou Bay the surf was pushed upon the reef, the differentiated blues marking the different depths.



The beat of the waves could not be heard from here as the birds and insects orchestrated the forest with their own symphony but as we stood looking out to sea we remembered vividly the sound of those waves as they were relentlessly driven ashore. They had become a reassuring back beat to the nights stillness, the light sound of our small delicate waves that brushed across the beach, backed with the heavy timpani beat of these powerful surges were the sounds we slept to every night.


Behind us the gigantic cliffs of sheer rock cut their way our of the undergrowth,



while all around our eyes were met by greenery and statues of such size and grandeur.




Trees that I had never seen before stood proud and tall,



the Shark Tooth Mountain, so named because of it shape and so dominant from our normal view down by the house, became part of the huge circle of volcanic rock laid down so many years ago.



With great reluctance the cameras were eventually stowed and we drove down the mountain to the small supermarket on the far side of Ophunahu bay.




From here Lisa was able to take photographs of the house from a whole new angle,



we laughed that it would possibly be just as quick to swim across as it was to drive!




Fully laden with our supplies of water, bread and fruit we returned to the house.




Upon our return, Kerriann pointed out a lump that had been steadily growing over the
last two days on Rascals side.

If it was still growing by morning she wanted to take her to the vet for a check. Rascals also had a nasty rash spreading over her tummy and legs that needed checking. Ron had agreed to lend her his van to drive her over and so it was with slight agitation that we retired to the decking for the afternoon.