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| Pancakes, syrup and fresh fruit. |
Today's title will become obvious my curious reader, but it is a nod back to the Mersey bands and the great Hollies. Curiously Herman's Hermits also did a version which is a lovey link to our resident hermit crab, Herman.
The day began as the others had, sleeping late and sleep-walking down to breakfast. The excitement for me my discerning reader is what they will do with the eggs. We've had quiche, scrambled eggs and an omelette. Today's surprise was ... wait for it ... pancakes! Winner! And beautifully presented they were too. Pancakes, fresh fruit and tea. A great way to commence the day.
The day began as the others had, sleeping late and sleep-walking down to breakfast. The excitement for me my discerning reader is what they will do with the eggs. We've had quiche, scrambled eggs and an omelette. Today's surprise was ... wait for it ... pancakes! Winner! And beautifully presented they were too. Pancakes, fresh fruit and tea. A great way to commence the day.
The weather was as it has been since we arrived. Around 27°, breezy with cloud moving so quickly that it is generally sunny. And humid. Let's not forget the humidity. The sort of humidity that makes think you need another shower after you exert yourself by putting on your shoes. Not that it is such an issue because the lagoon and the sea breeze are a few steps or an open window away.
Today's activity, according to the resort, is cocktails. I think we can manage that one without too much trouble. It is a tad early though and we have a few things we need to get sorted for the remainder of the week. We set out for one of the local stores to buy our daily 3 litre bottle of water and check out which nights the Night Markets operate. We have a cultural experience tonight, will go to the Night Markets for dinner tomorrow, after the cocktail party and then our final night here is the Polynesian night. All sorted. Oh, and a massage to kill time before we leave for the airport on Thursday.
The snorkelling we did yesterday was just a test case and following the recommendation from another holiday maker, today was going to be more serious. We swapped the reef shoes for fins and headed off to the point of the island to search for the coral outcrops. It took about 30 minutes to negotiate our way there, stopping to adjust goggles and talk about what we were seeing underwater. The number and variety of sea cucumber is amazing. There were also more small reef fish than I noticed previously. But this was nothing compared to variety of sea life that lived in and around the giant coral outcrops. the coral looked like massive pumpkins and there were fish everywhere. Small reef fish, larger fish that would have looked good on my plate, star fish, urchins and a particularly aggressive fish that we would call a leather jacket. A couple of them had a go at me for invading their territory, one swiped past my board shorts, but the bravest one actually bit Jayne on the finger as she trailed her hand behind her. When she turned to see what had happened, he was floating nearby, mouth open, daring her to fight.
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| We snorkelled to the far end and then out toward the reef |
We spent almost an hour and a half snorkelling various parts of the lagoon. We paused on the island for 5 minutes on the return swim to de-wrinkle our fingers. Nearby there were a number of girls in bikinis. White and yellow are always my favourite because they are see through when wet. The other girls were wearing iridescent orange. I was bemused by the fawning boys with the cameras and poses the girls were doing until I realised it was a photo shoot. Excitement over, it was time to head for the other shore and have a swim in the pool to de-sand.
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| Cheers Amie, this one's for you |
That done it was time for lunch and cocktails. Once again Jayne opted for a Piña Colada. However, ever the adventurer, I went for Amie's Mistake. I'm not sure if the mistake was making the cocktail or drinking too many of them, but this is the first cocktail I have had that tasted remotely alcoholic. Believe me, it tasted alcoholic.
Balcony time. The breeze is lovely as we sit and watch the passing parade below and while away the hours until tonight's cultural experience. Relaxing holidays are the best, but despite our best efforts and copious amounts of sunscreen, the sun is taking its toll and these afternoon hours spent in the shade are an absolute necessity. It's also allowing me to catch up on some reading my avid reader. I've made it back to the 1968 Miles Franklin Award winner.
Soon enough it was time to walk down the driveway to the bus stop (you see the link now) and wait in any available shade, or anywhere there was a breeze, for our pick-up to attend the Highland Paradise Cultural Centre Ka'ara Island Night. It was still very warm and there wasn't much shade or breeze and we had a 15 minute window to wait for the ride. He was 10 minutes outside of that, not bad for island time. While we waiting a lady turned up to catch the bus into town. The bus is supposed to arrive at quarter past the hour, today it rolled past at 5:16 and despite the fact that we were standing at the bus stop, it did not slow in its progress and sailed straight past us. The lady in question arrived at 5:20 and was very surprised when we told her that she had missed the bus. She went off in search of alternative transport home rather than wait for the next bus.
Safely inside our bus, the air con was blasting away at temperatures of cold I'd not experienced since Malaysia. It was, however, most welcome. We had a few more guests to pick up along the way and then Willy, our driver, talked to us about the island and the people and crops grown in the area as a taster for what was to come.
It was an interesting and an enjoyable night. There was cultural history and a short walk around the property, including a symbolic offering ceremony in the Marae, the meeting ground for the tribe's government. This was followed by dinner and then a show that traced the history of the people to the present time. The drumming and the dancing was absolutely amazing and it was an excellent way to convey the story. Danny, the MC and a descendant of the King from the early days was a good host and interspersed the history lesson with cheesy jokes. There was also the ritual humiliation of a few guests who were chosen as the leader of different groups, but it was all in good fun (because I was safely seated at my table - wrong demographic anyway, too old and grey).
The meal was interesting. It was buffet style and probably contained food most people would recognise, but there was a twist. The chicken and pork was cooked in the traditional underground oven and there were other traditional dishes as well, taro leaves in coconut milk and raw fish for instance. It was tasty and very filling.
The Highland Cultural Centre is apparently charged with providing these experiences to all the island school students to ensure that their culture is keep alive for all. It is a pity that Australians can't/don't/won't recognise indigenous culture in the same positive way in Australia, but I assume that is part of our cultural background and the fact that the invaders stayed in big numbers and colonised the country.
We were deposited back at our door some time after 10pm, the last stop on our bus group. We had offered for Willy to drop us at the roadside to walk back to the resort but he insisted on taking us to the reception door.
Warning: Political statement following: What I struggled with throughout the night was the role the London Missionary Society (LMS) played in the destruction of the culture that existed before they arrived with their prudish, puritanical concepts of sexuality and the superiority of their god. Seriously, a christian invisible god is better than an islander invisible god? Of course, I've long believed that many of the current world problems can be traced back to England. Let's think Australia still holding onto the monarchy and the near destruction of our indigenous culture; Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales speak for themselves; Israel; parts of Africa, India, Sri Lanka; need I continue? ... colonialism and its white-man superiority supported by christianity has much to answer for in today's world.
Until tomorrow, when I may have calmed down a little
Soon enough it was time to walk down the driveway to the bus stop (you see the link now) and wait in any available shade, or anywhere there was a breeze, for our pick-up to attend the Highland Paradise Cultural Centre Ka'ara Island Night. It was still very warm and there wasn't much shade or breeze and we had a 15 minute window to wait for the ride. He was 10 minutes outside of that, not bad for island time. While we waiting a lady turned up to catch the bus into town. The bus is supposed to arrive at quarter past the hour, today it rolled past at 5:16 and despite the fact that we were standing at the bus stop, it did not slow in its progress and sailed straight past us. The lady in question arrived at 5:20 and was very surprised when we told her that she had missed the bus. She went off in search of alternative transport home rather than wait for the next bus.
Safely inside our bus, the air con was blasting away at temperatures of cold I'd not experienced since Malaysia. It was, however, most welcome. We had a few more guests to pick up along the way and then Willy, our driver, talked to us about the island and the people and crops grown in the area as a taster for what was to come.
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| The view from Highland paradise |
It was an interesting and an enjoyable night. There was cultural history and a short walk around the property, including a symbolic offering ceremony in the Marae, the meeting ground for the tribe's government. This was followed by dinner and then a show that traced the history of the people to the present time. The drumming and the dancing was absolutely amazing and it was an excellent way to convey the story. Danny, the MC and a descendant of the King from the early days was a good host and interspersed the history lesson with cheesy jokes. There was also the ritual humiliation of a few guests who were chosen as the leader of different groups, but it was all in good fun (because I was safely seated at my table - wrong demographic anyway, too old and grey).
The meal was interesting. It was buffet style and probably contained food most people would recognise, but there was a twist. The chicken and pork was cooked in the traditional underground oven and there were other traditional dishes as well, taro leaves in coconut milk and raw fish for instance. It was tasty and very filling.
The Highland Cultural Centre is apparently charged with providing these experiences to all the island school students to ensure that their culture is keep alive for all. It is a pity that Australians can't/don't/won't recognise indigenous culture in the same positive way in Australia, but I assume that is part of our cultural background and the fact that the invaders stayed in big numbers and colonised the country.We were deposited back at our door some time after 10pm, the last stop on our bus group. We had offered for Willy to drop us at the roadside to walk back to the resort but he insisted on taking us to the reception door.
Warning: Political statement following: What I struggled with throughout the night was the role the London Missionary Society (LMS) played in the destruction of the culture that existed before they arrived with their prudish, puritanical concepts of sexuality and the superiority of their god. Seriously, a christian invisible god is better than an islander invisible god? Of course, I've long believed that many of the current world problems can be traced back to England. Let's think Australia still holding onto the monarchy and the near destruction of our indigenous culture; Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales speak for themselves; Israel; parts of Africa, India, Sri Lanka; need I continue? ... colonialism and its white-man superiority supported by christianity has much to answer for in today's world.
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| Fire-twirlers practising their art across the lagoon |
Until tomorrow, when I may have calmed down a little
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