Ye New Stone Wall

When life gives you lemons, make G&Ts with a lemon twist. When the sea surge dumps rocks in your garden, build a sea wall to protect your home from the next high tide. Ok, maybe 'seawall' is overstating the matter. It's a border a best.


BTW it turned out that a Red Ant colony had been planning on making their new home under some of the rocks and they weren’t too happy to be moved on. Ouchie!

Ye Olde Stone Wall

Pictured: Stone wall bordering the local Chief’s Palace, that I walk past on my way to work.
Click picture to view at a larger size.

Coconut Tide Line

The seas have returned to normal and we are left with the mess to clean up. The high tides swept coconuts, debris, sand and rocks on to our lawn, including several sizeable chunks of coral.

Immigration The Saga continue

Well my work permit has been approved and paid for and today my passport was returned safely. Only thing is I discovered the passport hasn’t actually been stamped with my new worker status… sigh. I must face my nemesis, the staircase, once more.

High Tide

Well the tropical depression has now passed us by and did not develop into a cyclone. But the seas are still fierce, and quite a bit of damage occurred to the wharf around Trader Jack’s at last night’s high tide. At our place the sea has reshaped the beach and managed to sweep up on to the fringes of our lawn.
Pictured: 7.30 last night. The waves surge over the decks of Trader Jack’s and litter the car park with chunks of concrete and coral.

Batten Down the Hatches

With a tropical depression heading our way, and after the stormy weather last week left one ship straddling the breakwater, all the boats that can have been lifted out of the harbour. Pictured: Chris peers through the window of the glass bottom boat.

It was a dark and Stormy Night

It was quite stormy last night, very windy and for about half an hour the rain was belting down with wind of 30 knots. A reassuring message posted on the TV during Shortland Street (we are still waiting for the killer to be revealed) assured us it was NOT a cyclone, just bad weather.

Bad enough at one stage to strand a ship on the break water in the harbour (pictured below), and to rip the roof off one of our neighbour's home, and to knock over the Christmas Nativity outside the Catholic church. Baby Jesus last seen heading south-west.

Permitted

Just heard yesterday that my work permit has been permitted, so I am now an official member of the CI news team. No, not as a journo, I'm the Graphics Assistant. That means creating the supermarket and other shops ad layouts etc.

A Picture is Equal a 1000 words

Current Events

Cook Islands flag at half-mast outside the courthouse after Sir Ed’s passing is announced earlier this week.

Harvest

Everywhere I look around the island there are pawpaw trees laden with fruit. Except in our garden. We have five trees and a few months back one tree finally managed to squeeze out a fruit. I’ve been watching that pawpaw’s growth like a vegetarian hawk. Watching it grow. Watching it stubbornly remain green, week after week. But at last it turned yellow, signalling the time of harvest was at hand…

Ideas are welcomed for what we should now do with it. Eat it raw? Blend it with crushed ice and vodka? Maybe bake it with brown sugar and serve it with ice-cream?

Aitutaki Day Tour

Our New Year’s day adventure – the Aitutaki Day Tour - went without a hitch. We had a great time cruising the beautiful giant lagoon that encompasses the cluster of Aitutaki islands. Chris saw Eagles rays and a sea turtle and, while he was snorkelling, a unicorn fish. As for me, I finally had an excuse to wear a cowboy hat.