Safe and Sound

Just a quick note to let everyone know Alice and Lynn arrived safe and sound here last night. We spent today just resting at home as it was very HOT. We had a lovely swim in the lagoon and Alice invented a new style of swimming which she calls the Alice Flop.

Cocktail - Pacific Pacifier

This is it! The best ever cocktail. It takes a bit of effort as you need to make the coconut milk but it is definitely worth it. (Canned milk might be ok as a substitute, but I can’t say I’ve tried). To make it I cut up a coconut and placed chunks of the flesh in a blender with some water. Whiz it up and drain off the liquid through a sieve. (Apparently squeezing it through muslin is better but I don’t have any).

Pacific Pacifier:
o Fresh coconut milk
o Banana
o Vanilla essence
o Cocoa powder
o Cherry Bandy Liqueur

Ok, so take two cups of coconut milk, and blend with the banana and 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence and 2 teaspoons of cocoa. Place in freezer until slushy. Blend in 1 tablespoon of cherry brandy. Pour into wine glass and garnish with a sprinkle of toasted coconut. If required these can be left in the fridge for about half and hour before you need them.

You can toast the leftover coconut flesh from making the milk by lightly frying it – without using oil. It can then be used for making coconut ice or Kura’s Rum Slice-recipe to follow at a later date.

Compulsory Viewing

Being a sucker for a photo-op I have been dying to go visit Wigmore’s Waterfall, quote: “Rarotonga’s only public waterfall.”
Easier said than done. Despite being marked on what passes for a map here there are no roadsigns. Fortunately, due to some local directions and a lack of candidate roads we found the correct path first attempt. Unfortunately the mosquitoes had arrived there first.

Holiday Fun

Mum and Alice will be visiting us in a few days. YAY! Here are a few holiday activities I have lined up for them:
- lying in the sun
- hermit crab racing
- walks through the "jungle" past taro patches and rusted-out cars to buy fresh bread from the local bakery.
- cocktails and fresh fruit on the deck in the dappled shade of the gently swaying coconut palms.
- watching the sun set into the Pacific ocean.

Chris has planned:
- plane spotting
- feeding the wild baby chickens
- more plane spotting

Compulsory Fun – Part 2

Well it rained. But still, fun times were had all round. Chris scored a bullseye in the darts challenge and had to climb a tree to find a stuffed toy. Other challenges included canoe paddling, cycling, puzzle making, flag building and drinking Raro’s famous—or is that infamous—“Noni” juice, which is a reported cure-all tonic. It has a fearsome reputation for being vile tasting.

Chris’s team came 2nd overall in the race. They are pictured here building their flagpole.

If that wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend, Chris is currently off on the Marine Research boat having a close up view of the whales.

Compulsory Fun - Part 1

This afternoon after work Chris has to attend a team building exercise. Him and the other 200 or so people that work for CITC. The event is meant to be like the Amazing Race where teams compete in quirky challenges. I get to tag along to take photos, so hopefully I shall have something interesting to report back here.
The weather today, if you can believe it, is actually overcast and drizzling and a “cool” 20 degrees. But that’s probably a good thing as they think the “race” will take 4 to 5 hours & I don’t think I could last just being outside for that long on a normal day let alone imagine how tough it would be for the competitors. We shall see.

Monkey Business

Despite popular belief on what flora and fauna should be found in abundance on a tropical isle, there are no parrots, macaws, parakeets or similar feathery specimens that might be suited to perching on the shoulder of an eye-patched individual other than those painted on murals outside the theme restaurants.

However we have learned there is a monkey. How did we learn? Chris received a prescription for it…er, her.