december 2011

December is traditionally the time when we take Prrrfection  ( read about our travels here.... )
 and  anchor out for at least  a week of fun and sun....this year we decided to rather work on the land.
Rain has also been forecasted for this period and it was an easy choice to make to rather spend the time on our own beach this year ...

 

We are still clearing the bush on the land , but used a few days to mark out borders, servitudes, etc...

This was a job easier said than done...

It felt as if all the boundaries and point of references we had to get to , were in the uncleared and bushy areas!

Picnics were a great distraction.....

Amigo is very happy to be spending 24/7 with his family....and on the beach and in the sand!

The beauty and tranquility of Naciriyawa made for special moments and bonding times...

I must confess...we spent as much time in the water as on land....

We had a  good time ending the year and awaiting a  year hopefully better for all.  Welcome to 2012....

All the best for 2012 !

fixing the oOPs !

Remember the OOPS?
the oops story...

 Claude started to patch together all the small broken pieces that he managed to find..... It was  a painstakingly   s - l - o - w   process....he had to wait for certain pieces to dry/cure before being able to move on to the next piece whilst  re-moulding the missing pieces...

 Starting to look a bit better and the new Bullbar/Crash bar is also starting to come along....

 Welding new iron beams to the front of the tractor..it will also act as front stabilizer weights

Bosse adding primer to the new crashbar...

Some more touch-ups....

Undercoat.....

Thumbs up!

 from our workshop back to the farm...

back to the field....

Horses going home....

Today we are taking our horses back home.
It has been a few days since Claude found them after they had been stolen.
read about it  here..
They stayed in the mountains with a friendly farmer for a few days to recover after their gruelling and tiring journey through bush and fields with the thieves. 

Fiji is a beautiful mountainous country with lots of sugarcane farms and forests.

Besides sugarcane, which is the main crop, there are large pineapple farms, cash crops and chicken farms in the area.

Mangoes were not fruiting well this year, unlike last year, but the trees gave as splendid a display as ever.

Annual rainfall is between 2500 - 6000mm per year, the rivers are full and the vegetation is lush and green.

It is pineapple time!

Ronelle passing a wedding procession along the way.

We walked our horses most of the way because they got spooked by passers-by in cars and buses who thought it a friendly gesture to wave and shout or hoot in greeting !  We also felt that they might not have recovered fully in just 2 days. 

The sugarcane tracks meander through  villages and houses.  Ronelle found the tracks  a safer option and less stressful to follow.

Our route home leads Claude  through the beautiful Vitogo Parade, one of the palm lined avenues of Lautoka City.

Strutting right through town with the horses.

Another beautiful street in Lautoka.

 My baby heading home, smiling as ever!

Finally  HOME !!!!!!

Bosse and Maria, the kids,  the dogs....all were happy and welcomed the horses home.

I must clarify - home for now is where they have been living for 4 years...at our work place Worx Fiji Limited.  When the farm is cleared sufficiently and water has been layed on, they will be relocated to their proper home - Naciriyawa Farm.
                                                          Hopefully pretty soon.

the saga with the missing horses....

This is Roza...my pride and joy

and this is Sera  ...

we keep them at our work place while we are developing the farm and getting the land ready for animals....

but

somebody decided that they like them as well.........

and one morning they were gone......

We searched for them in all the usual spots they go to when they go walkabout....

the river

the picnic spot...with ripe mangoes

but NO, they were not there......

and then after searching for them  in all their adventure spots....we realised that they must have been stolen...

So I  printed these flyers on my printer and Claude took to  the streets and back roads.....

With him was an officer of the Fiji Police and Bosse, our Fijian right hand man and his nephew Amanea.... and did they search....,
                     following up on every lead from the villagers or locals...
and then they started to pick up a trail....more and more people saw the thieves with our horses.....

Whilst searching for our stolen horses, Claude got to see the interior of Fiji ...

                                beautiful rolling hills,

covered with lush vegetation and trees....

picturesque farms......

 Crossroads.....and any one of them could lead to the trail of the horses.....or not!

if he wasn't so intend on finding the horses, he probably would have enjoyed the scenery more.



The sun was just about to set and the odometer stood on 80 kilometers done....when Claude asked a little boy if he had seen the horses (showing him the flyer with pictures) and viola!!!..
                              the little boy did indeed see the guys on our horses and showed the road they took  -   a small road that Claude was about to miss.....

                      minutes later  Claude and the gang  found them....still riding our horses towards their final destination ,  only a few meters away.

Sera , the pregnant mare, was beyond exhaustion and immediately went to lie down in the grass..... 
Claude sat in the long grass with her , massaging her legs and muscles for hours until she managed to stand up.
Roza was as tired , but at least able to stand.

The thieves?  Well, two school boys....believe or not.  They took the horses to go to an uncle in the mountains, who happens to be a cattle/goat  merchant (aka thief...)
They are being charged and are in custody....

A big thanks to officer Saliceni and Fiji Police for their willingness to help and apprehend the perputrators and every villager/ farmer along the way who helped with information and advice, not forgetting Bosse and Amanea.

                                               Officer Saliceni of Fiji Police

The horses are still in the mountains with a friendly farmer .  We could not ride or walk them back - we thought they need to rest for a few days.  The vote is still out whether we should get a truck to load them onto to bring them back (no horse trailer/transporters here in Fiji) , or simply slowly walk/ride them back...It is about 15 km by road.

Bringing them home is going to be another adventure for another day......

the Case with the jumping tree....

Claude is NOT a happy chappy today......

The brush is so thick and he just could not see the tree......