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......

Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get!..

This weekend - all work suspended until conditions improve......

Rainy season has truly set in and this is the second biggish frontal system that we have had so far ..

Started with a huge downpour yesterday...everything was drenched in minutes ...

and the other  islands in the distance  were hidden under thick dark blue clouds....

Top Ten Reasons Cyclone Season is Like Christmas
10. Decorating the house (boarding up windows).
9. Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season (camping gear, flashlights).
8. Last minute shopping in crowded stores.
7. Regular TV shows pre-empted for "specials".
6. Family coming to stay with you.
5. Family and friends from out-of-state calling.
4. Buying food you don't normally buy ... and in large quantities.
3. Days off from work.
2. Candles.
1 And the number one reason Cyclone Season is like Christmas...At some point you know you're going to have a tree in your house!.....

                             

Have a good weekend....
  


              

happily working along...

We have been happily slashing along the last few days......

but i must say -  it feels as if the grass and brush are in kahoots....

 having midnight meetings,  planning and plotting on how to grow faster and more profusely every day....

Claude regularly has to stop and clean out the blocked vents in order to give the poor tractor some air...

 Claude in his African Watersport T-Shirt....but this is a far cry from scuba diving on the Aliwal Shoal!

He starts every day with a happy smile......

                                                                         and by lunch time.......

I get to do the easy parts.....

but still have to master some of the double brake pedals...

      

The high grass is interspersed with Ber trees and smaller shrubs....

the tractor disappearing behind the tall grass and brush....

                                                        Until Dusk......

But at the end of the day we are happy and content....

oops....

Had an unfortunate oops in the field today .....

D- E - F - l - a- t - e - d      tyres......

now please bear in mind that this is in the field...

about 3km from the closest garage...which does not have air (this is Fiji)....

so what did we do?

a friend in need is a friend in deed -

Tony from Subsurface Fiji, a local diving/watersport company , came to our rescue with a scuba tank full of air and we had the tyres up in a few minutes....

  Thank you Tony !

Shopping ......

So today was the day for shopping....

BUT  ...........

not the normal girlie-stuff shopping..........

BUT...............

we are shopping for a ...tractor  !

This is a 1882 Harrison tractor and it is in excellent condition...

compared to some of the tractors we saw today....

Some were under trees..........

some were parked on a hill....(say no more)

most had broken seats......

                                                                       no gauges........

there were red ones....and green ones ...and blue ones....

now I know they were Ford's....Massey Fergusons..... Johns Deeres........

Claude did tests................and more.........and even more................

I watched planes .....

                                          and kids........ 

and chickens.........

and animals........

i was good...i never complained once.......

                                                                  
and then......................

it was loading time..........................

Claude gave me the thumbs up and I started to relax........

 Loaded........................

  keys in the hand...and he is happy! .................