With only a few short
days until our departure, and our supply of post-confit leftover duck fat
running out,
(Do you know what you
can’t cook in duck fat?
Me neither.)
We knew it was no
time to rest on our laurels; we had to get out there and make every minute
count.
After twenty-eight
days of walking past saying “We
should get a picture of those dodos statues”,
We finally got the
shot.
Taz squeezed in a
yoga class on the beach.
“Chaturanga!”
And, at long last, we
tracked down the Red Fody that repeatedly taunted me by strutting around our
patio and then hastily retreating every time I reached for the telephoto lens.
Good thing too,
because I don’t think he would’ve liked what Taz and I had in mind for Plan B.
We’d been meaning to
head back to the Black River Gorge to try out some of the trails,
But most
of the hike descriptions in our Lonely Planet ended with, “…hiking this trail
without a guide is not recommended.”
So, we found a guide.
And off we went.
With only 3km to the
Macchabée View Point, we thought “Sure! Four kids under four and their
accompanying backpacks jammed with water and snack foods, no
problem! Should take about an hour to an hour and a half…”
We failed to take
into consideration the obvious need to climb over/swing from/splash in/pick up every
rock/tree/root/stick/stream that we came across.
Or the fact that the stifling
heat was going to cause half the group to poop out, just as we arrived at the
climb to the summit.
(Which left me to pick up the slack.)
So it was, in all our
sweat and glory, that we ultimately crested the peak a hair less than three
hours later.
A few pieces of cold
pizza, some apple slices and a kilogram of grapes,
Had Ciel and Ilias on their feet and back in the ring.
Taz, on the other hand, was down for the
count.
We staggered into the
car park just as Abedeen was putting in a call for search and rescue.
After one final
gelato lunch/finger painting session on the beach,
(It really is magical
stuff.)
We loaded up our gear
and headed off to meet Martin, Reyhan, Ilias and Timur for a final farewell, at
the only destination left on our 'to do' list.
In light of our
upcoming seven-hour overnight flight, it’s possible that chasing our samplers,
(Blonde, Rosé,
Oktoberfest, IPA, Tripel x2)
With a couple
7% IPA pints and a smorgasbord of extremely spicy, deep-fried, meaty snacks,
(Crispy Parmesan Squid, Lamb Koftas with Mint Purée, Baby Octopus on Savoury Shortbread,
Not shown – Tempura Jalapeños Stuffed with Beef,
Peanut Butter Stuffed Gateaux Piment,
Beef Koftas with Minced Green Chilies)
Was a
little ill-advised. But hey, I'm sure we'll be fine...
See you in
Perth.
