Oops its been 2 months

Oops its been two months since my last post. I’d like to says I’ve been too busy to write but that would be a lie.  While we were very busy over the Christmas and New Year season with our Canadian family visiting, since they all left its been a bit slower paced.  Here’s a quick synopsis of the last 2 months (sorry that there aren’t many pictures but I lost my iphone which was my camera):

January: After celebrating New Year’s Day with friends Anna and Bob from Bua and two of their friends from Savusavu, Siana, Marc, Kinesi, Arthur and I reconnected with Ateca and Brendan in Savusavu. We enjoyed a day of snorkeling and had an absolutely fabulous dinner at the Surf and Turf Restaurant. Ateca and Brendan said goodbye to us in Savusavu before heading to Sigatoka and eventually back to Canada. We rented a twin cab pickup truck and drove back home taking the short coastal route from Savusavu to Wainunu not wanting to spend a full day on the bus. The weather had been very wet in December but we’d been told the road was ok, which it was until we encountered a flooded bridge. Rather than turn around and go back, Arthur started clearing debris blocking the flow of water under the bridge. With the help of a few other men they had the bridge cleared and after half an hour the water level had dropped to the point we could cross safely and carry on home. Siana and Marc stayed with us until mid January before heading off for 2 weeks in New Zealand. Kinesi was able to stay until February and we put her to work helping with unpacking storage bins from the sea can and weeding Cassava. Unfortunately for her and me, we were stung by hornets while weeding the cassava, very painful but at least neither of us had an allergic reaction.

February: Just about the time that Kinesi left for the Yasawas in early February, the weather changed and we had about 3 weeks of solid rain.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much rain and that’s from someone that grew up in Vancouver. At least with the new house we had plenty of dry space to escape from the rain.  As well with the two 5000l storage tanks we have no shortage of water. We’ve taken time off working on the house and focused on the farm instead. Our chickens were being attacked by mongoose so Arthur set some traps. We’ve successfully cleared the chicken pen of mongoose so the chickens are happier now.  We’re planning to build a more secure chicken coop once the wet season is over.  Arthur also set 17 traps for wild pigs and has already caught 3 pigs.  There’s a herd of about 30 wild pigs in the area that are getting into local farmers’ plantations.  So far they have not damaged any of our crops.

The biggest change for us is the hiring of a farm manager.  We’ve hired Arthur’s nephew Charlie.  Charlie, his wife Rayapi, and their 2 girls have moved to Mudrenicagi.  Right now they will be living with Arthur in the big house but the plans are for them to live in the small house that we were living in. Charlie will be a huge help to Arthur on the farm and we’re excited to have them join us.

Looking forward into March, Arthur is getting ready to start harvesting the cassava and the taro and we are hosting a Basic Bee Keeping Certification training program sponsored by the Agriculture Dept for about 25 local farmers on March 7th and 8th.

Right now I’m sitting under a Bure at the Bamboo Backpacker’s Hostel in Nadi waiting for my flight back to Canada. I will be spending about 6 weeks in Canada visiting my parents in Vancouver, Thomas in Victoria, and the girls in Whitehorse. Looking forward to seeing family and friends!