Komodo

And so we travelled from the top of the world in Rakaia to the tropical seas of Indonesia. We have spent the last 8 days in the Komodo region of the island of Flores. We stayed on a liveaboard initially, sleeping below deck by night. We went diving and the children went snorkelling, mostly at the same sites. The seas were quite choppy at times, but this didnt stop us enjoying it. Most mornings we would wake finding Benjamin and Helena at the front of the boat enjoying the roller coaster ride provided by the swell. Helena amazed the crew by her enthusiasm for the big waves, shouting with joy on the dingey rides with big waves. Sophia had her first discover scuba dive for a whole hour and managed to see three turtles and two cuttle fish. The children loved the fish books on board of the boat and were keen fish ID enthusiasts, spotting new fish species or juveniles on every snorkel.

The scenery in Komodo National Park is breathtaking as is the wild life. We have spotted sharks and turtles on just about every dive, and even got to swim with 8 manta rays! One day we went on land to spot the famous Komodo dragons; they are big!

After this we stayed on an island in a bamboo hut and swam with baby black tip reef sharks in the mangrove forests and shallow beaches every day.

Farewell Rakaia

We have left Rakaia with fond memories. We had a lovely farewell meal with Olwyn and Alan, and went for a final day skiing. Sophia, Benjamin and Helena have developed into capable skiers throwing themselves of blue/black slopes with no hesitation and full control. We are very proud of them!

I leave behind a great team of colleagues at the Medical Centre. The children leave behind new friends at the Rakaia School which they attended whilst we lived here.

Our time in Rakaia inspired us to come up with the following - clearly there'll be some adjusting to do when we get back to Cambridge!

Simply Delicious Apple Cake

This cake is the only cake I can bake, so it is fool proof, and delicious. It is a success in Cambridge, was a success in Golden Bay and is taking Rakaia by storm with requests for the recipe! It was originally passed on to us by our friend Lucy, so thank you Lucy   :)

Ingredients:
150 gr butter
2 large eggs
225 gr castor sugar
1/2 to 1 tea spoon vanilla extract
190 gr self raising flour, 35 ground almonds (the more ground almonds the better, reduce flour accordingly)
1.5 level teaspoons baking powder
about 3 apples, peeled, cored and sliced
icing sugar for dusting

Instructions:
1. Heat the oven to 190C
2. Grease a 10inch/25cm loose bottomed cake tin
3. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat until just runny and pour into a large bowl
4. Add the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract and beat until well mixed
5. Mix together the flour, ground almonds and baking powder and sieve this into the mixture, and fold it in.
6. Put about half to 2/3 of the mixture in the cake tin.
7. Add the apple slices and arrange roughly on top
8. Spread the remaining mixture on top of the apples - it is always difficult to get this last bit of mixture smooth but don't worry as the blobs even out during cooking
9. Bake for about 45minutes, until the apple is tender when prodded with a knife or skewer.
10. Remove the cake from the tin, turn it upside down to cool on a rack
11. Dust with icing sugar and serve either when still warm or when cooled. This will keep well in the fridge for a few days.

Our current motto for our last week in New Zealand

Nature

Everywhere (well, almost everywhere) we go in New Zealand, we get the feeling you are in a Nature Reserve.

We stood under a tree enjoying wonderful sounds this Sunday, just a walk, by the river.

Spirals

Rakaia impressions

Some Rakaia pictures. We are loving our time in Rakaia, really because everybody is so friendly. Sophia Benjamin and Helena have really enjoyed going to school here. My colleagues at work are great. And in the weekends we go skiing (if there is no antarctic storm).

I was given this teddy bear. It is totally hand made, by a lady who is a local celebrity. She makes them out of birds eggs, of all sizes. When you open the arms, the egg opens and a kiwi bird is revealed. We will treasure this when we get home.

This is the view from the medical centre looking to the mountains - our play ground. This is a view typical of the Canterbury Plains - the mountains are totally covered in snow from top to bottom and stand out beautifully against the sky. 

Bone Carving in Golden Bay

In Golden Bay we were very fortunate to get to know Chris Bone, the bone carver. He has inspired several generations of current carving artists in New Zealand. We too were inspired by his lessons. We all had several sessions. You can see the beautiful pendants we made using bone and paua shell. We are planning to develop this hobby when we are back in Cambridge. The one in close up below was made by Sophia.

All of us in Chris' work shop