We slept in the Blue Duck lodge. Beautiful linen, bathroom and kitchen. Large table with bench seats etc. Just the bomb!! Outside large deck and a big lawn to lax out on. Wendy had told us about a beach by the river that was down a challenging pathway so Mika decided to tackle it and I followed in my pajamas very soon after. On my way down I heard some goats and thought very little of it. A few ropes and ladders later I made it in my muddy pj's down to where Mika was. He had come upon three wild goats on the other side of the river and watched them disappear into the bush. Beautiful.
We had a bitsa of a breakfast and then the boys went to walk into Blue Duck central as a way to fill the morning. Ruby made some magnificant domino towers and back to bed for a while. Dan turned up to give us the information we needed to fill the gaps and we made some plans for the days ahead with his help. That was the last we saw of Dan as he was out of the valley for a family wedding. Matthew and I did some work done on photos and text and then we headed off to catch up with the boys. Unbeknown to us they had hitched a ride (after a quiet word from Dan) with Noel the builder. They had been at central for a while playing with the dogs and chatting to the people. Another lunch at the cafe and then back to the Lodge for a rest. Matthew and Ethan crashed for a while. Mika, Ruby and I chatted, played and caught up on some mending (so domesticated). Wendy showed us through the old homestead that is currently being restored. Alot of history in this part of the world.
We had been invited to join some crazy people for dinner. They were doing their own version of the coast to coast and finished a kayak section at Blue Duck. So we arrived early and took some photos and collected a recipe for the goat stew that is to appear in the book, and that we had for dinner. Very tasty.
I can't say enough about the hospitality, knowledge and passion of Dan and the Blue Duck team. We had an amazing time and all the kids are planning on returning to work when they are old enough. I am hoping to return for a visit sooner than that. Plans are afoot.
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