Cleaning up Le Gouffre!

Recently the Reunionese branch of the Surfrider organisation have been organising clean ups of various sites around the island and as a good green family we headed off to take part in one at "Le Gouffre" (the chasm) near Etang Salé.  Le Gouffre is a spectacular area of basalt lava flows by the sea.

Rubbish hunting!

The surfrider crew had set up tent and were already organising the about fifty people who had turned up when we arrived (we were running late having dallied at the beach just up the road in Etang Salé!).   We soon got up to speed though and after a safety briefing about what kind of rubbish not to pick up (the likes of condoms and needles, if you found them call the surfrider team to deal with them) we were issued with gloves and a plastic bag and headed off.

Le Gouffre!

Though the area didn't look overwhelmed by rubbish over the next hour or so we filled our bag with plastic bottles, cans, various plastic odds and ends (wrapping, plates etc.), foil etc.  In a disheartening way it was just more evidence of how much of our waste there is out there :(, and how much effort it will take to overcome the problem!

The setting sun at the end of the day.

New Arrivals - Paquerette & Picorette

So we have two new family members, Paquerette & Picorette, two six week old chicks, arrived last Friday just in time for Easter!  Early last week Aurelie decided that we should have a chicken to supply us with fresh eggs (not unusual here) and thus a saga was begun!

My suggestion that a couple of pallets, some other wood and a plastic tarp that we had lying about the place would, with the addition of some chicken wire, make a perfectly serviceable chicken coop was overruled so after looking around at various options we ended up with a fancy new ready made hen house.  

Initially we had thought of getting a single chick but then thought if we did that and it would be lonely, so we needed to get two (briefly, when Aurelie saw the newborn chicks that were also for sale, it was going to be four but we were told that mixing the older and younger chicks might not be the best idea it went back to two).  So after more looking around to find the place selling the "happiest" chicks, we found the best place we thought we would we return the next day with the kids to buy the chicks once we had everything ready at home, of course when we went the next day all of the chicks had been sold!   Luckily they were due to get more the next day so Aurelie and the kids duly returned to the shop last Friday and picked up two chicks, the aforementioned Paquerette & Picorette.  

Ela and Picorette

Toffee meeting a new family member