Staying at the Kebun was a reasonably gentle landing for us after the immense changes we had gone through during the previous 12 months. We had supper cooked for us every night, access to WiFi and also one of Adrian’s cars, which made it very easy to get around. The things we were all really suffering adjusting to were the immense heat, and more so the humidity and the mosquitos. 

Each morning just as the sun was starting to make an appearance we were treated to a well rehearsed  cacophony of music from the jungle orchestra. All types of birds and insects welcomed the advent of a new day, and we would take our coffee and walk down to the small jetty and marvel at the serene jungle scene surrounding us:  brightly coloured birds flying into the dense green foliage, a group of otters swimming down the river, mudskippers and tiny fish at the waters edge, and the male fiddler crabs having battles with each other all over the river bank to impress the little females peaking out from their burrows.

It was difficult to know how to structure our days, or not structure them, as this was the essence of what we were getting out of. Homeschooling was done when the time was right, and the kids were very receptive to it. It was amazing to see how much work could be covered in a couple of hours with  one on one teaching. No ambiguity to what the task was and questions were answered immediately, no disruptions from other children,  and any day dreaming was quickly curtailed.

We soon realised that trying to do anything in the sun during the middle of the day was nigh on impossible.The intense humidity would have us sweating instantly and beads of perspiration would literally be falling from our faces and our clothes would be saturated. Showering a few times a day was essential. I made the mistake of going for a run at five in the afternoon, thinking I’d avoided the worst of the day’s heat. Rookie error. I pounded out 5 Kms, but nearly collapsed with heat exhaustion on my return. My heart couldn’t pump blood fast enough to cool my body, and I sat in the shower fully clothed for a good 10 minutes before I could compose myself. Lesson learned.

We took full advantage of having a car, and it was easy to navigate our way around the villages.  Asides from the potholes, driving was easy, and drivers were very courteous, which was a welcome change.

The children finally got to see Orang Utans up close and personal.  It was a lifelong dream for me to show the kids these amazing primates. We hiked to a temple and visited a few other national parks and were in awe of the abundance of  flora and fauna native to this beautiful place. The highlight of our excursions was a tricky hike in the jungle of Kubbah National park. There were no other people along the way and it was hardly the most manicured path. Big slippery tree roots and think foliage had to be negotiated and care was taken with each step to make sure there were no encounters with any untoward creatures or insects.

On arriving at the waterfall we were graced with a scene that would be befitting of Eden; a spectacular waterfall surrounded by rich green jungle vegetation. We stripped to our underwear and refreshed ourselves under the cascading water, after we had to shoo away a water snake, and were then treated to a truly magnificent tropical downpour, which washed away any thoughts of suburbia and truly made us feel alive and at the mercy of mother nature.