January saw us finally enrolling in private French tuition (chosen over the unrefined but mainstream Mauritian Creole,

for obvious transferability reasons) as French is the second most spoken language here. Admittedly, while we still struggle to order even a plain croissant as eloquently as we would like in our adopted dialect, it did come in handy when an electric power pole exploded into flames at 10pm one night, right in front of our house. Yes, you read that right. And this was the scene from our vantage point.

After Jill had sufficiently reassured herself that the apocalypse hadnt in fact arrived 9 months early, she hands down managed to beat all the locals (whod taken to just watching the fiery road-side spectacle instead) to dialling the fire brigade a good 10 minute phone call, comprised mainly of spelling street names and directions out in the French alphabet. Jill was certainly pleased at her ability to recall the French alphabet in such a constructive and purposeful way under such pressure, especially having being subject to the persistent complaining of Rob in weeks prior, that singing the alphabet-song-en-franais in the shower had little other use than irritating him and the next-door neighbours ha! Aside from ciphering emergency services to our street, knowing the basics of French has also allowed Jill to save a few Rupees at the local markets and to scold the next-door neighbours relentlessly barking dogs in a language they understand.

The polite way to eat in Mauritius is with your right hand

February saw us making our second pilgrimage (in the Ford Focus Hatch!) to Ganga Talao for Maha Shivartree in record time. Having already been shown the ropes in 2011, Jill was assigned a dedicated VIP role in the proceedings this year round, participating in the many significant rituals including tray holding, urn tipping, bell ringing and wielding burning incense. Little did Jill & Rob know, that their promotion to VIP status would also allow them an automatic queue jump to first position in line to the after party with a free meal of Briani (served to Rob in double helpings!) at the Bambous Social Welfare Centre all ahead of the 50 or so barefoot devotees who had actually earned their free meal ticket (and appetite!) over their 48 hour pilgrimage to pay homage to Lord Shiva. Also during February, we observed the Tamil celebration of Cavadee for the very first time - which conversely we hope to NEVER be invited to participate in. One of the most unusual religious holidays weve ever witnessed over here, Cavadee involves the most devout Tamil Hindus publically enduring physical pain and discomfort in various incarnations including tongue and cheek piercing (read: spearing), parading the streets in shoes of nails (think: The Addams Family), men willingly pulling decorated carts called Cavadees anchored to a tow-bar of lumbar flesh (think: Ox-cart) and hanging fruits and bells from every imaginable (and unimaginable were told!) crevice of the human body (think: acupuncture). As you can see, various body parts are skewered, with cheeks and tongues clearly the most popular incision point, imposing the equally desired vow of silence for the occasion. A cowboy style bandana tied around the mouth is the pain-free copout and/or child friendly alternative, as long as it is pink. When combining a few of these practices simultaneously, the resulting display could only be classified to be an extreme sport. Enough said.
Shoes of nails, warming up! up!

The colour of the day was pink, in various displays from tie-dyed feet to bandana sealed lips and dancing saris.

March was quite busy work-wise and thus socially low-key with some pool-side home-entertaining.

The table service was a bit too slow for some at Chez Davelaar!

April was all about parties for kids, big and small and lots of them! This month saw Jills Dad receive a surprise 62nd birthday from the welcoming crowd at Rughoo Lane all with an African Jungle themed cake! The merriment continued on throughout the week, with a pool party for 15 or so teens at our house, decorated with the dual themes for the evening - Beach Party & Rockstar. Dancing was the order of the night in various styles from the traditional Mauritian Sega to the groovy Nutbush which Jill shamefully cleared the floor to demonstrate! And they say that it happens in threes with a final party just for the kidlets, wrapping up a week of frivolity. A plate full of iced face biscuit decorating, a splash in the pool followed by an ice cream turned out to be a real winner with them (even without the authentic Arnotts Arrowroot biscuits and an icing mishap which made the texture slightly curdled and discoloured!) When the Whibleys were not partying they were busy horseriding along Flic en Flac Beach, playing golf waterfront at Le Morne, painting the salt fields vista of Tamarin, tea tasting at Bois Cheri and comparing hand-spans of French celebrities (think: Gerard Depardieu)at the Mauritus Glass Gallery as well as some long coastal drives, meals out and a visit to the capital, Port Louis.

May saw us sipping sangrias, riding camel-back through the Sahara Desert and feeling on the top of the world Burj Khalifa style. Beginning with a 6 night Spanish stampede, we visited Madrid, Toledo & Seville; followed by a Hyandai Hatch road trip through the Moroccan desert via Tangier, Fez, the Sahara Desert, Todra Gorge, Skoura & Marrakech, ending with a 48 hour shopping fuelled stopover in Dubai at the Dubai Mall. From camping out in the Sahara & waking to the sunrise over the sand dunes to driving though desert Kasbahs & oasis to the souks of Marrakech, Morocco took the cake (or giant crumpet, rather!) as being the most diverse and beautiful country that we have visited. The word interesting could also be added to that commentary with the pass leather tanning methods (read: man standing in a concoction of natural dying agents & bird poo all day) as well as Jill braving one of the local hammans (read: what happens in the hammam stays in the hammam).

Fez Leather Tannery (very smelly!)

Town of At Benhaddou Lawrence of Arabia turf

Giant Crumpets are sold by the weight Sahara Desert

Spains capital was filled with little surprises from Euro Crisis protesters monopolising the city centre like battery hens, to a Real Madrid football team media appearance on the government balcony overlooking the Puerta del Sol Square (& drawing a much lesser crowd, mind you!), to discovering a Chocolateria that serves cups of melted dark chocolate and Churros. Apart from the exhilarating Flamenco dancing show, the city of Seville was a bit less hectic and crowded and as such it was easy to unwind each evening sharing Paella and a jug of Sangria after a day on foot exploring sights such as the Alcazar, Plaza de Espaa and Parque de Mara Luisa. We also managed a couple of day trips to the country-side of Toledo and Segovia.

Flamenco Dancing Show The protestors were protesting against the Euro Zone Crisis

Real Madrid FC was on the balcony here

Rob Sipping Sangria

View from the tallest building in the world

Dubai Dubai Mall

June saw Rob out to Johannesburg on business and returning to a Euro 2012 Football themed birthday cake decorated by Jill. Euro fever hit Mauritius hard and Jill even managed to win a 1 st prize hamper in a Facebook competition run by the local shopping centre - for guessing the correct score of 1-2 for the Germany v Italy semi-final game and was instantly made a local celebrity (tee-hee!) with the below picture posted on to the shopping centre website.

July saw us both back in London on business. With less than a fortnight to the Olympic games and a good friend an official games volunteer, Jill had free reign of the very best Olympic merchandise taking up the 5th Floor of the John Lewis Oxford St department store (guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year!). To say we lived it up is an understatement with a dinner at Maze Restaurant (by Gordon Ramsay), china tea set and Queens Jubilee souvenir shopping in Harrods (strawberry & champagne jam anyone?) to the designer labels of Bicester Village, and the amazing views over the Thames from the Hilton Skybar after a ferry ride day trip to the Greenwich Markets.

Bunting on Oxford St

The Olympic Rings suspended from Tower Bridge

The Olympic Clock: 12 days, 10 hours, 48 minutes and 6 seconds until the Olympics when this was taken.

Ferry over to Greenwich Markets

Olympic Bunting near Piccadilly Circus

August was a quiet month however, September saw us returing home to Australia for Jills cousins wedding at Gunners Barracks at Mosman over looking Sydney harbour - a welcome opportunity for the Whibley family to dress up and have a few glasses of bubbly! With a well scheduled flight, Jill arrived just in time to open a mountain st of pressies on her 31 birthday (Thanks Mum & Anita!), the first one at home since she was 27. With a very warm welcome home we were stoked to be able to catch up with a lot of family and friends, from a dinner and show at the Davelaars (Thanks Derek, Helen & Colin!) to drinks and a Havelocks gig at the Lass OGowrie and many, many other lovely catch-ups in between. A big thank you to our very special friend Patrick for travelling so far (from Cairns!) to see us and to our other close friends who put us up in their homes, fed us, pampered us and last but not least - drove us around in Lexus and Jaguar style (Thanks Dad & Craig!).

October & November were fairly quiet save for a trio of birthday celebrations which saw Jill commissioned to make an array of birthday party cakes and Rob entertaining a new funky hair style for the enjoyment of the teens in the process!

6th birthday race car track

40th birthday surprise Jardin cake

Rob's new 'do'

Last but not least, December is geared up to be a great month to draw a close to 2012, with a 7 night trip to Capetown in South Africa for the Christmas & New Year break! To all our beloved friends and family where ever in the world you may be, we wish you a happy and healthy 2013 and we look forward to hearing from you or even better a visit from you! Merry Christmas! Love Jill & Rob xoxo