The week is going faster now and soon our holiday will be over. Days 14, 15 &16 Tuesday 12th This morning at 8.15am we headed for the "Bali Hai" tours office and departure zone in Benoa, for the Bali Hai II and Ocean Raft. We had organized the Beach Island Crruise to Nusa Lombongan island as shar^kie had never been there, although he had been ocean rafting. Once on board this 3 story boat/ship we had coffee,orange juice and cakes before departing for the island. The trip takes 50 mins and it was a smooth sunny journey over. We arrived at the floating pontoon just off the island which houses a waterslide, underwater observation windows, sundecks and a watering hole ( Bar ) before being shuttled on smaller boats to the Hai Tide Huts and island activites. You can partake in banana boat rides, ocean kayaks, surf ski boards, snorkelling, a village tour, glassbottom boat rides, relax with a swim in the pool, massage, parasailing and a ride a partly submersable boat ( submarine ) The advertised cost is US $69 per person, children are cheaper. If you shop around you can always find a place offering a discount. It's a fantastic setup and the beach has clean, clear water. there is almost too much to do in the one day and next time we will stay overnight in one of the Hai Tide Huts Scotty did his first ever snorkelling, and then banana boat and canoe ride with shar^kie. ( see our pics ). We then had lunch and the buffet offered is really nice. Nice salads, satays, fish,chicken, sausages, as well as potatoes and fresh fruit, balinese cakes and little pastries for dessert. Koala ordered a non alcoholic cocktail which Scott drank so another was ordered. Music played through lunch and the whole atmosphere was quite relaxing. The kids had an organised Treasure Hunt after lunch which had the kids searching for clues and then at the end,they all won a small prize and a much needed icypole. He then went on the sub with the other kids and the kid's club director whilst shar^kie and Koala took a walk up the beach. Very pleasant as the water was an incredible green/blue and one of the nicest days we had had so far. We walked up to the Nusa Lemongan Resort and had a quick wander through the gardens. What a fantastic position on the cliff overlooking the bay. The swimming pool blends in at eyelevel with the ocean and the cool sea breezes made it very inviting. With such great setting the Hai Tide Huts and Nusa Lembongan resort would both be lovely places to stay. We walked back and in time for a quick dip before heading back to the pontoon and Bali Hai II for the trip home. As we travelled indoors on the way over, Koala decided to sit outside on the deck where the band was playing for the trip back. It was a bit loud for Scott who joined other kids inside playing cards and generally having fun. What a marvellous finish to the day with music playing,a drink in hand, the sun and seabreeze,and a smooth ride home.Just before we reached Benoa Harbour,Scott and his friends found a great position on top deck and they had the best view of all. Arriving at the dock,the band was playing "Leaving on a Jet Plane"..an obvious reminder for those leaving Bali soon. Everyone seemed sorry the day was over. We arrived back at our hotel in time for a swim and to receive a call from Andy01 and Jan inviting us to dinner at the "Kopi Pot" with Joan and Jim also forumites we had met at the Melbourne bagus lunch. Although a bit tired we agreed and soon Andy01/Jan arrived in a Kijang at our hotel. Taking about 40 mins to get there after battling the peak, mad Kuta / Legian traffic ( We did have a driver ) we met up with Joan and Jim who had already ordered fearing that we were not going to show up. Moving to a larger table and organising 3 seperate bills at our one table, which most restaurants will do for you, shar^kie ordered "pork cordon bleu", koala had "Coq au vin" and the rest ordered fried prawns as a main meal. All the meals were excellent and rinsed down with several bintangs and soda's plus dessert for all (lemon meringue pies, pisang goreng (fried bananas) and banana split) at around 120,000Rp per couple including drinks it's well worth a visit. Scott tired from the day's activities fell asleep on two chairs at table so we decided to call it an evening. Wednesday 13th Waking late, we were soon greated by the "Crackers clan" also from the Forum. ( We had met the sunday before at Sammy and Sussy's and invited them over for bintang and a swim. ) Quickly the kids settled into camp splash while the adults opened our first bintang for the "morning !!!" Hmmm didn't shar^kie just finish doing that last night ? After the kids had fun on the water slide it was the adult's turn and with the large swim ring, we decided to try and set the fastest times down the water slide ( see pics ) Sitting on the oversized swim ring causes less friction between you and the slide, sort of like riding a cusion of air. The quickest times for the day were set by "Cracker and shar^kie" at just on 7 seconds. Soon it was time for lunch and the kids all had deep fried chicken strips and french fries, adults ordered 2 aussie style burgers and a pizza. ( total with the Radisson 50% discount card was 75,000Rp including drinks for the kids.) Mid afternoon the crackers had to leave for another appointment and with kids screaming not wanting to leave camp splash they all piled into one light blue taxi ( It looked a bit like a high school attempt for a world record of how many people you can fit into a Balinese Light Blue taxi and I think they may now hold it at 3 adults ( inc driver ) and 5 kids !!! Well done "Crackers" The afternoon was then taken up with another shopping trip to Denpasar for koala and scotty while sharkie dubbed the vision he had shot. Arriving home at about 6pm koala & scotty had their hands full of new summer clothes and some snorkelling gear for the now addicted Scott. For the third time in a row,Koala had managed to find the same driver to drive her back from Ramanyanas to the hotel. Dinner time was not far away and we decided to go back to "Wayan and friends" in Legian where we had another great meal and relaxed reading the local Bali Advertiser.We found the ad for the fundraiser for "Gloria's Crisis Care Center" at Lovina to be held at the Bali Rock restaurant in Melasti st on the 28th June. Starting at 7.pm the entrance fee is 20,000Rp and for an additional 35,000Rp there is a sumptous BBQ included. Up for auction will be loads of holiday activities including a trips to Lembongan island, white water rafting, bunji jumping, sling shot and more. If you are in Bali on this night we hope you will attend and maybe be sucessful at one of great activities up for auction, while helping a needy cause. We wish Zontius and Gloria all the best for the day and although we will be back home when the fund raising night is held, we will be thinking of them. Thursday 14th We walked out the hotel and booked a blue taxi to take us to Uluwatu temple and surf beach where we had a great time watching people trying to avoid the monkeys while they still held food in their hands and pockets. Although we were told the monkeys here can be aggressive we didn't find them that way but we did arrive at about 11am. We didn't carry any food for them and we think they knew that and avoided hounding us although they came close but didn't beg for food. The temple is set high on top of some impressive cliffs and after walking around for a while we relaxed with a cool drink. The sellers had walked up the slopes with 2 esky's on their heads for 3 Kms and we didn't mind paying the 5,000Rp each for the privilege of enjoying a cool drink while taking in the breathtaking views. Scotty also did his best at bargaining 2 coral necklaces from them and did well standing his ground at 25,000Rp for the two , both party's were happy with the outcome. They were probably a lot cheaper elsewhere but it was Scott's first attempt at bargaining and he did a great job considering they were crying bankrupt when he refused to go higher than 25,000rp. There are also some brilliantly coloured butterflys through the track to the top including brilliant emerald and orange ones. Worth it just for them to flutter around you. Walking back to the taxi which we had waiting for us we then headed to the surf beach on the other side of Uluwatu. Here you have to walk down very steep steps before arriving at the surf restaurants and launching place for the surfers. As it was high tide we couldn't take scotty onto the beach as you have to walk further from here down a part of the cliff before arriving at a well eroded section of cliff and onto the beach which there wasn't much of due to the high tide. We relaxed again with a cool drink and watched the talents of the surfers as they rode the 10ft+ waves. Even if you don't surf it's well worth the trek. Back to the taxi ( still waiting ) and back to the hotel for a swim for scotty and koala while shar^kie finished filming. All round trip 130,000Rp Not bad for almost 4 hours in a taxi with the meter running. Our driver spoke excellent English which also made it an informative trip as he was happy to chat with us. Invited out for dinner by friends in Bali we headed for "Sharkey's" ( No relation ) at Jimbaran Bay. Settling into the tables on the sand ( literally ) we decided to order for the whole table (14 of us) with 3kg of king prawns ( more like baby crays ) several barramundi,calamari,crabs, a snapper,a tuna, green salad and vegetables, rice and baked potato's with chicken and fries for the 5 kids. Enjoying several bintangs, some wine which was brought along and several soft drinks, the total bill shared was around 65,000Rp pp but a big thanks to Melina and Agoes who paid for us !!! Woo Hooo. Warning though.. the restaurant has a lot of tables and gets extremely busy so arrive early or you may be in for a wait. We were amongst the last to arrive here and waited a fairly long time and all the kids understandably got a little toey. Cheers for now Shar^kie koala and scotty