Days are flying by and each brings small victories and new setbacks.

Success with the shore power. The electrician was on site and I managed to collar him to look at the supply from the marina. Turned out that an extension lead I had found in a locker in order to reach the shore socket had been wired badly and was sending 220V through the earth wire. Easy fix  but annoying mistake-I am claiming not by me as the lead had never been required before. However I should have checked the obvious before giving up and seeking professional help.

New house batteries fitted- most of the 12V fittings are working inside. Climbed the mast and found the mast/navigation light fitting completely blown off along with the radio antenna. How the strike didn’t fry the wiring in the boat is a mystery. I have brought a new mast light out but didn’t bring an antenna- could be tricky to find one here.

Started to look at the engine today and after burning a wire (which remains unexplained) and changing the fuel filter it started 1^st time. Hooray- but then put it in gear and snapped the gear lever in half. It is an aluminium casting that has gone rotten. Might get away with a tube fitted over the stub of the lever.

Two ladies from the village came and cleaned the inside of the boat on Diana’s insistence as we were working in a mold farm. Took 2 days but for a few hours it looked cleaner than ever before. I have now spoilt the effect by spreading tools and wires and bits and bobs over most surfaces.

I hired a scooter and took a trip into Mataram (capital of Lombok) to see what parts if any I could find locally. Nothing very useful in the hardware superstore unfortunately.  

We used the scooter in the afternoon to visit the Lombok Wildlife Park which had been recommended and is just a 15 minute ride from the Marina.   

We opted for Orangutang experience with High Tea. The park is compact in comparison with  Banham Zoo but offers a memorable interactive walk round – meeting the 2 Sumatran elephants, being pulled about by a young Orangutang, draped with a python and pecked by cockatoos and toucans.

We were told that the animals are mostly rescued from private collections.

The high tea was also wonderful-a three tier birdcage of delicacies and fancies.

We had the park to ourselves – they must be desperate for visitors to return but no sign of desperation- all very friendly and relaxed.