Termites!

One of the little problems of living in the tropics is that termites (white ants) love timber - ANY timber, ANYwhere unless it has been suitably treated. So, as our visitors start to slow down with the arrival of our rainy season it's time for some annual maintenance.

The three cabins are solidly built with steel frames and Hardiplank cladding but the inside skirtings and door frames are timber and, you guessed it, termites have had a feast in 'Birdwing Bungalow'. Peter has a special termite spray so the ants have been killed and over the past couple of days Eddy, our local handyman, has replaced all the eaten-out timber and I'm now busy with the paintbrush.

The termites had also had a field-day with our timber fencing at the start of the driveway - this is some of the damage they'd done - so yesterday Eddy also replaced all the beams and this morning Peter took the tractor down and we cleared all the debris, plus a good accumulation of weeds and fallen coconuts and fronds and it's looking much better, now just awaiting a coat of paint.