The Music (Torture) of the Night!

We have been requested to share our immense experience of the Auki nocturnal sounds. The first notes begin between 6:10 to 6:20 pm when on mass the cricket’s reverberation fill the night. This becomes the string section that the frogs and bats join in creating a peaceful tropical melody continuing till dawn. The brass section intrudes onto this in the roar of vehicle engines; the length and time of these appear random, one evening the sounds of a car outside our bedroom window trying to negotiate the clay slope started at 3 am continuing for 30 mins (until he slide sideways and got stuck). As for the roosters, I can’t fathom how starting at 3am will help their cause!

The woodwind: sounds of movies from our neighbours (great for movie trivia) at reasonable hours of the night, or an accompanied ghetto-blaster at unreasonable hours of the morning pumping out Shania Twain or the latest Solomon hits which include a Danish boy-band style song that coons the profound words “I am not an actor or a star, I do not even have a car . . .” (add two further lines of the same quality and repeat song 10 times!)

Percussion section: Depending on the weather, a gentle fall of water maybe heard with the heavier dropping of overflowing guttering and tanks or if a storm the pounding of rain with the crash and rumble of thunder and lightening. The fridge and water pump sound intermittingly.

Solo performances come in a variety of forms –bamboo and kerosene explosions (like fireworks), raging parties with 80’s style music, to the running of feet and screaming of a women in distress (luckily the neighbours came to her rescue).

However this is just the accompaniment, for the true performers are the neighbouring dogs (3 dogs belonging to neighbours above, 5 strays staking out the house under our bedroom window plus the many others whom they attract). Like prima donnas they via to out yowl each other. Each with their own form of vibrato, Rob can recognise each by howl. Not content with serenading us (our bedroom window provides the surround sound experience!) they often extend their audience to the rest of the region by setting off the dogs in the neighbouring areas – the ‘Solomon Wave’.

These nocturnal performances have resulted in 2-3 hours sleep per night which we endured for 5 weeks. However due to the impact on our ability to function, drastic measures were taken. Resulting in our plans to abandon our wannabe opera singers and move house! Countdown is on with moving day 5 January 2008! Yaay Sleep!!!! P.s. did I mention we are wearing ear plugs, and close the windows during all this?
Happy Dreams and a very Merry Christmas! Lara & Rob (& Steve & Kel)

The stock rock pile used to scatter the dogs who gather at the house below each night!