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  Bindi Wildlife Adventures 10: Monkey Mayhem

  ePub ISBN 9781742742960

  Kindle ISBN 9781742742977

  A Random House book

  Published by Random House Australia Pty Ltd

  Level 3, 100 Pacific Highway, North Sydney NSW 2060

  www.randomhouse.com.au

  First published by Random House Australia in 2011

  Copyright © Australia Zoo 2011

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, including internet search engines or retailers, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying (except under the statutory exceptions provisions of the Australian Copyright Act 1968), recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system without the prior written permission of Random House Australia.

  Addresses for companies within the Random House Group can be found at

  www.randomhouse.com.au/offices.

  National Library of Australia

  Cataloguing-in-Publication Entry

  Author: Irwin, Bindi, 1998–

  Title: Monkey Mayhem / Bindi Irwin, Chris Kunz

  ISBN: 978 1 86471 855 3 (pbk.)

  Series: Irwin, Bindi, 1998–Bindi wildlife adventures; 10.

  Target audience: For primary school age

  Other authors/contributors: Kunz, Chris

  Dewey number: A823.4

  Cover photograph © Australia Zoo

  Cover and internal design by Christabella Designs

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Imprint Page

  Dear Diary

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Animal Fact File

  Bindi Books

  Become a Wildlife Warrior!

  The entire Irwin household was quiet. When you live at a zoo, it’s rare to have everything so still. Three humans, two German shepherds and a horse were sleeping soundly. Bindi was dreaming about a cheeky lemur who was holding a bunch of grapes and throwing them at her and Robert. The dream was cut short when she was woken by the phone ringing.

  Bindi slipped on a dressing-gown over her pyjamas and opened her bedroom door. Robert poked his head out of his bedroom at the same time. He was rubbing his eyes and looking grumpy. He’d been right in the middle of a dream where he was wrestling a muttaburrasaurus and he was winning. This phone call had better be important!

  They could hear their mum, Terri, talking in the kitchen. ‘Is there anything I can do to help? … Oh. O-kay. And when would you need us?’

  Robert and Bindi entered the room.

  ‘Just a moment, Susan, the kids have just walked in.’ Terri took the phone away from her ear and spoke to the children. ‘How do you feel about taking an overseas trip, guys?’

  Bindi and Robert were always up for an adventure. ‘Sure, Mum. Where to?’ asked Bindi.

  Terri gave a mysterious smile and returned to her phone call. ‘Well, the kids are keen, Susan. So if you send through an email with all the info we’ll need, the Irwins will be there … as quick as a dancing sifaka.’

  Robert and Bindi looked at each other quizzically. As quick as a dancing sifaka? Was that really a saying?

  ‘Okay, Susan, take care,’ continued Terri. ‘And give my love to Alex.’ She hung up.

  ‘What’s a sifaka?’ asked Robert.

  Terri raised an eyebrow. ‘Perhaps I should have said “As fast as a hunting fossa”?’

  There was a moment’s silence before Bindi squealed. ‘I know where we’re go-ing. I know where we’re go-ing,’ she cried, jumping up and down with excitement.

  Robert looked from his sister to his mother. ‘Fossa? I love the fossa. But they come from MADAGASCAR!’

  A moment later, the two kids were singing, ‘I like to move it, move it. I like to move it, move it,’ as Terri herded them back to their bedrooms.

  ‘Move it back to sleep quickly, kids. Tomorrow’s going to be a big day!’

  The next day was a whirlwind of activity. Flights were booked, bags were packed, plans were changed, passports were found, and Terri explained why, at such short notice, they were all going to Madagascar.

  ‘Susan and Alex are old friends of mine from the US. They’ve recently started up Kily Ecolodge, near one of Madagascar’s rainforests, and they’re expecting a large tour group in four days’ time. It’s their first big group, and it’s really important that the guests are taken care of, because their feedback will lead to more visitors. Unfortunately, Susan’s mum has fallen ill, so my friends have to return to the US immediately.’

  Bindi guessed what was coming next. ‘And they need someone to take care of the place while they’re away?’

  Terri nodded. ‘Exactly.’

  ‘Are we going to have to make the guests’ beds and cook them breakfast?’ Robert asked with a slight frown. He didn’t like the sound of that. He’d been thinking about investigating the bright red tomato frogs and looking for chameleons.

  Terri smiled. ‘No, Robert, there will be staff to help out. But they do want someone to make sure everything runs smoothly with the guests.’

  Bindi nodded. ‘We can definitely do that, Mum. No worries at all.’

  The Irwins flew across seven time zones and the Indian Ocean, stopping on the nearby island of Mauritius before finally landing in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. Bindi had been doing some reading about the country on the long flight, and she’d found out that the Malagasy, the Madagascan people, had very long words for many of their towns and villages. It was all a bit of a mouthful!

  After collecting their luggage, the Irwins, with a bit of gesturing, smiling, map-reading and pointing, jumped in the back of an old battered Citroën and headed off in the direction of the ecolodge.

  The roads were cobbled and very bumpy, and Robert was sure he spent more time in the air, hitting his head on the roof of the car, than he did in his seat. The sky was now completely dark, and the streets weren’t very well lit. Outside the car, they could see shapes and shadows, but not much else.

  Having left the city, they drove for a while along dim, narrow roads. The taxidriver finally pulled into a long driveway, and bounced up a rocky path until he reached the main building. It was deathly quiet. There was one flickering light over the doorway. This wasn’t quite the welcome the Irwins had been expecting! Bindi checked to see they had the right location and the driver pointed to a sign over the doorway that said ‘Kily Ecolodge’. After the taxi had pulled away, the Irwins were left alone in the dark.

  Terri could tell the children were feeling a little downhearted, and she did her best to cheer them up. ‘Well, kids, this is already turning out to be an adventure, isn’t it?’

  They found the front door unlocked and, once the
y’d located some light switches, they were charmed by the ecolodge. It was beautiful. Loads of gorgeously coloured and textured cushions were splayed around some long wooden benches, which surrounded a large rectangular dining table. Everything was made from recycled timber, and the place was cosy yet exotic at the same time. There was still the mystery of where all the staff had disappeared to, but that could wait until they’d had a good night’s sleep.

  Within minutes, the three Irwins were tucked up in their beds. As they were drifting off to sleep, they could hear some very familiar sounds coming from the rainforest. The lemurs were calling out to each other, just like they did back at Australia Zoo.

  A banging at the front door in the early morning startled all three Irwins out of their beds. It took Bindi a moment to remember where she was.

  ‘Bonjour, bonjour. Excusez-moi?’ a strange man’s voice shouted.

  Bindi was pretty sure the visitor was speaking French. She opened the door to find a tall man wearing a suit and sporting a fancy moustache. ‘Bonjour?’ he said with a deep voice.

  ‘G’day, I’m Bindi Irwin.’ She reached out her hand and the man gave it a gentle shake.

  ‘Ah, good day to you too, I am Jermaine Indigo,’ he said, with a heavy French accent.

  Terri and Robert, who had now joined Bindi, were introduced to the Frenchman. Terri asked whether he was looking for a place to stay.

  He chuckled. ‘Non, non. I am the owner of a boutique hotel called the Tropicale Deluxe. You may have heard of it?’

  The Irwins shook their heads.

  With a small frown, he continued. ‘Ah well, never mind. I have recently opened the hotel a small distance from this quaint little ecolodge. When I heard the owners here had organised some friends to look after the place while they were away, I thought I would offer my help to you.’

  ‘Well, that is really kind of you, Mr Indigo,’ smiled Terri.

  ‘Call me Jermaine,’ Mr Indigo replied in his deep voice. He glanced around the lodge. ‘Where are all the staff? I expected them to open the door. I did not expect to wake the Australian visitors.’ He looked apologetically at Terri through his thick black eyelashes.

  Bindi piped up. ‘Well, that’s one thing you might help us with, Mr Indigo. We don’t know. They were meant to be here to help us with the American tourists.’

  ‘Ah yes, your special guests,’ said Mr Indigo, and twirled his moustache.

  Robert frowned. He did not like the way this man was twirling his moustache in front of his mother. ‘Do you know where they’ve gone, Indigo?’ he asked.

  Terri looked at Robert. ‘Mr Indigo, Robert,’ she corrected.

  ‘Hmmm,’ answered Robert, watching the moustache and not liking it one little bit.

  ‘The locals in this area are rather superstitious. They have many customs that mean they can be unreliable. I tend to use French staff at my hotels.’

  Terri looked surprised. ‘Well, from what Susan told me, she is very happy with the staff here. She said they’re wonderful and are teaching her and her husband about the country and its incredible flora and fauna.’

  ‘Interesting,’ Mr Indigo replied with an eyebrow raised. ‘Here is my business card. Please know I would be happy to take your guests to the Tropicale Deluxe if there are any problems here.’

  Terri shook her head. ‘That is very kind, Mr Indigo, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. We’ll go down to the local village and find out what’s happened.’

  ‘Au revoir and good luck!’ He went to give Terri a kiss on both cheeks, but Robert jumped between the adults and waved the Frenchman away, as though he was swatting a pesky fly.

  After a delicious fresh fruit salad for breakfast, the Irwins made their way down a dusty road towards the local village. The group of tourists were scheduled to arrive later that night, and without staff, the family would have quite a job on their hands.

  The local Malagasy people spoke their own dialect and a little French, but no English. While Terri went to talk to some local women, Bindi and Robert attempted to communicate with a small group of Malagasy children, who tried their best to understand what the Irwins were saying.

  One child, who introduced himself as Berriman, nodded as Bindi told them about the ecolodge being empty. He pointed to one of his hands, then pointed to his middle finger and raised it to his face, looking menacing. The other children all shivered with fright, nodding in agreement.

  Bindi knew a bit about lemurs, and the aye-aye, a nocturnal lemur, was known for having a very long middle finger. That must be what the child was trying to show her.

  She nodded at the group of kids. ‘Is there an aye-aye in the village?’ she asked enthusiastically.

  The children all squealed hysterically and ran away.

  Robert turned to his sister. ‘You’re usually beaut at making new friends, B.’

  ‘Not this time,’ Bindi answered, bewildered.

  Terri had no luck with the villagers either, so back at the ecolodge, the family started preparing for the guests’ arrival. Robert had spotted a Parson’s chameleon on the walk home, and was desperate to try to find more of the species Madagascar had to offer. Instead, he was put to work sweeping out the guestrooms. He was not a happy little Wildlife Warrior.

  Terri was busy in the kitchen, trying to work out what she could possibly cook for her visitors when Bindi appeared in the doorway, followed closely by a teenage Malagasy girl.

  ‘Guess what, Mum? Sylvie’s come to help us with the meals for the visitors.’

  Sylvie spoke quietly, in English. ‘I sometimes help with the cooking here when I’m not studying.’

  Terri breathed a sigh of relief. It was one thing to cook for her own kids in her own kitchen. It was quite another thing to cater for twenty guests at an ecolodge in a remote part of Madagascar!

  Sylvie set to work, with Bindi helping out. Sylvie had two large raffia bags filled with fresh vegetables and fruit, and within a few minutes delectable smells were coming from the kitchen. The two girls chatted as they worked.

  ‘Sylvie, when I mentioned the aye-aye, the children in the village ran away,’ said Bindi. ‘Did I say something wrong?’

  Sylvie smiled. ‘Ah no, Bindi, it is not you. It is the children and their parents. Madagascar has a lot of superstitions, and fear of the aye-aye is one of the most common.’

  Bindi was curious. ‘But why be scared of such a cute little creature?’ she asked, genuinely surprised.

  ‘Well, the superstitious elders in our village tell the children that to see an aye-ye is a very bad thing. Spotting an aye-aye means that someone is going to die.’

  ‘How strange!’ said Bindi. ‘Madagascar is an island full of amazing creatures. Why would looking at one particular species mean that someone was going to die?’

  ‘There’s no easy answer to that question, Bindi,’ said Sylvie. ‘Our people have told these stories for generations. Some villagers will even kill an aye-aye if they see one, to avoid bad luck.’

  Bindi was outraged. ‘But that is so unfair! Isn’t the aye-aye endangered?’

  Sylvie nodded. ‘Yes, but it is very hard to police these things. There have been rumours of aye-aye sightings near the ecolodge, which is perhaps the reason why the staff have left.’

  ‘Why aren’t you scared of being here?’ asked Bindi.

  ‘My parents love the wildlife of Madagascar, and have brought their children up to respect nature and the land, and to question old superstitions that will harm the island’s creatures,’ answered Sylvie.

  Terri flew into the kitchen. ‘Okay, guys, we need to go and pick up our guests from the airport. I’ll take the lodge minibus, and I’m sure I can handle the drive to the airport. How hard can it be?’ she asked confidently.

  Sylvie raised an eyebrow, gave a gentle smile but said nothing.

  Three quarters of an hour later, Terri, Bindi and Robert were stuck in the minibus, only a few kilometres from the ecolodge. They were most definitely not moving. The scenery was beautif
ul, but that wasn’t what was keeping them from travelling further. A wayward herd of zebu – humped cattle – were strolling across the main road without a care in the world.

  Robert and Bindi were feeling way more anxious than the cattle. ‘How long are those zebu going to take, Mum?’ asked Bindi. ‘We’ll be late to pick up the guests!’

  Terri grumbled. ‘I know,’ she replied. ‘I wasn’t expecting zebu traffic congestion along the way!’

  At last the cattle moved and the rest of the journey was super fast and bumpy as Terri raced towards the regional airport. After she swung the minibus into a parking space, Bindi and Robert jumped out with their placard, which read ‘GUESTS FOR KILY ECOLODGE’, and sprinted towards the arrivals gate.

  When they reached the waiting area, they found Mr Indigo, the Frenchman, corralling a large crowd of American tourists. Neither Robert nor Bindi was pleased to see him there.

  Bindi approached the guests. ‘Are you the tour group for Kily Ecolodge?’

  A few of the tourists nodded but, before anybody could speak, Mr Indigo interrupted. ‘Aha. It’s the Australian girl and her little brother.’ He didn’t look particularly pleased to see them either. He was one of those people who could smile with their mouths but not with their eyes.

  ‘Hello, Mr Indigo,’ said Bindi, politely. ‘What a surprise to find you here.’

  ‘I had a meeting about a freight delivery, and I chanced upon the arrivals hall at the very minute these weary American guests came through the gate. I thought I could offer my services.’

  Terri arrived. ‘So sorry to keep you waiting, folks,’ she said to the tour group. ‘My name’s Terri and, believe it or not, we were stymied by a herd of zebu. You’ll soon find out what an amazing array of wildlife there is to see in Madagascar. If you’d just like to grab your luggage and follow me and my kids out to the car.’