Free Monkey Mayhem by Bindi Irwin Page A

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 hespent 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 driverpointed 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 they’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. Everythingwas 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.
    â€˜ 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.
    â€˜G’day, I’m Bindi Irwin.’ She reached out her hand and the man gave it a gentle shake.
    â€˜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 calledthe 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.’
    â€˜Well, that is really kind of you, Mr Indigo,’ smiled Terri.
    â€˜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 expectto 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.’
    â€˜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