Norfolk Island (2017) Diary

15-8-2017 Tuesday                        Norfolk Island Trip
We got a taxi to the international airport and caught our 11am flight to Norfolk Island, about 2 and a quarter hours. Norfolk Island is 8kms long and 5 kms wide so not so big. Everywhere is beautiful and green, even though they don't get a lot of rainfall, and well manicured. When we landed you could see the water not too far away in front of you, so you were glad when the pilot slowed and turned toward the small airport. We had to walk on the tarmac from the plane to the small airport building. It didn't take too long to get our one shared big bag and go through and get our bus transfer to our hotel - the South Pacific Resort Hotel for 7 nights. Our rental car was there waiting for us at the hotel - there's no public transport except for 1 taxi so every tourist just about needs a rental car unless you're happy to walk everywhere or stay put for the duration. We counted about 5 rental car businesses on this tiny island but they must do a good trade. There's 170kms of road on the island for us to explore, some of them quite hilly and winding.

After checking in, which was about 3pm by this stage, we drove to the tourism office for some info and then to the Liquor shop where we could buy our spirits at 30 percent off their normal price, because we were travelers (the old 'duty free'), and enjoyed better prices than at the airport (Dave had heard this and so thought we'd check it out and not buy at the Brisbane airport on the way out). We then bought some nibblies for our room fridge and went back to the hotel.

That evening we had a nice welcome dinner, which was included in our package deal, at the Bounty Lodge down the road. There are no traffic lights at all on the island and not far from our hotel is The Roundabout (quite small and unassuming), so called because it is the only one on the island, and people use it as a landmark e.g. "it's just down the road from The Roundabout, on the way to the airport". This was was quite comical to all of us, who live in a world of many traffic lights and roundabouts.

16-8-2017 Wednesday
This morning Dave went on a charter fishing trip that he'd booked yesterday and really enjoyed it (apart from getting just a touch seasick). Today was going to be the last good day for fishing as the weather was due to change tomorrow, and it certainly did. He said he would've caught about 15 beautiful big sweet lip but he said the only lady on the trip, of about 7 customers, caught the most, about 40! She was just reeling them in one after the other.

They don't put their boats into the water from a boat ramp here - there are cliffs just about all around the island so the fisherman use a derrick (crane-like equipment) to lift their boats off the trailers and swing them down into the sea. The driver and passengers were all in the boat as it was lowered down because it was so windy and this enabled the driver to quickly get away from the pier concrete wall. He then had to carefully drive around a big bunch of rocks in the water before going to the fishing spot. Of course the reverse had to be done when they came back.

I, on the other hand, had a nice quiet morning, late sleep in, got up and had a leisurely breakfast, before making my way down the road to check out the local shops. At 1pm I went on the half day island introductory bus tour while Dave had a nap to recover from his big adventure. For dinner we strolled over to the RSL, across the road from the hotel, and had a nice dinner while listening to old familiar music by 2 musicians.

17-8-2017 Thursday
This morning we did 2 back to back tours "Life as a Convict" and "Pitcairn Pioneers" which gave us some history of the settlement of Norfolk and the movement here by Fletcher, etc, from Pitcairn Island which was too small for them. Our tour spokesman was a born and bred Norfolk Island person and very proud of it. It's a close-knit community, who are very proud of their heritage, descendants from the Mutiny On The Bounty characters like Fletcher Christian (killed in 1793 at the age of 29 on Pitcairn Island in a fight with Tahitians). There are streets and accommodation named after him. They are not proud or happy to be classed as part of Australia, under whose banner (NSW) they now come as of 1 July 2016, and also now under the Medicare and Taxation system. They don't call themselves Australian, just Norfolk people. After realising this, I understood why the newsagent chuckled earlier, when in a conversation, I said I came from the mainland - they don't see Australia as 'their' mainland. They are anti Australia but not anti Australian, which is good because tourism is their main industry and the majority of the tourists are Australians.

We saw some ruins of the jails, convict buildings and housing built with the bricks made here out of the limestone, which did not weather very well over the years. In the afternoon we drove ourselves to see the privately owned Bounty Folk Museum, a 5 room very extensive museum of the island's history, artifacts and memorabilia. We also visited Cockpit Waterfall, which was really a bit of a non-event as it was not very big nor easily seen. At the Cascade Pier there was construction work going on, which was next door to the old Whaling Station, the only remnant left, a big rusty old boiler.

For dinner we invited the 2 couples we met the first night, to share with us, the fish Dave caught yesterday. There was plenty for all of us and the restaurant here at South Pacific Resort, were happy to cook it and provide us with chips and salad for a reasonable price. It was very nice fish.

18-8-2017 Friday
This morning it was a bit windy and threatened to rain but Dave got in some snorkeling at Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay where the rocks provided and bit of shelter. He got some good photos of the fish, coral and plant life. In the afternoon we did some driving and visited the ruins of The Arches ruins of some building with arches similar to the Roman type. Then we drove to the St Barnabas Chapel, a beautiful church with a ceiling built from Norfolk Pine and New Zealand Kauri, in the shape of an upside down boat, and the ends of the pews adorned with pictures made of engraved mother of pearl shell.

We drove to the Moreton Bay Fig Trees area - these are spectacular trees with root systems growing up 2 feet high (2 thirds of a metre) from the ground, like walls or fences. You can sit on them. As you drive around there are cows everywhere, walking all over the roads, and they are free to graze all over the island except in the towns. They are used to vehicles and just stand there while you drive slowly past - they have right of way here. They are privately owned and are tagged - good luck finding them when you want to though! We noticed some cattle are kept on properties with electrified fences. They are kept for meat only though, because to sell the milk government regulations demand it is pasteurised and there is no dairy or pasteurisation facilities on the island (I'm sure there'd be a big underground milk business going on though, among the locals).

We had lunch at a cafe and a sign on the window said "Please don't feed the chickens. They are feral and will stay around and become a nuisance, and make a mess." Well that was a surprise to us. We had seen chickens, male and female, wandering around everywhere and they looked very healthy. We thought they must just go home to roost at the end of the day, but no, the whole island is their home. There must be free range eggs all over the place, and I wonder how many instances there are of people trapping these feral chickens and having free range chicken for dinner(?) We also saw a big load of geese somewhere but not all over the island, like the chickens, but don't know if these are feral too.

We had a cornish pastie for lunch and didn't feel like dinner so just stayed in and had some nibblies.

19-8-2017 Saturday
The sky wasn't so overcast today so after breakfast we drove to Mount Pitt, at an elevation of 320 metres, where there's nearly a full 360 degree view around Norfolk Island. It was very, very windy and it felt like you could be easily blown over so we didn't stay too long but there were tables there and you could have a a nice picnic on a more pleasant day. After that we drove up the west coast of the island and stopped at the lookouts of Puppy's Point, Anson Bay and finally up at close to the very tip of the most western/northern point of the island, Point Howe.

After that we continued across the north to the Captain Cook Lookout and Memorial. From this lookout you could see a mini "12 Apostles", islets jutting up out of the sea, but there were only 5 of them :-
- Moo-oo Stone - named after the moo-oo grass (Cyperus lucidus) that grows on that islet
- Green Pool Stone - so called because of the permanent pool of green water lying halfway up its side
- Cathedral Rock - when viewed from thesea, the soaring, hexagonal basalt columns of this rock apparently
really do inspire reverence
- Bird Rock - the furthest islet named for the many sea birds that use it as a nesting site and
- Elephant Rock - which goes without saying due to its additional telltale structure that looks just like an
elephant trunk placed down into the water

Arriving back in the afternoon we decided to stay inside out of the wind and rest up for the afternoon. At 6pm we drove to Baileys Restaurant for dinner with the same 2 couples from the other night. We learned this evening that the plane from Brisbane scheduled to arrive this afternoon, couldn't land due to the serious winds. The flight apparently came down to the runway but then went back up again. We also heard it then went on to Auckland which is closer than OZ.

20-8-2017 Sunday
A few showers today but overall quite sunny, although still very windy. We heard today that the flight that couldn't land last night, actually returned to Brisbane because some people didn't have passports. From 1 July 2016 passports are not necessary, only a photo ID such as a driver's licence, because the flight is now considered domestic. However you leave from, and return to, the international airport and the normal duty free rules for alcohol, etc, apply. It is recommended however that people do still use passports because if there is a problem you can be re-routed to New Zealand - case in point.

After breakfast we drove to the Sunday arts and crafts markets - including plants, books, CDs, and lots of jewelry. A lot of shops are closed here today, a bit like what we remember at home, many years ago. We did a drive around the south eastern part of the island, the last part of the island left to do. Firstly we went to Ball Bay, a semi-circular bay, where fuel for the island (diesel, petrol and jet fuel) is off loaded and stored in big white concrete containers. After that we continued along Two Chimneys Road and a Reserve of the same name, so called when Pitcairn family settlers, who were given 50 acre tracts of land to work and live on, found ruins of two chimneys, apparently the remains of a Second Colonial (Penal) Settlement police hut. There was a lookout here and there was a BBQ and table and chairs, same as a few of the other lookout we visited.

In the afternoon we walked through the island cemetery built by the sea and is very well kept. The bus driver told us the other day that it doesn't cost for a burial here - everyone pitches in with making the necessary things for the funeral and even if a tourist or non-resident happens to die here, they would be buried here without charge. We saw plenty of headstones with the name Christian as you would expect and the names of the other mutineers. All the headstones in rows, face towards the sea. Next door is a big beautiful golf course which is well patronised. It also borders the sea and I wonder how many balls are lying at the bottom of it. We visited one of the 4 museums here today, the Pier Store Museum. Here, the story of the mutiny onboard the Bounty has been chronicled, debunking some of the falsehoods portrayed in some of the 5 movies made over the years from 1917 to 1984. Some of the actors were Errol Flynn, Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson.

The majority of Norfolk Island residents are descendants of the Mutiny on The Bounty mutineers, the most famous being Fletcher Christian. However Christian did not live on Norfolk (dying in 1793) but his descendants did. The small island of Pitcairn could not support the growing population, and they were relocated to Norfolk in 1856, given to them by Queen Victoria, whom they hold in high regard and still to this day, sing God Save The Queen. They celebrate this arrival day, 8th June, every year as Anniversary Day or Bounty Day, and get dressed up in the dress of the day.

We went to dinner at the popular Jolly Roger Restaurant with the same 2 couples and really enjoyed it. It was all decked out with the pirate theme with the singer (owner) in pirate garb, complete with a bird on his shoulder, albeit it a Rosella parrot. The beer glasses had the shape of a skull. The owner sang and played guitar and was very good.

21-8-2017 Monday
This morning we drove to the Queen Elizabeth Lookout which gave a great view over the golf course, the cemetery and the historic buildings. Nearby we visited Number 10 Quality Row, the address of a house built in 1844 during the height of the Second Settlement. It is set in a beautiful colonial period garden and gives a vivid feel for life for the civil officers in charge of convicts. It has been furnished with restored furniture and artifacts of the time.

Next was the HMS Sirius Museum. Wrecked on the reef here in 1790, the flagship of the First Fleet and her artifacts are displayed together with the story of her loss and recovery, nearly 200 years later. The most impressive sight you encounter when you walk into the room is the very large ship's anchor that just about spans the width of the room. Around it are many other items, cannon balls, heavy metal ballast blocks, and many other bits of the ship and ship's contents, recovered by divers.

We rested in the afternoon until it was time to go to the 5-6pm management free cocktail and nibbles. We then strolled across the road to the RSL with the 2 other couples for our final island dinner - Rita and Jim, Barb and Bob.

22-8-2017 Tuesday                 HOME
After breakfast we packed our bags, put them in the car and drove to the township of Kingston to the last museum, the Commissariat Store. This museum has a large collection of archeological remains found in Kingston, glass beads and pottery from the First Settlement, and whips and leg irons from the cruel Second Settlement. Our convict past is alive here. On the next floor up is a lovely church, and inside it was pleasing to see, both flags of Norfolk Island and the Australian flag were hung up near the altar.

We fuelled up our small Mitsubishi Mirage rental car, used 13 litres in a week and well within our included limit. Fuel was $1.99/litre at one petrol station and at another one a bit further away, for those leaving and returning their rental cars today, special price of $2.50/litre! You know which one we picked. Today it was lovely and sunny and hardly any wind which was quite bad over the last few days, causing the flight late last week to return to Brisbane. At 1pm the bus transferred us all to the airport for our 3.30pm flight home to Brisbane, which luckily, was straightforward and uneventful.