Off to Norfolk Island

Off to Norfolk Island

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Jim and I packed our bags and took our leave from the Morgan household early Thursday morning. We had only one thing left to do before we headed to the airport. We made a final stop at Muddings, our favourite bakery, to have scones, jam and cream. It seemed a fitting way to end what has been an amazing three weeks with friends in a community we deeply love.

Having satisfied our palate, we drove to the highway and pointed the car toward the airport. Along the way we chatted about the wonderful experience we had just completed and also about the many things we would have liked to do but had not had time – spent more time at markets, gazed at the southern night sky, eaten in yet another Asian restaurant, spent a day in the Yarra Valley visiting wineries and Yarra Valley Dairy. As busy as we were, we just could not fit everything in. We will simply have to return.

We arrived in good time at the airport and turned in our rental vehicle. We made our way to the check-in counter, passed through security and still had time to spend in the QANTAS lounge before our flight to Sydney. We enjoyed free wifi and an array of food for lunch, included in the lounge membership. It is always a relaxing place to spend time before a flight. Thanks to Jim’s voracious travel, we are fortunate enough to have access to these lounges.

Flight time came and we enjoyed a smooth and short flight to Sydney. The sky was mostly clear along the way and I enjoyed looking down on the Australian landscape that stretched far below. I am always amazed at the variation in colour and texture of the land … everything from rolling agricultural land to craggy mountains to pristine beaches and rugged shorelines. And of course, the Sydney skyline as we approached our destination. I was hoping for a glimpse of the iconic Sydney bridge and the Opera House but it was not to be as we approached the runway from over the Pacific.

We gathered our luggage with ease and travelled by taxi to the Airport Hotel, just outside the airport itself. From the street, the Airport Hotel looks very tired and rundown. I have to admit that I wondered how Jim had chosen this hotel for us. But, once inside, I was pleasantly surprised. The rooms had all been refurbished and were very modern and extremely clean. The service was wonderful and the hotel restaurant was both reasonably priced and served very good food. This was definitely a reminder not to judge a book by its cover.

Best of all, the Airport Hotel provides a service that is difficult to find. Although our luggage was fine for international travel, we needed to store two small cases as we were quite overweight for travel to Norfolk Island, our next destination. The Airport Hotel has a storage area that is available for guests who stay with them for at least one night. Perfect!!

Friday, November 20, 2015

 We made our way to the international terminal at the airport early in the morning and once again, checked in for our flight, stopped at immigration and then proceeded through security.

Norfolk Island has a peculiar relationship with Australia and, for many years, has had significant autonomy over who can travel there. Although it is technically under the auspices of the Australian government, travellers have to leave Australia and enter Norfolk Island. For a variety of reasons that are currently a political hotbed, this system will change on July 1, 2016. Norfolk Island will be more tightly connected to and controlled by the government of Australia from that time on. But our passports will always reflect that we travelled there during the island’s period of pseudo-independence. I love having the Norfolk Island stamp in my passport.

We met our friends, David and Sue Morgan and John and Barbara Hurst, at the gate as we boarded our flight. It was a smooth and beautiful flight, 2 ½ hours in length. The South Pacific glistened far below us as we made our way to Norfolk Island.

As per our arrangement, a bus picked us up at the airport and transported us to our accommodation at Paradise Hotel and Resort. Upon arrival, we met with the manager and enjoyed a welcome cocktail while she finalized arrangements for our rental vehicle, outlined the various facilities that were available and described our program for the next several days. During our days on Norfolk Island, there is a food festival with many activities and special meals. Our itinerary is well defined for the next few days.

Off to our rooms to settle in and then to town to find some lunch. We quickly realized just how small Norfolk Island is and how quaint some of the customs are. Most restaurants seem to serve breakfast and lunch and then close between 2 and 3 o’clock. It was just about 3 when we arrived in town. We went into the ‘mall’ which truly had only six stores. The pharmacy was closed (running an errand, back at 3:30); the bakery was sold out; the butcher shop had some pretty appealing meat; the gift shop was full of tourist trinkets; the café was all but closed and the supermarket was very small with limited products. We ended up having a muffin for lunch and deciding to eat an early dinner.

We drove down the main street (one round-about, no traffic signals) and found two important places – the tourist information office and the liquor store. One provided information and the other provided duty-free spirits. Gin and tonics were in our future ….

We returned to the supermarket to pick up a few things. For the most part we found the things we wanted except for a lemon. Lemons are out of season and no fruits or vegetables can be imported into Norfolk Island ... so we had to make do with no lemon.

When we returned to the hotel and recounted our experience, the manager said she would try to find us a lemon somewhere on the island. She did so by phoning each household that she knew had a lemon tree to see if there was one available. Word spread …. But alas, still no lemon.

This is a good time to say a bit about Norfolk Island. First of all it is very tiny – 5 km by 8 km. Totally surrounded by incredible blue-green South Pacific waters. It verily gleams in the sunshine! The population of Norfolk Island is 1700 people.  Cows have the right of way on the roads. There is one movie theatre, one bowling alley, one mini-golf course, one fire station, one school (300 students), one post office, two banks and 5 police officers … you get the picture.

The history of the island is tied to the development of penal colonies. There were at least three different periods of history when Norfolk Island was determined to be a good site for a penal colony. Its location among other factors certainly made escape a fantasy. Much of the current population has descended from either the prisoners or the prison guards. There is a strong and spirited pride among those people whose families have been here for several generations.

Much of the island is devoted to agricultural pursuits. Almost all food is grown on the island – meat, eggs, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, fish. Families grow their own gardens and preserve or freeze their own food for leaner seasons. Anything that is not available on the island must be imported by ship. A ship arrives about twice a month with products for the supermarket, other stores and businesses, as well as for private individuals – new cars, construction materials, furniture etc. The ships moor about a kilometer offshore and the cargo is tendered in. There is no pier on Norfolk that can accommodate a large vessel.

Tourism is the primary industry on the island. Cafes, restaurants and gift shops abound. Tour operators offer a wide array of historical, cultural, food and sightseeing tours. A broad range of accommodation is available around the island. Norfolk Island has been designated a World Heritage Area because of its unique history and because of its unique vegetation, in particular the Norfolk Pine Tree.

We completed our first day on Norfolk Island with an early dinner at the restaurant at our motel. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was calm and quiet. It was a relaxing and entertaining meal.

Early to bed for all of us.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

We planned to have breakfast at 8 am at the Olive, a local eatery. The food was beautiful and delicious, especially John’s corn fritters. That will be my selection next time although my egg/bacon wrap was very tasty. Norfolk Island restaurants have learned to make cappuccinos that taste every bit as good as mainland Australia. What a great way to start a day.

We moved on from Olive to the weekly farmer’s market in the town centre. This week there were five trucks selling local produce – fresh fish, fresh fruit and vegetables, ham steaks, and assorted baked goods. We selected some foods to create a bbq dinner at our hotel – fresh trumpeter, a meaty whitefish, a sweet potato, beets, lettuce and tomatoes. Jim and I transported the food back to the fridge at our hotel and then met the others for coffee at the Golden Orb.

The Golden Orb café is so named because of the golden orb spiders that live in the gardens around the café. The spiders are very large and so are their webs. A female spider builds an orb-shaped web and lays eggs. When the eggs hatch, the baby spiders build orb-shaped webs attached to the mother’s web. And so the cycle continues. One family web had at least fifty spiders in it, some very large and some very small. These spiders eat only flies so there are very few flies left flying around the island making it pleasant for the rest of us.

Following coffee, we returned to our hotel to prepare for a half day bus tour of Norfolk Island. Remember that the island is only 5 km X 8 km so a half day tour is more than sufficient. The driver, Maxine, a sixth generation islander, provided a commentary that covered the history, geography, vegetation and politics of the island. We visited many beautiful lookouts and travelled along some lovely roadways. Norfolk Island has an extremely varied landscape ranging from rugged cliffs to rolling farmland to historical buildings and sites. The vistas of the sea were breathtaking.

We visited several historical sites as we travelled around the island this afternoon. Norfolk Island was first occupied by Polynesian settlers and then later taken over by Great Britain as part of the Australian colony. Like Tasmania, Norfolk Island became a penal colony for lawbreakers in England and mainland Australia. The first penal colony was established here in 1788 after the American Revolution when Britain ceased sending convicts to the USA.  Primarily the Norfolk Island colony was designed to grow sufficient food to feed the prisoners in the penal colony in Sydney, Australia. The first Norfolk penal colony was abandoned in February 1814 and all the buildings were burned down.

In 1825, a second penal colony was established on Norfolk Island by the British government. It was designed to be a penitentiary for the very bad criminals. It operated until 1854 when Queen Victoria, in response to a plea for help from Pitcairn Island, gave Norfolk Island to the Pitcairn people.  The buildings from the second penal colony still sit on the site by the water. Some have been preserved and some are in ruins. Some of the buildings have been restored and are used as museums.

What made this tour of the island quite fascinating was the insight we gained into local politics and attitudes. Norfolk Island has long been loosely attached to Australia. It uses Australian currency; Australian tax dollars help to support historic buildings; Australian tax dollars support the local economy and the transport of goods to the island; Australian tax dollars support the local school and the police department.

Norfolk Island is accustomed to substantial autonomy though. It has its own flag and post office with stamps. It has its own immigration regulations which require a tourist to technically leave Australia and enter Norfolk Island as a visitor. Norfolk Islanders pay no income or property taxes to Australia in spite of the substantial government financial support. Norfolk Island has had its own democratically elected parliament which operated independently from Australia. Norfolk Island provides duty free shopping to its visitors.

With such a small population, the economy of Norfolk Island was very weak and the Island parliament asked Australia for more assistance. In response, Australia reclaimed Norfolk Island as a colony and dissolved its parliament. On July 1, 2016, Norfolk Island will be redesignated as a town in New South Wales and will lose most, if not all, of its autonomy.

Needless to say, the permanent residents of Norfolk Island have some strong feelings about this outcome. It is not what most of them wanted to have happen. There is much that is as yet unclear. And what is increasingly evident is that Norfolk Islanders will have to pay taxes and that is making them very unhappy.
Our tour guide and bus driver today was very vocal about her opinions and feelings about the government of Australia. She is not happy and is very concerned and frightened about how life will change after July 1, 2016.

For Norfolk Island, the future does remain unclear. There are many points of view about what should/could happen and ultimately it will be up to the Commonwealth Government of Australia to make determinations in the best interest of the islanders but also in the best interest of Australia as a whole. It will be interesting to watch the future unfold for Norfolk … and it will no doubt take a long time before it is all resolved.

Back at our hotel, 3 of our party of 6 jumped into the pool. Maybe, I should more accurately say that we eased ourselves into the chilly water with a chorus of gasps, moans, sighs and squawks. But once in, it was a refreshing way to spend some time.

Soon after, we worked together to prepare and barbeque a wonderful meal of island food for dinner (fresh fish, fresh vegetables, fresh salad, coconut bread and lemon slice).  A nice bottle of Australian red washed it all down. What creativity and ingenuity went into producing this meal. It was delicious!

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Breakfast at the Golden Orb found most of us enjoying bagels with cream cheese and lox along with a delicious coffee. There was a Sunday market just across the street so we meandered over there to look at the crafts and pick up a few things for tonight’s dinner. (We were so happy with the results of last night’s barbeque that we thought we would do it again.) One very happy find was a large lemon, quite bitter to taste, that would enhance our gin and tonics as we edged from afternoon into evening.

Shopping complete, we headed off to church at the Norfolk Island Uniting Church. It was a tiny church with a tiny congregation. There were twenty regular parishioners there and ten visitors. We were all invited to stand and introduce ourselves. By far, Jim and I had travelled the furthest to attend this service.

The service itself was like revisiting the past. The hymns came from a book published in 1933, the bible readings came from the King James Version of the Bible and the sermon was loud and pointed. We have yet to decide whether we will return next Sunday.

After church, under bright sun and blue skies, we headed to Kingston, the historical part of the island where the government buildings and the penal colony ruins are located. We walked out onto the pier. Tide was out and there were many tide pools that had captured fish, sea urchins and crabs. The clear water made it possible to see these creatures clearly even from the deck of the pier.

The shoreline in this area is fairly rugged with rocky cliffs meeting the sea in many places. The sea was a bit rough resulting in some wonderful sprays of water as the waves broke over the rocks and the reef near the shore. We explored some of the penal colony ruins and then headed further along the shoreline to Emily Bay and the golf course.

We had planned to have lunch at the golf course looking out over the water but they do not serve lunch on Sundays. However, they do offer a high tea and so we waited a short while and indulged in that.  Finger sandwiches, savoury morsels of beef and cheese with delicious condiments, scones with jam and cream, delicate cupcakes, and macarons to finish it off.  A cup of tea and a beautiful ocean view made it a wonderful experience.

While the others walked back to our hotel (about 3 km), Jim and I took a drive through a part of the island we had not yet explored. It was a rugged road that climbed high and then plunged back down only to climb again through fertile agricultural and forested land. Most of the agriculture was done around households where kitchen gardens, small groves of trees, chickens and some cows could be raised. As we climbed up the hills, came around corners and descended into valleys, we could see that there were microclimates that enabled certain specialty crops grown in very specific areas. The islanders clearly know how to maximize their productivity in food production.

A swim, time to read, animated conversation and a rest occupied the balance of the afternoon and soon it was time to prepare our evening meal. Tonight featured ham steaks, barbecued sweet potato, beets, onions and corn on the cob, accompanied by a green salad with tomatoes. Dessert included lightly sugared and barbequed bananas along with the island specialty, coconut bread. Fresh sweet plums and a cup of tea completed the meal. Once again …. Delicious!!

As dusk turned to dark, we sat outside with another Australian couple and chatted about travel, careers, children, and a myriad of other topics. What a pleasant end to a great day!!

Monday, November 23, 2015

Another beautiful sunny day on Norfolk Island.

We started the day by having a continental breakfast in our own hotel. It was buffet style with several kinds of cereal, yogurt, fruit and milk as well as three kinds of bread for toast. The coffee was good and it was a nice change not to have to choose from a broad menu of choices of large or exotic breakfasts.

Right after breakfast, we headed into town. Jim and I were on a mission to visit the ATM and refill our pockets with cash. If only it had been that easy! We had made an attempt yesterday. The first time the ATM told us that the bank was unable to fulfill our request and to try again later. The second time the ATM message was that it was not authorized to process transactions on our card. That was a bit disconcerting so we called the international bank number and were reassured that all was well and we should try again.

So, this morning, Jim put his debit card into the ATM and got the message again that the ATM was not authorized to process our request. He then used his credit card with the same result. He went into the bank and a very helpful employee came outside to the ATM with him and watched the whole procedure again. Her opinion was that the satellites were somehow not connecting between Norfolk Island and our bank in Canada.  What ever was the reason, we still had no cash!! Finally Jim went back into the bank and withdrew a cash advance on our credit card. Ouch … that will cost us money right from the moment we took out the money. I think another call to our bank is in order today. We have to get this resolved!!

From there the day looked up …. We spent the rest of the morning attending two cooking demonstrations. The first one featured a large trumpeter fish, showing how to use the fillets, the head and the backbone as bases for three different dishes. The fillets were cut into small pieces and added to a vegetable medley of tomatoes, zucchini, fish stock and fish sauce with a blend of herbs (parsley, lemongrass, salt and pepper) and finished with a dash of coconut cream. Served over sweet potato mash, it looked and smelled delicious. The head was boiled in water for about 20 minutes to produce excellent and pure fish bouillon. And the backbone with all its meat was smoked for an appetizer.

The second demonstrator has established a business call Paddock to Plate. He raises animals (sheep, pigs, chickens and cows) and creates products from each one. Today he demonstrated how to prepare haggis; and how to mix ingredients to make sausage and how to stuff sausage casings. His farm is open to the public and his products are sold from the farm. He has a broad range of charcuterie products that we were able to taste at the end of the session, including Canadian maple sausage. And, yes, he used real maple syrup imported from Canada.

A stop for an ice coffee was a pleasant way to spend some time after the demonstrations had ended. From there, we three women went forth into some stores. Some purchases were made, mostly by Sue, and I am proud to say I came away totally empty-handed. Maybe that had something to do with having no access to cash!

Back to the hotel for a wonderful swim in the pool. Somehow, on a hot day, it was not as difficult to get into the water. Then, our four companions wanted to hike from the top of Mount Pitt down to the sea level where Captain Cook had first discovered and named Norfolk Island. It was a steep drive to the top of the mountain and the vista at the top made it all worthwhile. It was magnificent. Hillsides and water stretched in every direction. How tiny a portion of the Pacific we can see, yet how vast it appears.

A quick return to our hotel where we met our new neighbours, Walter and Yvonne from New Zealand, who proved themselves worthy by revealing their love of gin and tonics late in the afternoon. They will fit right in with our crowd!

And now off to Captain Cook Lookout to pick up the hot and tired hikers. It had been a strenuous walk from the top of Mount Pitt to the sea at the place it is reported that Captain Cook most likely landed and claimed Norfolk Island for England. The stone monument was set against a backdrop of Norfolk Pine trees and the vast Pacific. That Cook ever found this island, a tiny speck in a vast ocean, is an amazing feat!

A swim in the hotel pool preceded getting ready for dinner. Tonight was a gala banquet requiring formal dress (if only we had known about that before we left home!). Jim and I did our best and arrived with the rest of our modestly dressed group at the front entrance of our hotel. A youthful string quartet and a red carpet set the tone for the evening. We were led to our table by hotel staff and seated with two other couples from Queensland and Western Australia. Champagne or wine was offered and the conversation began immediately.

Since this week is the Norfolk Island Food Festival, this event was designed to showcase some of the fine restaurants on the island as well as demonstrate how products exclusively from the island are used to create elegant and delicious foods. Called the Four Chefs Dinner, each of four island chefs was responsible for one of the courses of food.

The appetizer was developed by Chef Joel and featured a sticky caramel of belly pork with pickled papaya and cashews accompanied by five spice pork scotch with coconut and ginger pancakes, all served on a banana leaf.

The entrée was a Norfolk Blue mini beef oxtail and shin pie in flaky pastry and finished with root vegetables and Norfolk Blue beef and red wine jus. Chef Paul was responsible for this dish.

The main course consisted of trumpeter fish topped with a goat cheese and kale soufflé. It was served with a fresh local potato, tomato and zucchini baked gallette, complemented with a lemon and soy beurre blanc. Chef Cameron was the creator of this course.

A macadamia meringue with caramel fudge, chocolate creams and guava jelly was the dessert course, made by Chef James.

Overall the presentation of the meal was absolutely stunning and the flavours of each course blended together beautifully. It is an understatement to say it was simply delicious.

 We have three more meals included in our festival package. May they all be as successful as this one!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

We were still filled to the gills when we got up Tuesday morning so Jim and I decided to skip breakfast and enjoy a coffee and a light snack in our room. We then headed into town again for the cooking demonstrations taking place mid morning.

The first demonstration was by an islander named Binkie. She was a true character and embodied the philosophy of the island to use what is available to create great tasting foods. Her main ingredient for the morning was green bananas. First she created deep fried banana fritters by using s technique called ‘yoloing’ to grate the bananas. She peeled each banana with a sharp knife and turned it in circles on a fine food grater until it became a soft mushy consistency. Nothing was added to this banana mush. She dropped it by tiny spoonsful into hot coconut oil and deep fried it until both sides were golden brown. These fritters were then served with salt or with a guava jelly dip. I think you could also use sweet chili sauce. We were all able to have a fritter, either sweet or savoury. They were quite bland on their own but when dipped or salted they tasted quite good.

Next, Binkie described how to use the banana flower in stirfries or salads. You take the outer leaves off the flower and discard them. It is also important to remove all the tiny bananas growing at the base of each petal as they have a very bitter flavour. Then rinse the petals and chop them as you might chop a cabbage. Serve cooked in a stirfry with fish sauce, ginger and garlic or blend into a mixed vegetable salad and use a strongly flavoured vinegar dressing. The flower petals also make attractive and natural serving bowls.

The second cooking demonstration was presented by four secondary school students who were taking a home management course. They made coconut bread, a traditional island staple. And then they showed us how to make Tahitian fish, a marinated fish salad (using raw fish ‘cooked’ in lemon and a mix of grated vegetables (carrots, onion, cucumber). Island gravy (heavy cream) was added and the salad was left to marinate for several hours before serving.

The principal of the school was in the audience to support the students. I had an opportunity to speak with her briefly at the end of the session. She told me how a teacher or principal can secure a position on Norfolk Island. An interesting process and a highly sought opportunity …

All employees of the local school (K- 12, 300 students) are seconded from New South Wales in Australia. They have to apply for the positions and decisions are made based on merit. Each contract is 5 years in length. Of course, those who are chosen have to agree to live and work in a very remote location for those five years. There are some benefits though. In addition to being paid their New South Wales salary, Norfolk Island residents are not required to pay any income tax. The teachers are also provided with free housing and return trips to the mainland at regular intervals. As well as their regular holidays, they are given additional days because of being in an isolated community. And, they get to live on a sunswept island with beautiful scenery, food, and Emily Bay, one of the nicest beaches I have ever seen!! I can understand why there is stiff competition for the positions.

We spent a quiet afternoon at the hotel, skipping lunch knowing that we would be eating another substantial dinner tonight. When I awoke having fallen asleep reading my book, I realized that it was time for a true nap and spent some leisurely time with my head on my pillow.

At 5:15, we were whisked off by bus to the next Food Festival Event, Taste Norfolk’s Bounty Festival Night. This event was located in the old jail down along the sea in the area known as Kingston, once the main town on the island. Many of the buildings in Kingston have fallen to ruin although the history is alive and retold many times. Tonight the jail had been transformed into a true festival of food. More than 40 tents serving all manner of Norfolk foods were set up around the inner perimeter of the jail. Cupcakes, fish and chips, beef with rice, charcuterie platters, mushroom tarts, coconut coated prawns, chicken with couscous, coconut bread, banana fritters … need I go on? Included in our Food Festival package were coupons valued at $100.00 to use to purchase the food on offer. Needless to say, we bountifully tasted the bounty of the island. Our favourites were fish and chips and the coconut prawns. We enjoyed them thoroughly. We had enough coupons to purchase mushroom tarts and sticky date pudding for another meal.

There was entertainment provided by the students from the school and coordinated by a very hard working teacher. Bands played popular music and young women made their singing debuts. They giggled and spoke into the mikes prematurely not realizing the mikes were live. Then they giggled again. It was all good fun and some of the performances even had a fair degree of quality. What impressed me was the degree to which music was an integral and highly value component of the school program.

Later in the evening, there was more professional entertainment. But by that time, Jim and I had taken the bus back to our hotel and joined a group of guests on the deck for a conversation ranging from politics to healthcare to travel experiences to retirement goals. It was a great way to spend the waning part of the day.

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

This morning started with breakfast at The Tempo Café. The town was much quieter than we have seen it on previous days because today marked Thanksgiving Day on Norfolk Island. Jim and I shared an order of corn fritters and Barb and John shared an order of pancakes with berries. We all enjoyed our coffees.

Susan and David decided to forgo breakfast and walk to Cascade Bay. We were charged with the responsibility of finding them once breakfast was over. I tend to be the driver for the group and at least four of the others are intermittent navigators. Sometimes they all provide different directions or ideas at the same time. Sometimes, only one person tells me where to turn and in which direction. This morning, Barb was the navigator and that worked well.

We made our way to Cascade Bay on the north coast of Norfolk Island where an extremely rocky and precipitous landscape prevents any ship from coming ashore. There is a small pier where tenders sometimes land when offloading the supply boat that arrives every few weeks. Today the surf was high and the waves were crashing. It was easy to understand how ships have been lost on this coast.

From Cascade Bay, we travelled uphill to Cockpit Point. We stopped once along the way for photo opportunities and as soon as we were out of the car, Jim, David and John all dispersed in totally different directions. Jim walked across a field to a examine a bench near some cattle; John walked to a fence on the precipice of a hill to take some photos of the coastline; and David climbed over the fence and began to climb a very steep slope so that he could get a better view. Barb. Sue and I chuckled because these three men all pursue their own interests but what makes them alike is that they still all think they are boys.  We finally gathered our group together (by then Jim had also climbed a hill and we picked him up at the top) and proceeded along Prince Phillip Road.  We passed through forests, agricultural land, properties with homes that had spectacular views, and well tended gardens with glorious flowers and newly planted crops.

When we returned to our hotel it was definitely time for coffee. We went next door to Hilli’s, a highly recommended and very expensive restaurant. The coffee was very good and the outdoor table was lovely.  We are definitely getting around to a wide range of coffee shops.

We walked back to our hotel after coffee and, immediately a bus arrived to take us to our next event, a Thanksgiving Feast! And a feast it was indeed!! At the nearby Mariah’s restaurant, a buffet laden with many, many Norfolk delicacies awaited our indulgence. Four kinds of fish, beautifully prepared beef and pork roast with crackling were displayed as well as colourful seasonal vegetables (carrots, corn, sweet potato) and several salads. There were also platters and bowls of green banana fritters, hi-hi (periwinkles), Tahitian fish salad, banana pilihi (ripe bananas baked with flour) alongside sour milk bread and the traditional coconut bread. Fresh papaya was also on the table. Dessert followed with pumpkin, coconut and lemon pies as well as trifle. Fresh cream (island gravy) was available to garnish any of the choices. It was an amazing presentation of food!! And of course, we all ate more than a reasonable portion. It was all so delicious!!

A period of rest at our hotel restored our energy and we all headed off to Emily Bay later in the afternoon. Emily Bay is a beautiful sand beach protected from the open ocean by its curved shoreline as well as an established coral reef. The surf was wild beyond the reef but Emily Bay was quite calm and the temperature was very comfortable. In we went!!! Salt water has such buoyancy; it was great fun to swim and float!

Cleaned up and dried off, it was soon time to head off to our final activity of the day. We were going to see the movie, Chocolat, at the local theatre and indulge in some chocolate treats and champagne while we were there. Once again, we were impressed with the attention to detail and the successful execution of this event.  What a great planning team there must be for this Food Festival!!

The movie theatre was quaint. It had a pull down screen and a DVD player to show the movie. There was tiered seating. The first to two or three rows were lined with soft armchairs. The rows behind the armchairs were plastic patio chairs where we ended up sitting. Not nearly as comfortable as the armchairs, I am sure.

And now we are back at ‘home’. The moon is full and bright tonight and the sky is clear. One night we would like to go out into the dark countryside for some southern hemisphere star gazing but the moon is too bright tonight to see many stars. Nonetheless, it is a wonderful night to be in the South Pacific.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Normally, I am very good about getting my bearings when we travel to a new place. Somehow, that is not happening here on Norfolk Island. No matter where we go, whether by car or bus, I feel quite disoriented and need to ask for directions even if our destination is familiar.

This morning for breakfast we drove into town to go to the Olive Café. We were also looking for alternate locations for breakfast for the remaining days we are here but the cafes truly are all located within three blocks of one another on two specific streets. That knowledge did not prevent me from getting lost, however. We checked out a couple of new places and then decided that the Olive was indeed the best option. So I turned off the main street at the only roundabout on the island and steered the car out of town. I was quickly chastised by my two male companions and directed to turn right at the first possible opportunity. That turned out to be what can only be described a back lane and we drove for a short distance to yet another back lane where I was instructed to turn right again. We came out on a more major street … really we had gone around a short block but I did not recognize where we were and began to turn in the wrong direction again. You can imagine the dismay of my passengers. They finally headed me in the correct direction and with one more turn we were at the Olive. I thought it was all pretty funny, as well as out of character. I am quite sure my humour was not appreciated by my hungry passengers.

Following a lovely breakfast of corn fritters and salad, we moved along to the final cooking demonstration for the week. This morning, Chef Dominique, from Brisbane, was on hand to show us how to make mushroom and caramelized onion tarts topped with feta cheese. She emphasized the use of herbs in food preparation and also encouraged all of us to modify a recipe if the mood strikes us. I will say the tarts were very tasty although the presentation of the small morsels was less than stunning.

Next she demonstrated the production of fish fritters. Garlic, sautéed onion, lemon juice, lime juice, chili paste, lemon grass and kaffir leaves were minced in a food processor. Fresh trumpeter fish was added and minced with the rest of the mixture. Olive oil was heated in a fry pan and the mixture was dropped into the oil in small spoonsful. They were cooked to a golden brown on all sides and served with sweet chili sauce. I thought they were delicious.

After the food demonstrations, we stopped in at Rumours Café for an iced coffee. That seems to have become our pattern. Jim and I then did a bit of shopping, or at least looking, but made no purchases. It was then time to head back to our motel to get the bus for the afternoon’s indulgence tour.

This tour included three stops – a chocolate stop, a coffee stop and a liqueur stop. Frankly, the chocolate stop was simply a visit to a candy store. The proprietor briefly described how he produced chocolates but the majority of the merchandise in the store was commercially produced and imported. It was not exactly an indulgence!

Next we travelled to the Captain Cook National Park where we were served coffee from a locally grown coffee plantation. A brief presentation informed us about the short history of coffee production on Norfolk Island and the process that is used from beans to beverage. The coffee was very smooth. It was also well timed as the afternoon doldrums were about to set in. The setting in the park was also beautiful. Although we had been there previously, it was good to revisit.

Then we headed off to the other side of the island at a private home with one of the most breathtaking vistas anywhere! We were served a coconut beverage … a combination of coconut liqueur, a lime liqueur, a lemon liqueur and a small amount of coconut cream. It was dangerously delicious and was reported to have a very high alcohol content. We meandered around the grounds, sat on a bench overlooking the cliff face above the sea, photographed the spectacular rocks far below and enjoyed watching the spray from the blowhole in the distance. We also finally managed to get a photograph of all six of us taken with a lovely background.

Then, it was back into the bus and a short trip home. The day felt very warm and the swimming pool beckoned us. What a great way to cool off and relax.

The weather on Norfolk Island is very stable yet very interesting. The daytime high is usually between 20 and 23C but it always feels much warmer because of the humidity and bright sunshine. Most of the days we have been here have actually felt quite hot. The temperature moderates in the evening and, especially along the coast, it is not unusual to need a light sweater or jacket.

For now, we are sitting out on the deck in front of our room sipping a gin and tonic and reading, writing or playing a computer game. Quiet and peaceful … waiting for dinner.

And a new idea emerged!! There will be a beautiful sunset tonight and if we hurry just a bit we can get to Puppy’s Point on the far side of the island to see the sun slide into the sea. We hopped into the car in short order and were at the Point within ten minutes. Norfolk Island really is very small. We were surprised to see how many other people had the same idea but there was lots of space along the cliff edge for all of us to point our cameras and wait for the colours that would come. It was indeed a glorious sunset with all the reds and yellows and oranges that one could hope for. Of course, we all took too many photos, all waiting for the perfect shot. All too soon the sun was below the horizon and darkness was beginning to settle across the land and sea.

We headed back to our hotel and went to the La Perouse, the in-house restaurant for dinner. Once again, we were delighted with great service and excellent food. Jim and I shared a main course and a dessert because we have eaten for too much already this week and our appetites are not yet ready for more.

A cup of tea shared on the pool deck with good friends under a brilliant full moon completed the day.