Farewell Norfolk Island; Hello Hawaii!

Friday, November 27, 2015

The morning began with some confusion about our early morning plan. But all was well and we finally found one another at the Baunti Breakfast, a lovely event on the coastline between Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay, another component of the Norfolk Island Food Festival we were all enjoying. A beautiful breakfast was served buffet style, accompanied by dancers demonstrating Tahitian dances and live music featuring songs from the 50’s and 60’s.

Time back in our hotel proved useful as I had a short nap and prepared for the rest of the day. We all skipped lunch due to the bounteous breakfast we had consumed. Early in the afternoon, we headed out for a Farm and Industry tour which took us to four interesting stops along our route.

First stop was at a Kentia Palm export facility. Kentia palms produce seeds that are valuable in the international house plant industry. Thousands of seeds are gathered from the Kentia palms on Norfolk and buried in mulch for about 6 months. With very little water or care, the seeds sprout in the mulch and are then extracted and counted into bundles of 25 tiny palm plants. They are then packed in boxes (about 1500 plants per box) and exported to Holland where they are grown to various sizes and made available as house plants all over the world.

The same warehouse exports tiny Norfolk Island Pines for indoor use in office buildings, apartment foyers, and other commercial establishments.

From here, we travelled to Lou’s Farm. Lou has a very large vegetable and pig farm and produces many of the vegetables found on Norfolk Island. He plants at least two crops of each vegetable a year and with some plants, ie tomatoes, he can maintain commercial production for at least three months with proper care. The gardens we saw featured lettuce, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, silverbeet, beets, zucchini, sweet corn, cucumbers, leeks, beans and more. Lou and his two sons do all the work themselves, working mostly by hand. A very labour intensive operation.

Lou also has pigs on his farm and again handles them from birth to market himself. He butchers them when they are ready and makes bacon, sausage and other products on site.

We left Lou’s and stopped for afternoon tea at Bedrock, a private residence, which featured an impressive view of the Pacific. Sooty terns and white terns as well as red-tailed tropic birds were flying over the water and over our heads. Cameras were clicking but it was very difficult to get a good photo of any of the birds.

After we left Lou’s, we travelled to another impressive vegetable gardening operation. This family also produced a wide variety of vegetables for the market. They were fortunate because they have a water bore in their property and so were able to construct a drip system to provide water to their crops. They also grew lettuce very successfully hydroponically.

Our final stop for the afternoon was a beverage manufacturing company, Norfolk Island Liqueurs. While they have made soft drinks for many, many years, the company has diversified into making very tasty liqueurs as well. We listened to a short presentation on the history of the production process and then had the chance to taste many of the liqueurs. Some were very good but Jim and I remained strong and resisted the temptation to purchase any of them.

It was a very hot and humid afternoon and we were happy to finally arrive back at our hotel. Simply lying on the bed under a cool fan did wonders for our comfort and our energy.

Tonight, we were going out to a Convict Settlement Dinner. Norfolk Island was settled twice as a place for convicts to be sent from Britain. Each of these two settlements were built in slightly different locations along the shore of Slaughter Bay. The dinner tonight was divided into three segments.

The first course (appetizers and champagne) was served in the area where the first settlement was established. Beautiful morsels of food were served to us in the open air by the sea and our glasses were constantly filled and refilled with champagne. All the while, a very talented story teller was sharing tales about life in the First Settlement (1788 – 1814), stories about prisoners, guards, government officials. She described extremely difficult conditions as no one had lived on this island before; there was no safe anchorage for boats and there was not enough food to go around. It was during this period of time that those who lived here began to cultivate vegetables and hunt animals for food.   Life became so arduous that in 1814, the decision was made to abandon the island and tear all the buildings down. The prisoners were sent to Tasmania and the other residents were moved to mainland Australia.

The need to relocate violent prisoners became a priorty again in 1825 and a second prison settlement was developed on Norfolk Island. The most violent prisoners from Tasmania were moved to Norfolk Island and the cycle began again. A pentagonal prison was erected; several homes were constructed to house the officers who were also located here; other facilities for storage and cooking were also built during this period.

The second course for our dinner was served in one of the officers’ homes. It was a pork scotch fillet served with seasonal vegetables, a pea and potato mash and a lovely cream sauce. More stories were shared about the second settlement.

The third course, dessert, was served in another officer’s home, now used as the golf club clubhouse. More stories were shared as we ate our banana bread, garnished with a beetroot sauce and accompanied by vanilla bean ice cream. It was delicious!!

After a nice cup of tea, we boarded a bus to return us to our hotel. It was good to be back and be able to relax before bed. It had been a long and busy day.

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Today, Jim and I had a relaxing start to the morning. Our four travelling companions took the car and went to the pier to watch the initial stages of the unloading of the supply ship. Since we knew the process would take most of the day, we chose to go and watch the unloading later.

About 8:30, the car came back and it was our turn to head off to the pier. Just offshore sat the Southern Tiara, a rather run down specimen of a ship transporting food, goods and materials to Norfolk Island. There were two cranes on the pier and several tenders and other boats in the water.

Each item that arrived on the ship had to be moved by crane from the deck of the ship to one of the tenders which, when loaded, was pulled back to the pier by another boat. There the tender was tied to the pier and the process was reversed. The cranes on the pier lifted all the packages and bundles from the tender onto the pier.

The swell of the waves was fairly high so both the ship and the tenders rocked to and fro. At times, one wondered if anything would be lost to the sea. But clearly these were experts at work and, as precarious as it might have looked, nothing dropped into the water. Although there is one story from the past about some pokey machines that were destined to bring gambling to Norfolk Island that just happened to drop into the waves. No replacement machines were ever sent to the island.

We gathered at the market to pick up supplies for Sunday bbq dinner and returned to the hotel to deposit them in the fridge. We then set out on a drive to the northeast corner of the island, an area we had not yet explored. We stopped at a couple of beautiful look-outs, one of which is the location where the petrol is delivered to the island. Ships come as close as possible to the shore and a floating pipeline is connected to the tanks of oil or petrol on board. This pipeline carries the petrol to large tanks that have been installed up on the hill at Ball’s Bay. It was here that we had such good luck photographing rosellas.

Our next stop was at Buck’s Point. Again there was a beautiful look out flanked by some splendid flower gardens and a picnic area. Picnicking is a popular family activity on Norfolk Island. We also had more success photographing birds – more rosellas as well as some very cooperative white terns.

We stopped in at the only winery on the island on our way back from Buck’s Point. There was a small vineyard, the grapes from which were used to produce a very hearty red wine. Most of the wine that is marketed by this winery actually comes from New South Wales. We were given several generous portions to taste and the Hursts settled on two bottles to purchase.

Lunch at Joel’s Café was very pleasant. We have eaten Chef Joel’s creations several times throughout the food festival. This is the first time we have actually visited his café. We were not disappointed. Jim and I had delicious paninis and others indulged in scones with cream and jam. The coffees were also very good. We were all happy we had been able to stop in.

We returned to our hotel to change into bathing suits in preparation for our glass bottomed boat tour, given by John Christian. As with most Islanders, we have noted a deep knowledge about the island and a firm pride to go with it. The glass bottomed boat tour followed a route around Emily Bay and Slaughter Bay inside the protective coral reef. Guide John was able to provide considerable information about the coral we were viewing as well as the species of fish we were seeing. Along with the fish we also saw a sea eel, some stingrays and at least one sea urchin. John’s son retrieved the sea urchin from the water and we all had the opportunity to hold it in our hands. It was totally covered in tiny needle-like quills which it moved back and forth in order to create a path across the sea floor (or in this case, our hands). We also saw many kinds of coral growing on the ocean floor. Some were familiar and some were new to us. What we did learn that was somewhat surprising is that some corals actually change colour at various times of the year. Although a bit dull now, this coral will become much more colourful as summer moves in.

The boat tour was followed by a swim in Emily Bay and all six of us actually got into the water. It was refreshing and I always find the buoyancy of sea water very pleasant.

When we returned to our hotel, I also seized the opportunity to jump into the pool water there. While there have been times that the pool water has felt very chilly, in contrast the sea water, today it felt absolutely perfect. Perspective is a fine thing!

And soon it was time for dinner. Our destination tonight was Dino’s, a unique restaurant where the tables are actually set up in the home of the owners. Our meal was a treat from start to finish. The menu was so packed with exciting options that it was difficult to make choices. Jim and I finally decided to share the crab linguini as an appetizer. It was sensational. I then moved onto tuna (caught today in the bay within sight of the restaurant), also a delight. Jim had a lamb rump with seasonal vegetables. Both selections came with a beautiful garden fresh salad and delicate garnishes. All the vegetables had been harvested from the chef’s garden earlier in the day. For dessert, I had homemade coconut ice cream and Jim indulged in a mango trifle. Only the mango was not grown on the island. A fine Australian white wine accompanied the meal. A perfect pairing. Overall it was one of the best meals we have eaten in a week of over-indulgence in fine food.

A quick skype with our family finished off the day. Time for a good sleep.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

This is our last full day on Norfolk Island. How fast ten days has passed. Breakfast at the Norfolk Blue, a rural restaurant, sounded like a great way to get our last day started. But, sadly, when we got to the gate, it was not open for breakfast. The bonus for this trip though was seeing the Morton Bay Fig trees which lined the road just outside the restaurant. They are mammoth trees, towering high and broad across the landscape. Their roots looked eerie as they meandered above ground in huge waves.  Something right out of a fairy tale or an Irish folk tale of elves and gremlins. Truly astonishing and beautiful at the same time. We returned to town and enjoyed breakfast at the Golden Orb, one of our favourite places. Jim and I both ordered the full breakfast (eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, tomatoes, toast), something we have not had since we left home. It was so large that I could not nearly finish it but it was very good to taste.

Following breakfast, we visited a few shops that were open on Sunday morning, including the local toy store, before heading back to the hotel. This was a day to relax and enjoy the place we have called home for more than a week. Time reading, swimming, chatting …. Lovely. The morning overcast sky transformed to sunshine in the afternoon making it all the better.

But the day would not be complete without some activity, so late in the afternoon we all piled into the van and headed out to Simon’s Water, all the way across the island (about 5 kilometers). We were not really in search of water but we were in search of John Christian, a descendent of one of the earliest families to settle on Norfolk. He is quite an entrepreneur, including take us on the glass bottom boat tour yesterday. But today, he wanted to show us his newest venture. He was milking cows with a portable milking machine. The cows he milks are not his own but he leases them from the owner so that he can gather milk to make cheese. He is in the early stages of this operation and currently only milks 5 cows in one location and a similar number at a second location. Pretty labour intensive for now but he will no doubt streamline it and produce very good cheese. As I have said before, to live and thrive on this island requires a great deal of imagination, hard work and initiative.

We returned to Paradise and began to prepare our evening meal – a final barbeque of island food. Trumpeter fish, sweet potato, red beets, grilled tomatoes as well as the standing salad of lettuce and tomatoes. We realized that we had actually visited the farm where the hydroponic lettuce had been grown. Our main course was delicious and we finished the meal with grilled bananas topped with sugar and lime juice, some chocolate and fresh sweet plums. What a great meal to finish off a wonderful experience in a new place with good friends.

A game of Joe finished off the evening …. And then, sadly, it was time to pack.

Monday. November 30, 2015

Never say that moss will grow under our feet … or the feet of our friends. We were all up, packed, checked out and ready to go to breakfast by 8:30 am. There was a restaurant in town where we had not yet eaten! So, off we went to the Blue Bull, a sister restaurant to the one where we had tried to eat breakfast yesterday. The Blue Bull had barely opened its doors when we pulled up. A quaint place, there was indeed a Norfolk Blue Bull in the paddock behind the restaurant. The menu was somewhat avant garde and we all ordered something extraordinary. Jim had huevos rancheros and I indulged in afghani eggs. Both were interesting … and good!

After breakfast, we still had a few things we wanted to do before we flew back to mainland Australia. One was to visit the local pottery shop, once again across the island from town. It was only about 4 kilometres so we knew we had lots of time. And the trip was certainly worth it! The pottery that was on display was wonderful – some functional and some decorative. Both husband and wife were potters so there were different styles, glazes and finishes to choose from. Others were less restrained than I … I did not buy a single piece of pottery! Hard to believe!! But Jim did buy a lovely necklace with a Norfolk Island pendant. Hmmm …. I wonder who it is for?

We also made a couple of stops at lookouts we had previously missed before we headed back into town. Still with some time on our hands, we again slipped into a couple of favourite shops and Jim did find a lovely Christmas ornament for our tree. But then it was time to turn in our rental car and hop on the bus for the short ride to the airport.

Our group of six checked in and waited in a shaded outdoor café. The plane from Sydney arrived and pulled up right next to the fence that separated us from the tarmac. Things were a bit casual here. We went through security – no problem taking bottles of alcohol or water on board.

We said a rudimentary farewell to one another and climbed the steps to the plane. And soon we were on our way to Sydney. When the plane landed, we were slow to disembark and we never did catch up with Hursts or Morgans again. Too bad we had not exchanged hugs!! At least, we know there will be another shared adventure in 2017.

Monday, November 30, 2015 – yes it is still the same day

For Jim and me, this particular Monday was peculiar in terms of time. We arose at 7:30 am. We flew from Norfolk Island to Sydney, Australia at 1:30 pm. We landed in Sydney about 4 pm. We then waited until 10:30 pm for our flight to Hawaii. In flight, midnight came and went and we spent a couple of hours in early Tuesday morning. But, then we crossed the international dateline and we were cast back in time 24 hours. It was once again the wee hours of Monday morning. We finally landed in Honolulu at 11:30 am, a full 11 hours before we took off in Sydney.

After a short nap at our hotel in Waikiki, we headed out to explore the city. We drove along many city streets, through many parks and, of course, along the waterfront. Then, we got a bit turned around and, rather than going where we thought we were going, we ended up climbing up a very steep and winding road. We realized along the way that we were heading to a Military Cemetery with a splendid view over Waikiki. And so we continued. We arrived at the cemetery at 4:25 and were dismayed to learn the gates would be closed and locked at 4:30. What to do now?

By that time, the roadway we were on had become very interesting. As we climbed, the vegetation changed from tropical in the lower parts of the mountain to trees and plants more often found in temperate climates as we went higher. One of the most dramatic sections featured very large trees with dangling tendrils that touched the highway at times. The trees provided a total and opaque canopy so that we had to use our headlights. Periodically, there were amazing lookouts in which the city got smaller and smaller as we climbed higher. When we finally reached the top, the road continued along a different route back down to sea level. We wish we had counted the number of switchbacks we had traversed on the steep climb and descent. In the end, it was a pretty great way to experience a part of Hawaii.

By the time we reached the sea again, it was dark and time for dinner. Jim had read about the Rainbow Drive-In, an eatery that was frequented by Barack Obama when he was growing up in Hawaii. We struggled to find it (it was in an obscure location) but find it we did. And guess what!?! It was closed for three days for renovations!! The very days we are on this island. So much for the Rainbow Drive-In!

We ate at a very humble restaurant nearby and then headed back to our hotel. It had been a long, long day and we were grateful to fall into bed.