South Pacific 2002: 2

Norfolk Island has proved to be a real treat. It's a very beautiful island, with about 1,800 friendly people living on it full time. Everything is very well organized, it is clean, and most services are available here - including good internet connections via satellite. There are forests of Norfolk Pine trees everywhere, and the pasture areas are treed with them for shade. The island is very green, and the short grass under the trees gives the impression of a huge park.

There are good restaurants, and we had some fine meals. As the island is duty free, there are good buys on a lot of things. Marilynn and I each bought liquor to bring with us duty free - Marilynn bought Bombay Sapphire Gin, and I bought Johnny Walker Gold Label Scotch. We were quite pissed off to find that both sell here at less than half of what we paid for them duty free in Costa Rica, and then we had the nuisance of lugging the bottles around with us.

We were told that airport transfers would be about $6 Australian each, but the bus driver for Bounty Tours gave us a ride in free, saying only that if we wanted tours he'd appreciate it if we dealt with his company. He also came and took us back to the airport at no charge as well. We were the only passengers on the bus either way, but were really pleased that he got us to the airport well before the other passengers as there were only two very slow check in counters, and the line-up when the other busses discharged their passengers extended out of the terminal and onto the sidewalk. Airport rules did not allow tour directors to do bulk check in - every passenger had to do their own and the plane was filled to capacity.

We rented a near new Mazda with all the options on it here at the amazing price of $Australian 30 per day. That is just over $US 17 per day! We had tried a couple of car rental places in the little town, but they had all cars rented, so I asked the hotel reception to see if they could set something up. The car arrived the day before we needed it, with a bill for two days and an invitation to use it the day it arrived at no charge. No one asked for a credit card, driver's license or anything else. The bill didn't even have my name on it! There was no contract, no formalities at all. Life really quite laid back!

Marilynn went for a long swim in a reef protected bay with a beautiful sand beach, but the water temperature, while not bad, was below my pleasure threshold. The water around the island is unbelievably clear. Thirty foot deep water looks like it is 10 feet deep. The snorkelling and scuba diving here would be amazing. We are told there is lots of sea life to look at. Marilynn saw a lot of fish just while she was swimming, and photographed others in still coastal pools that are also as clear as crystal.

It is surprising that this beautiful island, with its very agreeable climate - warm days, cool nights, was uninhabited when Capt. Cook discovered and named it in 1774. He sent a glowing report back to the admiralty mentioning the tall trees which would provide straight masts for the largest of ships, and the plentiful water and food on the island. Meantime, on the cold, rainy, windswept Chatham Islands people had been living for many years!

In 1788 the British settled the islands, building a particularly brutal penal colony here. The penal colony was finally abandoned, the buildings burned and the island once more deserted in 1814. In 1825 new jails were built to house the empires worst criminals, and all the infrastructure needed for a larger jail complex was started. Cells were 6 feet by 5 feet for the most serious criminals, or for those who had attempted escape, and held three or more prisoners. In 1847 the full facility was completed, and by 1849 it was filled to capacity with prisoners.

It would seem that the most brutal and sadistic commandants and guards were sent to Norfolk. The prisoners received little to eat, and worked long hours. The worst offenders, of which there were many, were in heavy chains and shackles on their legs. With all this weight of metal on them, they would quarry rock from the reef, and work on the wharf in water up to their chests. Punishment cells varied from coffin link cells and man would lay in underground where he'd be covered by a slab of stone, to cells so small that after 24 hours the convicts could no longer use their legs due to cramping, to one particular beauty where the tide came in up to the occupant's chin each night. If the prisoner was particularly short or the tide high, the prisoner drowned. In all three of these situations it was quite common for the prisoner to lose his mind and go mad.

Prisoners aged from 9 years old and upwards. Lashings of between 50 and 200 stokes were common, with no need for proof of any offence to deserve them. Again, many died under the lash, particularly those who were too sick to work and were lashed for malingering. The method of dealing with the sick was interesting. They didn't feed them, or if they did it was small amounts of bread and water. The theory was that if a prisoner was too sick to work he was too sick to eat. Needless to say, the recovery rate was not great. By 1855 word had got out as to how bad the conditions were, and it was once again shut down and abandoned.

Queen Victoria offered the island to the 193 descendents of the Bounty Mutiny who had overpopulated Pitcairn Island, so they were moved here. There were 194 that arrived in 1856, a baby being born en route. While they had been promised the islands in their entirety, the governor of New South Wales in Australia got into the act, and moved the goal posts somewhat. The island remained Australian territory, but each of the newcomers were granted 50 acres. Norfolk didn't agree with them all, and some went back after a few years to form the basis of the Pitcairn population of today.

The Norfolk and Pitcairn Islanders have their own language, which is taught and spoken today on the islands. On Norfolk they call it "talking Norfolk". It is a combination of Tahitian and English, and is indecipherable to the outside listener. In a world of racial mixing pots, it was interesting to notice that Norfolk was white. After Auckland, Vancouver, and most other cities including in Costa Rica, it was amazing to see no Orientals or blacks. There was one Chinese Restaurant on the island, and we did not go there, but we so no people of Oriental descent.

On our last night we went on a progressive dinner organized by Bounty Tours, which was held at the homes of four different families. The first stop was sherry and a large selection of appetizers. The next stop was wine free - causing a bit of comment, but it was for the first course. The next stop for the main course was complete with individual carafes of white wine. At the final stop there was pie, coffee or tea and port. There was also a sing along as the lady of the house played the organ.

Our hosts in all cases were descendants of the original Pitcairn settlers and all had interesting stories and information on the island. I'm not sure if the 65 year old lady who was our bus driver got into the port at the last stop or not, but to illustrate the lack of traffic on the island she started doing 360 degree turns with the bus in a major intersection, before doing figure 8's around he turn lane islands in the road. This went on for awhile, and then away we went just as some of the passengers were looking for the air sick bags! It was a good night.

For someone who would like the quiet of island life, great beauty, a coldest recorded temperature ever of 11 degrees Celsius yet an organized infrastructure I could not think of a better place in the world to go. It seems to have everything needed for a very laid back and idyllic lifestyle,.

The flight to New Zealand was on time, and uneventful. Another interesting comment on the lack of organization in the Auckland airport was made by the people in line ahead of us to check in. When they go back, they must collect their baggage, clear customs and immigration, then stand in the long line for Air New Zealand check in again. There is no provision for the connecting flight - they must present their ticket, check the bags and get a new boarding pass just as if they had arrived at the airport for the first time.

Today, October 21, we walked down to the ferry terminal and caught the ferry to Waiheke Island. It is about 35 minutes by fast ferry from Auckland, plus the time for a stop at the historic town of Devonport. It is a fair sized island, with several wineries and some beautiful beaches on it. We rented a car for three hours, and did an exploration of most of the island. We also stopped at Woolworths, a major supermarket chain here, to buy tonic, limes, olives and other bar supplies for our stateroom on the ship. It seemed reasonable to do that while we had a car in which to haul it all. We also bought lunch at the supermarket deli and then headed to the beach for a picnic.

The car rental on the island was $NZ 12 per hour, about $6 US, which we thought pretty reasonable. When we got back I checked on car rentals in Auckland, and they start at $NZ 19 per day, less than $10 US - and the above rates include insurance. The additional insurance is that much in Costa Rica alone! Motor homes here are comparatively cheap to rent as well, and are readily available.

Tomorrow we are able to board our ship, the Seven Seas Navigator, any time after 3 PM. We sail at 7PM. We'll likely head for the ship around three to get settled in and to explore what will be our home in the coming weeks. I'll get this sent off in the morning. Our first stop will be Nuku'alofa in the Tonga Islands.