DAY 10 - NORFOLK ISLAND

Day 10 – Monday 13^th JANUARY 2020.

Our last full day on Norfolk Island today and there is still so much we want to do.  We probably haven’t done as much as we did last time we were here.  We were in our 40’s then, now we are in our 60’s.  Not quite the same amount of energy.  Still I am not complaining, we have seen a lot in the last 10 days, and we have also had a chance to relax….

It was an early start this morning.  Steve, Ian and Kathy wanted to do the 5km hike from Mt Pitt to the Captain Cook Memorial.  As I had done this on our previous trip I decided to be the chauffeur today.  Last time we were here with Bernie and Dee Hindle and we both had cars, so we drove one of our cars around to the Captain Cook Memorial and left it there whilst we took us in the other car up to Mt Pitt and started our walk from there.  After we had completed our walk we drove back up to Mt Pitt to pick up the other car…

dropping them off and saying goodbye

We didn’t have this luxury this time as we have shared a bigger car this trip and therefore a 10km return trip up hill and down dale seemed a little too much…

They wanted to start their walk around 7am before the sun got too hot, so we were up at 6.30am and up at Mt Pitt a couple of minutes are 7.  I dropped them off and then headed back to our house where I caught up on some journal writing whilst listening to some lovely reflective music.   

World War II Wreckage

Views from Mt Bates

Tern's nesting -Mother and baby

Duncombe Bay

Captain Cook Memorial

 It was such a good relaxing hour before heading off to the Captain Cook Memorial Lookout to pick them up.  Before heading off, I boiled the kettle and filled the flask, packed the picnic hamper with bun loaf and water melon, as I figured they were be thirsty and in need of some refreshments when they got back.

I also took a book to read in case I had to wait.  By the time I left our home on the island, the sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day.  When I got around there, the views were stunning with the vibrant blue ocean and clear blue skies.  I arrived before they had returned so I settled myself at one of the picnic tables where I had a clear view of the ocean and headlands and started to read… It was a little hard to concentrate as the setting was just so gorgeous

View from the table where I was reading my book...

The book I am reading at the moment...

Enjoying a bit of reading whilst I wait

 There was a gentle sea breeze and the silence other than a few birds was magical.  So relaxing, so at peace with the world…. It is as if time has stood still over here on the island…there are no traffic noises no city noises, just the sounds of nature and the waves breaking in on the rocks below.  I can really understand why people come over here to live…

Morning Tea

Enjoying a little reflective time in the forest...

I was only there for 10 or 15 minutes before the others returned.  They had really enjoyed the walk…. They had seen plenty of birdlife including the illusive Norfolk Island green parrot.  This was a bit of a highlight for Kathy as she had missed the one we had been seeing near the house….  The walk along the coastline overlook Elephant Rock, and Cathedral Rock was stunning with breathtaking views especially as the ocean was so blue today.  The weather today is probably the best it has been since we have arrived as most days have been overcast since we have been here….

Picking up some more supplies on our way home..

As the skies were so blue and the sun was shining, I was keen to go back to Anson Bay and see the bay as I remembered it from our last visit… vibrant colours of blues and greens and every shade in between… I was not disappointed, it was stunning today… this is definitely my favourite part of the whole island….. I could have sat there all morning taking it all in…

Stunning colours of Anson Bay...

The path leading down to Anon Bay

Even found fruit growing at Anson Bay

We were home by eleven and decided to have a late brunch… Steve cooked up a feast of scrambled eggs using every vegetable we had and then drizzled cheese over the top and cooked it all until the cheese melted.  It tasted magnificent, we also toasted all our bread and cleaned up the last of our baked beans.  We need to finish our food before leaving the island tomorrow…

Breakfast on the front patio

Amazing scrambled eggs for breakfast

Always flowers on our table

We enjoyed our breakfast out on our front patio which was a little sheltered from the sun and as per each of our other meals we have enjoyed here, our table was adorned with beautiful colour hibiscus from the gardens..

It was just after 12.30pm when we finished our brunch, so thought that we should head into town to visit the last museum.  Today we were checking out the houses on Quality Row, in particular No 10.  It was very interesting, and we heard and saw different things to what we had seen when we were last here.

Front Porch

The house was built for Thomas Sellar - the Forman of Works...

No. 10 Military Row (as it was then called) was built as the residence for the Foreman of the Works and was completed in 1844. Its first inhabitants, Thomas Seller and Robert Orford, were responsible for the building programs in Kingston. As the house with the most original fabric it was beautifully restored to this period in the 1980s. From 1856 till 1890 Isaac Christian and Miriam Young lived in the house, until they handed it over to the Church of England for use by their chaplains. In 1926 Ernest Stephenson, Registrar and Collector of Customs lived there. The house then became the residence of the Official Secretary’s to the Administrator, and included local Charles Potts Buffet. From 1960 until 1984 it was home to Police Sergeants on the island and in 1985 visiting Systems Analyst Phil Munnings and his family lived there. It was then restored and opened as a house Museum in 1985.  

Down to the cellar...

It is rummoured that this is where Thomas Sellar kept his alcohol stored..

 Checking out the sitting room

Painting by Thomas Sellar

 It seems that Thomas Sellar was also a bit of an artist as many of the art works in the house were done by him.

To get the original colours of the room,  they scrap the paint layers right back to the original colour...

When this house was built in 1844 it was the height of the brutal Second Settlement. It has been restored to the period of its first inhabitant Thomas Seller, Foreman of the Works. Period furnishings show the house at it would have been for a gentleman living there with just his manservant, as Seller did. Ceramics and other items that were recovered from archaeological digs in the privies are displayed, providing a unique opportunity to connect these objects with previous inhabitants. A display in the annex on the renovations and other inhabitants of the house, highlights the story of Isaac Christian and Miriam Young who together with their 15 children lived in the house for 34 years from 1856. The grounds present a beautiful colonial period garden including a Common Red Hibiscus over 150 years old.

Whilst Isaac Christian and Miriam Young lived there, one of their visitors etched his name and date onto a piece of glass in their window pane.  It can still be clearly seen today. Plans of ships or boats have been drawn on the walls by the Thomas Sellar the  Minister of works back in the early 1800s..

Plans drawn on the wall by Thomas Seller

Signature etched on the window pane...

 One of the other interesting things the guide at the front door pointed out to us was the hibiscus plant that was growing in the front yard.  It was planted back when the first settlement was started on Norfolk Island and is almost 200 years old...

200 year old hibiscus plant that was planted when the first settlement arrived

Bananas ready to be taken home from No 10 Quality Row...

 It was also interesting to see a lot of the old machinery that was used in the early settlement days also.  We were there until it closed at 3.30pm.  We had got talking to one of the tour guides who was showing her sisters arrived.  She was very interesting to listen too and a wealth of information…  We found out the that Water Mill was feed from a natural spring which is where the Dam is.  There is still water flowing out of it even today and the spring runs underground all the way along Quality Row.  It is where the Officers bath obtained its water also.
By now it was closing time so we didn't get the opportunity to check out the insides of No 9 Quality Row, so I just grabbed a couple of photos instead...

 About the same time I was taking these photos, the Air New Zealand jet heading for Auckland flew overhead... Managed to get a good photo of it..

 As we were heading back into town we decided to stop at the Dam and Watermill and check it all out and take some photos.  When we arrived we were accosted by a number of feral hens and their chickens and a rooster or two.  I am sure they thought we must have had food for them…  We have seen a number of mother hens and her chickens since we have been on the island but normally they bolt away from you especially if we try to take a photo of them.

By now it was almost 3.40pm and we wanted to stop in and check out a couple of shops.  I was looking for perfume and Steve was looking for a new pair of walking shoes…  We only really had half an hour until the shops closed.  The shop I bought my perfume at last time I was here unfortunately didn’t stock the perfume that Sarah wanted but I did end up buying a beautiful table runner for the centre of our table at home.  My souvenir of our visit to Norfolk Island….

Steve wanted to go down to Franks to see if he could get a pair of shoes. (He had bought two pairs from there the last visit we were here).  He wasn’t disappointed… He managed to pick up an Adidas pair for just over $100 probably saving himself about $50.  Both of us happy with our purchases.

The shops were shutting as we left so thought it was time to head home… On our way we discovered a road we had not been on before so decided to take a quick drive along it (it was more a country lane than a road).  We were pleasantly surprised to find some beautiful red and blue parrots…. Out came the camera so we could get a photo of them.

 After this it was straight home.. We all needed a cuppa.  With cuppas made, it was time to get the cards out and we had a game of 5 crowns, and once again the girls reigned supreme with Kathy winning and I a close second… Our plan was to go down to Anson Bay to finish our cheese and crackers and enjoy a wine at sunset, but we still had a good hour to go so decided to have a couple of rounds of Bananagrams.

 We headed down to Anson Bay just on sunset, but our picnic table was occupied by other tourists this afternoon.  We did find another table but it was not as close to the ocean as our previous table.  I guess we should just be thankful that we have managed to get it most other days we ventured down here.

 Once again the clouds had rolled in so there was no majestic sunset again tonight.  Still we enjoyed our time down there and it was dark by the time we left to come home…

Back home we enjoyed dessert eating up the remainder of our ice cream and fruit.  Most of our food is gone now, just a little left for breakfast  in the morning. Ian and Kathy retired after desert, and I started packing for our trip home tomorrow….