We did get to Prinke Eco Store for breakfast this morning, and if it is the best coffee in town (as promoted), then we're in trouble. Perhaps we're just coffee snobs, but it's a shame very few venues can do a "real" flat white these days. If one wants fluff on top, then one would order a latte. Oh well!! The sourdough fruit bread was very nice, all the same.
Another walk! This time, the eastern section of the National Park at Palm Glen Circuit. Quite a spectacular rainforest gully filled with Norfolk Island Palms and tree ferns, plus some pines. It was only about a kilometre, but did feel a lot further. At one point, there was (yet another) magnificent panoramic view over the island and out to Phillip Island.
Back to town to buy a few t-shirts and then down to the golf club in Kinstown for lunch, to find that it was closed on Mondays. So lunch and a little rest back at Endeavour Lodge in preparation for the World Heritage Walk at 1:30pm.
Rick was our guide, and the walk concentrated on the wreck of the Sirius, the New Jail and the life of the convicts during the second Penal Colony.
The HMS Sirius was the flagship of the First Fleet that established the first European colony in Australia, and Norfolk Island's link to Sydney town and the outside world. Its wreck on the reef just offshore at Kingston on March 19, 1790, was a significant disaster for the fledgling colony, resulting in the loss of vital supplies and communication with Britain. The shipwreck site is now considered Australia's most important shipwreck, representing a significant piece of cultural heritage.
The "New Gaol" refers to the pentagonal prison complex built between 1836 and 1847 during the island's second penal settlement for housing difficult convicts, featuring a central building with radiating cell blocks. Although the buildings are now long gone, enough remains to enable Rick to give us an idea of what life was like back in the 1830s, and a miserable life it would have been. Over the years, the buildings were scavenged and the material used elsewhere. Fortunately for history's sake, the perimeter wall and gate archway still stand. pretty well intact.
Following the talk, we spent some time in the port area - checked out the photographic display in the Surgeons' Quarters. This building is quite unique, constructed in 1827 from a framework shipped over from Sydney and clad with weatherboards and shingles crafted from local timbers.
Today, this resilient little building is the home of the Norfolk Island Lions Club, and houses a fascinating collection of photographs of island to life over the years. Interestingly, behind the quarters, you can see the foundations of an adjoining house, destroyed when the First Settlement was abandoned.
Monday night was Progressive Dinner Night, so we fronted up to the Pinetree Tours office at 6:30 for our night out. Over the course of the evening, we enjoyed a delicious 3-course meal, each served in a different family home. Food was delicious, using mostly local produce, and each family had a story to tell. Good food, good company, what more could one ask for?
