Saturday is the Farmers' Market and Sunday is Craft Market, so it was off to town at 8:30 to check it out. Lots of touristy stuff and jewellery. Purchased a few bits and pieces and then headed off to Prinke Eco Store for breakfast. Their coffee is supposed to be the best in Norfolk Island. Unfortunately, despite advertising that they are open on Sundays, they were closed, so it was a search for another breakfast venue. We ended up at High Tide Kitchen, which turned out to be a disappointment. Food was ok (we shared a full breakfast) despite missing the mushrooms on the menu, but the coffee didn't score many points. You live and learn.
A bit of sightseeing today. First to Bumboras Beach, which is apparently a popular surfing spot. No surfers today as the sea is very rough following a wild and windy night last night. A pretty spot with a nice wooden walkway down to the beach. Someone had even gone to the trouble of building a giant chair out of pallets.
Next stop was Crystal Pool. They could do a little better with their signage over here, as we are not sure which of the spots we were looking at was Crystal Pool, but with the wild waves, they all looked pretty crystal - such an amazing shade of blue.
On the road down to the pools, we pass some ruins that get very little mention in the brochures. They're called the Arches, and apparently continue to intrigue Norfolk Island’s historians and archaeologists. The Arches are a series of impressive brick structures incorporating many arches, built during Norfolk Island’s second convict era and are part of an old estate known a Longridge settlement.
The Arches’ fine craftsmanship and enduring architecture have left few clues about the structure’s former purpose. Longridge was a convict settlement comprising of some 35 buildings, including prisoners’ barracks, stables, barns, a bakehouse and houses for the overseers and superintendents. The prison was known as Branka House and was comprised of three wings. Convicts confined here worked the farm and provided food for the rest of the settlement. Some say the Arches are the ruins of the prisoners’ barracks, which were used to test new techniques in rehabilitation in the mid-1800s. Longridge was renowned for its formidable solitary confinement cells. Others believe the site was simply a stable for the settlement’s horses. It's all a bit of a mystery.
A little further along the coast, we spent some time in Hundred Acres Reserve. Located on Norfolk Island’s southern coastline, Hundred Acres Reserve protects a patch of coastal forest and offers one of the island’s most tranquil walks. The trail winds through white oaks, Norfolk pines and Moreton Bay fig trees before emerging at Rocky Point.
And to complete today's sightseeing we called at St Barnabas Church. This chapel was dedicated in 1880, and together with Bishop’s Court is all that remains of a large Melanesian Mission established there from 1866-1924. The magnificent sandstone chapel is considered one of the finest historic buildings in the South Pacific. The internal fittings include glorious stained glass windows designed by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, a splendid carved walnut reredos with mosaic inlay, hand carved pearl-shell pew decorations and an English black marble floor and font. Taking pride of place is the 1876 Henry Willis organ located in a spacious chamber to the south-east of the building. An amazing building.
Back to Endeavour Lodge for lunch and a rest.......
