Wutawieh you! Awake early this morning I was, after a dream that I got into a large argument with Craig (about the last person to argue with anybody!). After I already made my morning cuppa and smeared some cherry guava jam on some bread, Nicki showed up. She’s hiring me a bicycle and said “I’m giving you the day off” to explore on my own. Nicki has gone so above and beyond for me that I really want to do some work for her! We drove into town to the garage where the bicycles are, and a flashy new shipment came in. Hayden, the mechanic, is an expert on bicycles and originally from Whakatane, fitting since "Whakatane" means "to act as a man" in Maori" (and mechanic is typically a man's job). With a well-fitted helmet and a brand-new bicycle I was set to go. Hayden said “call in for a cuppa” and I’ll be certain to do that. Thinking of all the warm messages I received before arriving yesterday, I wanted to meet Gaelene (Gae). Nicki told me to follow her to where Gae works, and I made it out of town and up the hill quickly. Riding is beautiful thus far.
Wow, I really miss my bicycle! Gae looks just like whom I saw in the Facebook photo: a rather youthful appearance with dark, curly hair. I still haven’t been to the home of a Norfolk Islander, but Gae invited me for dinner tomorrow evening. Nicki had to get back to Mokutu, so I headed one direction and she went the other. Into Burnt Pine I was, stopping for a long black at a café in town. The only ATM on the island is at the Commonwealth Bank, but that’s not why I called in there. As a result of busking in Queenstown I had more than $60 worth of Australian coins saved, and I wanted to exchange it for real money (as well as lightening my pockets). One of the tellers has a son with Asperger’s and was immediately interested in my book. “Come back Thursday and I’ll buy one” she called out. This morning I gave Nicki a copy for hosting me for my stay and I brought some extras to sell. The philatelic bureau is where I headed next. Norfolk issues its own postage stamps; Australian stamps can’t be used on Norfolk and vice-versa. Craig and Margaret will receive a postcard, as will María. The bakery at the Norfolk Mall makes excellent sausage rolls, but I also stopped in there to meet Carli Christian: a lovely young lady whom I’ve been in touch with since before I arrived. “You made it, I’m Carli” she said. “I recognized you from your Facebook photos.” She said she knew something would work out and that somebody would host me. Yesterday it was Mother’s Day on Norfolk and in New Zealand but it’s Mother’s Day today in the USA so I wanted to give my mother a call. Internet and telecommunication is a tricky (and expensive) issue here. It costs around $6 for 100 MB of bandwidth and Skype would easily go far beyond that. There’s one internet café in Burnt Pine that charges $5 for 30 minutes (unlimited bandwidth) but their Skype device wasn’t working, so I couldn’t call my mother, sadly. I’ll have to call her when I’m back in New Zealand. Having a bicycle gives me a lot of versatility although there are a lot of tough hills on this small island. It makes Norfolk seem a lot bigger than its 35 sq km. Out of town I rode and up a steep hill and then back to Mokutu. For a wee bit I rested and then experimented with tomato with grilled cheese. Lunch was good! Up next for me was a ride to Kingston, the first settlement on Norfolk. Originally called Sydney, Kingston was renamed after Lieutenant Philip Gidley King: a navy officer who brought the first convicts to Norfolk Island. Kingston is located down a steep hill yet I rode without a care to the Queen Elizabeth Lookout, gazing at the rain clouds belting rain down on Philip Island. It didn’t matter to me; as I said, I’m riding without a care. In the Parliament Building I gazed into the Assembly Room.
It’s amazing they allow the public to view these areas. To the gaol I cycled, getting some even better photos before I headed over to Emily Bay. In my opinion, this is one of the most beautiful areas of the island.
With the ocean, a lone pine, and all three islands of the group I got one of my best photos in a long time!
And I barely made it into the photo before the 10-second timer went off. Behind me you see Nepean and Philip Islands. Nicki had invited me to join her for a yoga session tonight yet I was hungry so I wanted to cycle into town for another sausage roll. The ride coming up was tough but not as tough as I thought. “Norfolk has some brutal hills” said one local earlier. The bakery was closed, so there went the sausage roll idea. Then it was full-throttle back to Mokutu, and I barely made it back; Nicki was driving up the driveway. Quickly I put the bicycle away. Today I had sweated heaps and now I was about to sweat some more! Yoga can be tough, especially if you haven’t done it in so long. It’s one of those things I’d really like to practice more. The “down dog” position is a common one (and a tough one). Later in the session there were some more relaxing poses. For a minute I was like “why did I do this to myself?” yet by the end of the session I felt great. It was excellent! Candida is the instructor.
She’s originally from South Africa and I told her about one of my ultimate travel ambitions: Africa4Autism. Tentatively I’m planning a ride from Cape Town to Istanbul along the western part of Africa. She seemed to gasp in awe at that, but I’m definitely going to do it! My muscles and bones felt tired after a nice workout today; therefore I could use a good dinner. Lamb curry sounded great, even at the tune of $17. I wasn’t about to allow Nicki to shout me dinner again. Topped with chutney with a side of roti, the curry was excellent. A glass of sauvignon blanc was even better! What a great way to unwind after a long day! Tonight I read A Place for Angels and Eagles, a story about the history and geography of Norfolk Island. Norfolk was first settled by Polynesians, then by two different convict groups before the Pitcairners arrived in 1856. The airstrip was built during World War II but proved invaluable after the war. This allowed for a major boom in tourism, which is Norfolk’s main source of revenue today. After some reading I did some listening. I learned about the vowel pronunciations in Norf’k and how various words are spelled. “Heat” becomes “hiit,” “good” becomes “guud,” “March” becomes “Maach,” and “hat” becomes “haet.” Those are just a few of many examples. Now I practice my Norf’k after a long day with “se yorle morla.”
