What a day! Wutawieh! What a day! Stories and my passion were the story of my day on Norf’k Ailen. There’s a deep reason I’m here; that’s why the airfare was so inexpensive. This morning I was awake early after another bizarre dream. I’ve yet to have a deep, peaceful slumber uninterrupted by bad dreams but Norfolk Island has, in only two nights nearly left me with tears of joy before going to bed. The sun wasn’t even up when I made me morning tea, which I had with a couple of bananas. Norfolk is too far south to grow coconuts but there are coffee and banana plantations on the island. Nicki didn’t show up until after 9 AM. She needed help with making beds (something I’m terrible at) and taking photos of various features of the property (something I’m much better at). The chalet behind mine is a two-bedroom chalet and then there’s several others including the A-frame chalets. The A-frame chalets are in a multitude of colours and look great in a backdrop of hibiscus.
Kelly and her husband both agree that I shoot some great photos. Nicki had a meeting at 11 AM and then I thought I’d ride into town. Instead of turning toward town I made a left since Kelly told me her grandfather, Leo sells the Aussie 20-cent coins with a map of Norfolk on them. It was the first time I’ve been in the home of a local but the coins are a bit dear for right now. Leo told me he was stationed on Norfolk 68 years ago and he never left, saying Auckland is too cold for him. The island didn’t even have electricity until 1965. Up the hill I cycled, slowly toward town. Gaelene was working today so I first stopped to see her. Gae is middle-aged but she’s very gorgeous! She’s one of the lead organizers for the upcoming country music festival and she looks like she belongs in a rodeo; simply give her a cowgirl hat, some rope, and a horse, and she's set. The plan for tonight was dinner at her house but she had another commitment so we’ll meet tomorrow night instead. She suggested speaking to the headmaster at the school to organize a motivational talk. When I showed up she said a couple of people rang her saying she had to meet me! Over a cuppa we chatted and organized a talk for 1:30 PM tomorrow. It’s going to be exciting, especially speaking to teachers and parents of children on the autism spectrum. The most important thing, I feel, is talking to parents with children on the spectrum and having them understand their child’s freedom is important. “See you tomorrow” I told Michelle before I collected my stuff and pedaled into town. Cattle have the right of way on the island but cattle guards are in place to prevent them from wandering freely into town.
At the bakery I got a sausage roll before trying the rolls at the café across the way. Good thing I was inside because it starting pissing down rain. Locals have told me their water tanks are at or near empty. Slightly wet I cycled over to the bank to change some NZ dollars into Australian. There’s a whopping $8 fee to change money but the teller was nice enough to waive it for me. That will encourage me to save my dollars for when I get back to NZ, and sell my books whilst here. Rain was pouring down on top of me, so the perfect cure was a long black at a café a few doors down from the bank. “Fix it Dave” I sat down and spoke to as it pissed down rain outside.
He’s a handyman originally from Sydney, saying he moved here to escape the rat race. “In Sydney, I was always chasing a new car or a new TV” said Dave. “When I moved here, I realized I didn’t need all that.” Locals don’t care what kind of vehicle they own, how old it is, or how beat up it is as long as it gets them from A to B. The other day Nicki and I spotted a catamaran moored near Cascade Bay. She was in awe about a boat being here, though it belongs to a group who called into the café. We all chatted as the rain came down outside and found out they’re sailing around the Pacific promoting clothing made out of recycled plastic. Most recently they came from Lord Howe Island and up next is Vanuatu. Their final destination is French Polynesia. It’s a group of four (two guys and two girls) and it again makes me wonder. Why am I unable to coordinate anything of this sort with anybody? As much as I love travelling alone, it’s nice to be with other people at times. It goes back to the moment in Rarotonga a few months back where I was watching the sunset alone from a veranda and I saw an Aussie couple snogging on the beach as they watched the sunset. I have no girlfriend and I’m unlikely to have a companion in the near future, and I’ve never had a friend visit me anywhere on my travels. Their project sounds amazing though and I spoke with the captain about possibly doing a short hop over to Philip Island. There are boat charters that head that way but they cost $100 or more! We’ll see what unfolds. When I left earlier I only planned on being gone a couple of hours but it was now after 3 PM! Dave and I chatted for over two hours, and I wasn’t sure if Nicki had any work planned for me. Natalie (the customs official) said I should meet Cristina, and Dave told me she runs the preschool and to follow him there. It was still raining slightly but the eastern half of the island received only a sprinkling of rain. I got there before Dave did! He said he stopped for a chat. That’s the thing about Norfolk: everyone stops to chat. Kelly told me yesterday “living on Norfolk can be mentally exhausting.” If you’re sick you can’t just run into the store, get some medicine, and be straight out; everyone will want to stop and talk to you. When she lived in Perth last year she didn’t have to deal with that. Dave introduced me to Cristina and we finally met. She said at least four people rang her saying she had to meet me, including Natalie. We sat down for a cuppa and then she bought my book! She’s my first customer on Norfolk Island. Tomorrow I’ll bring some into the school to sell but I only have two left. We called Nicki to see if she had any work she needed done but she advised me to stock up on stuff to eat since it was getting late. Cristina set me up with some flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda for courgette bread. Now all I needed was oil, vanilla, and courgettes. It’ll be a nice treat to bring to Gae’s tomorrow for dessert. Cristina lives straight across from the preschool but she had to go into town. Incredibly she had no problem waiting for me as I did my food shopping. I’m amazed; I come from a society where nobody would wait outside like that. I asked Sarah at the café (who also works at the bank) if they had any sausage rolls left. “Yeah, but they’re cold” she said. I smiled and said “you can give me a discount.” She heated some up for me and said “my treat.” I only asked for a discount, not for a shout. Opposite the mall at the philatelic bureau I learned the postie’s son has Asperger’s. Furthermore, Cristina’s father, brother, and nephew all have Asperger’s, so it runs in their family. Cristina knew of a place to get some courgettes but they’re $6.30 for two! At the supermarket I noticed most food isn’t ridiculously priced, though fresh milk is $8 a litre! Incredible considering cattle run amok on the island. Cristina dropped me at the school to retrieve my bicycle and I caught Nicki just as she was getting ready to leave. She asked if I could wrote a story about bicycling to Mokutu and snap more photos. The sunset tonight was gorgeous!
It was another quiet night. There are no other guests staying here so I have the whole complex to myself. Pumpkin soup and a grilled cheese sandwich would be my light tea tonight. Afterward I mixed up the ingredients for courgette bread and put it in the oven. As the courgette bread baked I walked out to the road beneath a gibbous moon and gazed heavenly at the radiant Southern Cross. It makes me wonder: if there are planets with intelligent life circling the stars of the Southern Cross, what would they think of us in the southern hemisphere being in awe of this particular group of stars? I love being in the south. This is my favourite part of the world. Travelling satisfies my soul in a big way, and Norfolk Island has treated me extremely well. I’m nearly in tears tonight as my courgette bread is cooling. Such a joy to be on an island meant for angels and eagles.
