At 3 AM I arose. Randy was already awake, chatting with some of the ship’s crew. As I gazed across the horizon I could make out a faint silhouette of Pitcairn. Finally I’ve sighted it, and finally soon, I’d be able to foot on it. When I asked Randy how long it takes to go ashore on the longboat he replied "how long is a piece of string?" Whiling away the hours and then breakfast of bacon and croissants, my gear was ready and then the longboat pulled up at 8:30 AM.
The luggage was loaded first and then, with high swells, we had to climb down the same way we climbed up the other day. After a short ride to shore, I stepped out of the longboat and onto Pitcairn Island!
I'd be greeted with a necklace and a map of the island by Pirate Pawl and then I'd be driven up the Hill of Difficulty to my accommodation.
Home to 47 hardy souls, Pitcairn is the least populous national jurisdiction in the world. It seemed at least half of them were in the longboat to greet us, including two of Randy’s children. Many people know a bit about the history of Pitcairn, but I’ll recap it a bit. In 1789, William Bligh was captain of the HMS Bounty, a merchant ship carrying breadfruit. Fletcher Christian and several other men mutinied, and a few months later in January 1790, they ended up settling on Pitcairn. Along with them they brought several Tahitian women. When Pitcairn became too crowded Queen Victoria, in 1856 awarded Norfolk Island to the descendents of the mutineers. Pitcairn was completely depopulated until several descendents on Norfolk became homesick and returned to Pitcairn. The island had a peak population of 233 in the late 1930s but stands at about only 47 today. The first thing I wanted to do after settling in was go up to Highest Point (names are very simple here on Pitcairn), 347 metres above sea level. Brenda, who stamped my passport with Pitcairn's highly coveted stamp, would give me a lift halfway up for my first hitchhiking lift on Pitcairn. From there it was only a short walk to the summit.
There are some gorgeous views from up here!
At Highest Point (noticed there's no "the" in there) I signed Pitcairn's only geocache:
From Highest Point I walked along Gannet's Ridge to a Norfolk pine that was struck and killed by lightning. A gorgeous view of Adamstown, the island's only settlement, awaited.
Adamstown is named after John Adams, the last survivor of the mutineers. Pitcairn and the USA may be the only countries to share the name of a founding father (although they're not the same person). My original hosts, Jay and Carol, had to leave a few weeks ago for medical treatment in Tahiti. That means I'll be looking after myself for breakfast and lunch and then going to their daughter Charlene's home for dinner. It's the first time ever on my travels where I've stayed in someone's home without meeting them first. The primary mode of transport on Pitcairn is the quad bike. Wayne is Char's ex-partner and he'd pick me up tonight. For dinner I had chicken, chips, fish, and salad with Char and her family. Jayden and Kimiora are her two sons and Cushana is her daughter. She has two more children who live in New Zealand. I somewhat feel like I’m running out of these remote, off-the-wall locales to visit, and I’ve done at least one each year for the past few years. In 2015 it was North Korea, the following year it was Tokelau. In 2017 it was Antarctica and the Falkland Islands, and last year I visited Wallis & Futuna. For 2020 I may have to aim for Tristan da Cunha.
With that euphoric feeling of "ahhhhhhhhh!" I'm finally here on Pitcairn Island, one of the most remote locales on Earth!
