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Lord Howe Island
On the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1982 because of its rare birds and plant life, and its coral reef in unpolluted and virtually untouched waters, LORD HOWE ISLAND, 700 km off the coast of Sydney, Australia, is the ultimate destination for ecotourists. The island's preservation was assured by Victorian-era descriptions of "this gem of the sea" when reports were brought back to the Australian mainland regarding the progress of the multiracial settlers who had arrived in the 1830s.
Even today only a tenth of the land has been cleared for cultivation or grazing, and two-thirds of the island is designated as Permanent Park Reserve. Only 11km long and just under 3km across at its widest point, the crescent-shaped subtropical island is covered with kentia palm plantations, which represent the island's only industry other than tourism. With a population of just 280, only 400 visitors are allowed on the island at any one time; to enforce this limit, accommodation has to be booked in advance. There is only one short road and, although some locals have vehicles, people get around mainly by bicycle, boat or on foot.
Jim's sister Carly and I decided to fly to Lord Howe Island and spend two weeks with Jim's brother Fred and wife Teddy at their vacation home on Lord Howe Island. This was in March of 2005, before I was diagnosed with dementia.
Hi All:
First day at Lord Howe Island. Had a great sleep last night! Finally!
Carly & Fred have just gone off to climb a small mountain called Malabar which we can see out the windows here! Teddy said Fred will be pooped all day...but Carly was needing her workout! Teddy is busy making gazpacho, which is Spanish chilled tomato soup, using up what is in the fridge!
This gorgeous 4 bedroom home is sitting in the middle of a cow pasture, with electric fencing and turnstiles all around. At the moment I see two cows grazing contentedly! There are white terns dancing all around the skies in the morning sunshine, and I'm watching the tide slowly come in. What an idyllic place. Later this morning Teddy and I will be biking down the hill to one of the beaches...Ned's Beach. Yesterday we swam at Lagoon Beach which has the largest coral reef outside of it. The sand here is different from any I've been in....you sink about 4-6" every step. Makes for hard walking, even when in the water....so I just float around!
We plan on doing some biking later today. Harrison, Teddy's 11 year old son, goes to school at 8:30. There are 42 kids total in the school, with 3 teachers. There are 5 kids in his grade 6. He likes school just fine! He has a new hobby, surfing....and has learned to body surf, but yesterday actually stood up on his surf board twice. Quite exciting! He just goes off swimming after school....arrives home in time for supper.
We had fresh fish for supper last night! Now, when you want fresh fish here, you just go to the local restaurant and fill out a little slip indicating how many people you're feeding, what kind you'd like (they have a list to pick from), and put it in a slot...before 3:00 p.m....and it is delivered to your house before supper, and they actually just put it in your fridge, if you're not home!
Teddy can phone in a grocery order which comes from Port McQuarie every two weeks on a Saturday. She can order all her staples, fruit & veggies, and meat. And it's all delivered to her door. And they just bill you! There's also a little store back over my right shoulder, across the field, where she can buy fresh produce. This fellow has his own airplane...and brings in fresh produce every day. So she's trying different methods to see which is preferable.
On Lord Howe there is a hair dressing salon which also has little gift type things, a clothing store, a hardware store which sells paints, fishing rods, etc. as well as being the local baker, the general store which has a bit of everything and specializes in groceries and kitchenware, and the Top Shop which carries fresh produce and meat. You just have a credit at each store...all they require is your name and post office box...and you pay your bill once a month.
Now those two contented cows I had previously mentioned, actually they were standing patiently at the fence...and I see why now. The owner of the aforementioned fruit & vegetable store behind is, must go over every morning and throw tubs of vegetable scraps over to them. One tub for each cow. They are now munching away on their piles of veggies!
Well...that's it for now....time to make another coffee, and go out onto the deck to see if I can see Carly & Fred at the first plateau yet!
Friday, March 18 - 9:00 a.m.
Good Morning once again from beautiful Lord Howe Island. We are slightly overcast today, and the much needed rain has just started, with a forecast for rain the next three days, which my slightly sunburned body is very thankful for, and the almost empty water tanks are thirsting for! That is the only fresh water supply….and everyone has a number of very large (300 gal, I think) water tanks for storing rain water from the roof.
Carly and I were up at 6:45, Carly trying to access her email and me enjoying my coffee on the veranda!
After Carly & Fred's hike yesterday up Malabar (209 m), she and Jessica (Teddy's 15 yr old daughter) and I headed out on our bikes to Ned's Beach, for a swim and some sunbathing. Jessica picked some frangipanni flowers for us to wear in our hair….lovely scented white and yellow blossoms. Ned's Beach is where the fish are fed daily at 4:15. This is to get ride of the table scraps from a couple of the local lodges. Fishing is not allowed in that cove, as the fish are so tame from the daily feeding. In fact, when we were swimming, large (2 foot) blue fish were swimming in circles around us. I could almost touch them, but they're a little timid at being touched!
So after some sunbathing and a couple of swims we headed off on our bikes to check out the stores on our way to meet Teddy & Fred at Blue Peter's Café. Blue Peter, by the way, is the name of the Lord Howe Island flag. I had a delicious hamburger & fries ($13.80)…that was the cheapest thing on the menu….sitting outside under the canopy! Then we all biked off to Blinky Beach on the other end of the Island. This is where the surfers like to go. Huge waves crashing in! Fred & Teddy ventured into the massive surf…the rest of us sat and watched! This reminded me of Sandbanks where I live, only on a much larger scale. The sand dunes here are the size of small mountains!!! Sure good exercise climbing those ones…on wooden stairs…except the sand has blown across all the steps…so it's still like climbing a big sand hill!
Then we hopped onto our bikes again (I think at this point hopped was not the appropriate word for me - more like crawled!) and we headed home…at the other end of the Island! I had to walk up the last hill, pushing my bike - but I made it!
We didn't make it to the planned fish feeding….people seem to get busy, and time goes by! Carly and I joined Teddy on a walk down to Middle Beach Road, where she was picking up some more kitchen utensils from a friend who is leaving the Island. He and his wife and kids had been here 18 months…he working for the Board as the accountant…but his wife couldn't take island living! As we all walked back from there we came across a huge pomegranate tree…and picked two pomegranates. I've never seen those growing ….a towering tree with the fruit just hanging down like an apple tree. Then we packed up the food and walked to Ned's Beach again for a steak barbeque….then the walk back up the hill…and I collapsed into bed by 8:30 pm!!!
Now some interesting facts - all the houses on Lord Howe have solar heated hot water. There is a generator that provides all the electricity to the Island with all power lines underground. You can only have air conditioning if you run your own generator, so only a very few places have air conditioning! There is only one resident cat on the island…they were outlawed because they were killing the birds which are only found on Lord Howe! There are 44 resident dogs, and the Board thinks this is too many, and may do something about that!
We all sleep under mosquito netting , which is suspended from the ceiling. A big round hoop, about 2 feet in diameter, holds the netting, which you then hang all around your bed just before you climb in. The doors and windows are open 24 hours…and there are no screens. I think Fred is considering installing screens on all the windows, and has the measurements he needs to do so. I believe they're planning on renting this place for 10 years which would then give them the required status to become a resident here. You can't purchase the land, but you can lease it and build on it, as long as you've lived here ten years.
Since this island has been deemed heritage, it is governed by a Board consisting of two islanders and three mainlanders. And there is mega funding from the government to run it! Locals are hired by the Board for the various jobs around the island, including climbing up the palm trees to gather the seeds, which are sold world wide. Apparently that is a very lucrative business! The money goes back into the Heritage Fund to run the island.
If you live here and get pregnant, you may go stay on the mainland a month early at the expense of the government….all expenses paid for the month, including the flight to and from the island. There is a small hospital here, but the doctor is only here a couple of times a week.
Fred thinks there are about 120 families who live here year round. Most of the families have vehicles, but few of them have phones. It's cheaper to drive to the neighbours to talk than have a phone. There are pay phones all over the island…in fact there is one at the end of our laneway!
Most families only go to the mainland once or twice a year if that! Everything they want they can get here or order in by plane or boat. Now I just saw Fred's filled propane tank returned here…and the invoice is $122.00. That's for the small tank we all use on our bar-b-ques…what is that … 20 lbs? So, yes…everything is expensive!
Apparently most of the lodges close down for the winter months…I have no idea why, because the weather is still hot by our standards!
We have banana trees growing all around our bungalow…no signs of bananas, but this is the end of the summer, so that may be why!
When we were at the beach for our barbeque last night, the mutton birds were flying back in for the night just after dusk. They came in swarms to nest in the nearby groves. It was so funny…they fly in and just drop into the trees. You could hear them as they hit the branches and then the ground! Fred said they have been known to just drop on top of people! He said he thought they were just too exhausted from flying over the sea to land like normal birds!!!
Good Morning again:
Another fabulous morning on Lord Howe…slightly overcast, with forecasts of thunderstorms and 26 degrees…which suits me just fine! I won't have to make too many jaunts up and down the hills of the Island! Fred just returned from walking 45 minutes to the golf course to retrieve my bike. Carly has just set off for the golf course to retrieve her bike! I'll tell you about that later! These ambitious people!
Since it was overcast and rainy all day yesterday we didn't do any swimming, and spent more time on the veranda! Carly, Jessica and I did venture down the hill to Joy's Store again, a ½ hour walk down the Middle Beach Road. Carly was in search of more bottled water. I was looking for coffee mate, or a coffee whitener, but they hadn't heard of it! What they do use are little cartons of Paul's Thickened Cream that you whip or pour, and doesn't require refrigeration until you open it. It's 35% milk fat, so I know it's really fattening…but oh so good! One thing I noticed at Joy's Store….a box of regular saltines, with the four sleeves of crackers,…..the one's we pay $1.29 or $.99 for?…..$4.19!!!!
At 4:30 Teddy, Carly & I headed back down on our bikes to Blue Peter's Café for an evening drink before heading to the golf course to join Fred who was playing golf all afternoon. 11 year old Harry was surfing with his ‘mates' after school, and they all joined us at the golf club. Every Friday night is fish night….$15.00.….and we had king fish, cole slaw, tossed salad, beet salad, and fries. Beets are very popular here…sliced beets are served inside a hamburger even! Carly and I decided this was a good time to take the family out to eat!!! We could afford $15.00 per person!!!
At 9:00 the kids were all being driven in the back of a truck or Ute (flat bed truck with little sides) to Blue Peter's Café for ice cream, so Carly, Jessie and I joined them, Carly and I in the front of the truck! I would have loved to hop in the back with the kids, but couldn't quite figure out how I'd get my old hips up there! We opted out of the ice cream and the 3 of us walked home. Fred and Teddy rode their bikes home at about 11:00. It was a fun night…but since neither Carly nor I enjoy the loud music scene, we were glad to leave early!
Lord Howe Island has been declared a world heritage site, and is classified as a national park. They are gradually trying to return the island to its former state. In the 1700's sea going vessels stopped here and deposited goats and pigs, marking the location on their maps, thus providing themselves with fresh food when passing by. In 1999 the Board had all the goats and pigs shot (from helicopters and local people), so the natural vegetation would regrow. When these same ships stopped off here, rats "jumped ship", so the island was overrun with rats. So the locals brought in cats to kill the rats, but soon discovered the cats were killing the native birds, a number of which are only found on the Island. So the cats were all destroyed. There is now one cat living on the Island, never allowed outside …and when that one is gone, no more are allowed. They have spent the last four years implementing another rat program…this one involves what looks like white plumbing pipe….about 6" in diameter and 2 feet long with poison inside (and the birds can't get in), and these are all over the island. I can see one under a tree out the front window, and there is one under the house…so yes, all over the island. Employees of the Board regularly empty these traps and install fresh bait.
One sea gull has made it to the island…and has been here two years now. He is the island pet, but if another seagull arrives they will both be destroyed!
The Board is now considering getting rid of all the cows on the island. This would enable the natural foliage to regrow in the pasture land. Interesting what power the Board has!!! Sort of like a little dictatorship!
I mentioned the Kentia palms previously. The seeds are gathered from these palms twice a year and sold world-wide. I watched a neighbour shimmy up a palm to the top the day before yesterday and gather the seeds. The Board pays them by the bushel so all the locals who climb are very busy right now. The seeds are then taken to a small operation which plants the seeds, and the seedlings are sent all over the world.
Our lovely house, as I may have mentioned before, is located on the edge of a cow pasture, with electric fence around, and a turn-stile to walk through to get to the road. The turn-stile was designed so that it could be pulled up out of the ground to allow you through with bikes, etc. Along the fence line were planted lovely new kentia palms and hibiscus when Fred and Teddy arrived here in January. Well, one of the two neighbouring cows discovered she could lift the turnstile up out of the ground with her horns, and enter the property for a special feast of tender palms and hibiscus. Fred actually witnessed her doing this! The turnstile is now firmly fitted into the ground, and Teddy is busy planting new palms and other flowers.
There are 400 guest beds on the Island. This is the maximum number of tourists the Board will allow at one time. If a Lodge is going to close down and just continue on as a residence, the allotted beds from that lodge can be sold to any other property that wants to increase their bed allotment. These bed allotments are selling now for around $275,000.00 each! So you can imagine how expensive it is to stay in one of the lodges!!!
When we first arrived in Australia and went to the washroom (called toilet) at the airport I wanted to see if the water indeed drained opposite to North America…..and both the toilet and sink had drains that didn't swirl, but went straight down! What a disappointment! The toilet here also does the same. But…..aha….the bathroom sink let me see a swirl, and yes, it does go down the opposite way!!! Now another interesting thing…..there is no North star down here…and I have no idea what Australians look for in the sky! So I guess we're seeing sky that we've never seen before! I didn't recognize anything!!!
Sunday, March 19th
We woke up to heavy rain this morning, and you could hear it running down the pipe into the water reservoirs! Yeh!!! Unfortunately, it didn't last terribly long, however there looks to be more rain clouds coming over the mountain! I don't know if I mentioned that all the houses here are connected via underground pipes, so if one house runs out of water, water can be shared from a neighbour. Also the Board has a large reservoir in the centre of Lord Howe which is filled from rain water from the roof of the large generator plant. You can purchase water from them in an emergency, and it's just sent via the pipeline to your reservoir! Pretty neat ?
Also, when you build a house here, you have to pay the Board $10,000 upfront because your house is going to be visible from the road. Once you've finished building, you plant palm trees and other vegetation in front of the house. Once they grow to a size that your house is no longer visible, you get your $10,000 back! The owner of the house we're in will never get his $10,000 back, because this is one of the very few houses on the island which has a view of the Tasman Sea! From our vantage point on top of this hill you can't see another house! They're all behind vegetation!
Another fairly relaxing day yesterday, in between little tiny rain showers…not enough to fill any of the water reservoirs, I'm afraid.
After a lovely lunch of veggies and sausage rolls, we all headed down to the liquor store to pick up 20 bottles of wine that Teddy had ordered. Can you picture five of us walking up the trails with backpacks, each carrying 4 bottles of wine? Only on Lord Howe! Everywhere you look there are people riding bikes or walking….mostly riding bikes! And when you're at a store or restaurant, if someone comes in barefoot you know they're locals. The locals all seem to go barefoot! Why all the wine, you ask? Teddy invited a bunch of people over for a wine & cheese party at 5:30.
Carly and Jessica made a trip down to the stores for Carly to check out rice pasta….they ended up getting a gelato (ice cream without milk) ($3.50 each) and Carly bought two cans of beans. Now at home these beans cost $0.69.….here they cost $2.50 each! I really don't think any of us could afford to live here!!! She used the two cans to make a bean pate which was a great hit with the guests. Teddy made up a cheese plate…using a great big wooden cutting board with a huge banana leaf on top, on which she places various cheeses and crackers. It was great.
The guests included Kathy, a lady about 50ish who runs a small café (Palm Sugar Cafe) just up behind us about 2 blocks, and 3 of her old school friends who are here visiting from Sydney for a few days! Also we had Chris and Eileen, who live at Grafton, which is on the coast, about six hours from Sydney. They were also here visiting friends for a few weeks. It was such fun visiting with these people. I found out that most Australians travel to Canada and other countries when they finish high school and before they continue on with whatever they're going to do with their life! So a number of the women had been to Canada 30-40 years ago!
Teddy and I did a little walk up McGee Road beside us to Skyline Road behind us, and onto a path which led into a cow pasture, where one cow was chewing her cud. You opened and closed the gate to wander over to a point, where there was a Norfolk Pine, endemic to Norfolk Island, and a picnic table. This was the east side of the Island….huge big cliffs, and very picturesque…..mostly lava type black rock. This side of the island doesn't seem to be used much…Fred said there are stairs to get down to one small beach further down the coastline, but they haven't been there yet.
This morning, after breakfast, we are all biking down to the airport at the other end of the Island, to meet Natasha, Teddy's sister, who is coming to visit for a week. She hasn't been here yet. So Fred is trying to decide where to get another bike for Natasha to use! Actually, Carly and I have been invited to stay at Natasha's apartment in Sydney when we leave Lord Howe, and we are considering doing that before our scheduled Friday, as there is so much to see in Sydney….we just hate to miss anything!!!
Every place on Lord Howe has COCKROACHES!!! If you can imagine that!! Neither Carly nor I had ever seen one! We have seen one dead one, and couldn't believe how huge it was! And Carly saw one live one at the liquor store! So when we leave here we will definitely be emptying our suitcases out in Sydney before we fly back home….just in case!
The spiders here are enormous…but apparently there are no poisonous ones on Lord Howe. I'm sitting here looking at one that is about 3 inches in diameter (to his feet tips)….so that's about 1 inch body! Hope he stays up in his web where he belongs!
Well, Fred just made bacon & eggs for breakfast (eggs are $5.00/dozen here), so I'll go and enjoy this luxury!
Monday, March 20th
Another day on Lord Howe….and still awe inspiring!
Yesterday we donned our slacks and little sweaters in the a.m…..we weren't complaining, but just a tad cool around the edges with the overcast sky and light rains.
Aloe Vera plants…those ones we buy in Canada to grow in our homes, so we have the Aloe Vera gel for burns, mosquito bites, etc…..they grow here all over the island. They're a weed, if you can imagine that! Teddy picked some and has them in water in some decorative canisters she found at the dump! I haven't been to the dump yet…but it's like a gigantic recycling centre….people leave stuff there they don't need, and other people come along and take it! Our next trip to the dump we're looking for pot lids for some pots she got there on another trip, but is now looking for their lids! That's one of the things on our to-do list before we leave this paradise….. a visit to the dump! Teddy also has some various glass bowls and vases from the dump which she fills with water and sticks frangipanni petals in, and floats the hibiscus flowers in the low glass bowls and plates! So beautiful! We have little containers of frangipanni petals on our bedside table!
We ended up using the next door neighbours van to pick up Natasha (Teddy's younger sister) at the airport. Actually, there was a young couple with 8 month old twins staying at one of the cottages next door for the week, and so we drove them to the airport for their trip back to Sydney, and collected Natasha. Natasha is a lovely girl…and is a clothes designer. She's had her own business for years, but has just signed on as the designer with a well-known Australian company, I believe, called Mambo. They specialize in surfing clothing, I think.
Carly & Teddy took a bike ride down to the dump (while I had a nap) …and Teddy found 5 interesting books on Australia, including a cook book of recipes that were favourites of well known Australian gentlemen! She also got a long, oval silver platter to serve fish on, and an unopened box of cedar chips to put in the drawers! She had just been saying the other day she wished she could find some of those at the store!
In the afternoon, we headed down to Ned's Beach for the 4:15 feeding of the fish. That was a fantastic experience. All the onlookers stand in a line in the water, while the feeder, in wet suit, is further out in the water, throwing handfuls of food from a bucket. His wife swims around a little further out, keeping watch for the Galapagos Shark which likes to come in closer to see if it can get any food! They aren't allowed to kill the shark, but the feeder keeps a long stick stuck in the sand beside him to deter the sharks if they come in too close! The wife swam in to him at one point and indicated two sharks circling….so she pointed them out to me. They looked to be about 1 ½ feet long. I took some pictures of the fish that were feeding….the kingfish were about 2 feet long and blue colour…and apparently they are bullies, and will actually attack the sharks if they get at the food! I don't know if any of my pictures will turn out, as the water was quite rough, with 2 foot breakers coming in! I was up to my knees in water, then up to my chest in water, as the waves came in! It was so much fun! Carly and I left before the others to walk home again…and we were so busy talking we missed the turn off to come to the house, and ended up in downtown Lord Howe! I really laugh at the downtown, as it has about 6 little stores! We decided to go into Thompson's store to treat ourselves with a bag of chips…but weren't willing to pay the $5.00! I did find some coffee creamers on sale for $1.00 cause they were outdated! Love a good sale! Carly and I were commenting that in another couple of weeks this vacation will just be a memory! It's like experiencing a little bit of heaven, I think!
The fish man arrived after we all got home delivering the day's catch of fish….Wahoo was the name of the fish. Teddy had placed an order earlier in the day for whatever the days catch was! Wahoo was indeed a lovely catch…very mild flavoured, with a mango salsa served with it. Yummy!
Teddy has a few veggies planted in her garden where the cow ate everything last month, and we actually had 6 little cherry tomatoes from her garden! She also has containers of herbs growing at the bottom of the veranda stairway which she uses in her cooking! In the patch of vegetation just down from our house are banana trees with bananas growing. They grow straight up in clumps! Very neat to see!
I don't know if I ever described this beautiful house we're guests in! It is a large open concept living/dining/kitchen, with 4 bedrooms down two sides of the house, with a large covered veranda on the other two sides of the house. The square footage of the house is 2700 feet, plus the veranda of 1000 square feet….with hardwood floors throughout the house! There is a bathroom off the master bedroom with a glass enclosed shower stall, and another bathroom for the rest of the household. This main bathroom has an extra long 4-footed bathtub, as well as a glass enclosed shower stall. I would love to have a long soak in that tub, but with the water shortage I'm only able to have a wee small shower daily! There are two sets of French doors off the living/dining/kitchen room, and another set leading out of the master bedroo onto the gorgeous deck. The house is sitting up on stilts, with a walk in area under the house. This area is used for storage of ladder, garbage and recycling containers, and garden implements.
This morning we've had several downpours…which is great for the water tanks….not too inviting for bike riding or hiking!
Carly & I are waiting to hear from Qantas Airport to see if we can exchange our Friday flights to Wednesday, 2 days earlier. People keep telling us we really need more than 2 days to visit Sydney's attractions, so I'll keep you posted on that!
Tuesday, March 21st
I'm feeling so sorry for all the tourists who have arrived here for their week of vacation on Lord Howe ….rain every day! We really need the rain for our water tanks…but a little hard to do any sightseeing with the heavy rains. As soon as the rain quits, people emerge and scurry around to do their various errands and sight-seeing trips ‘till the next little downpour . This morning is actually clearing up nicely after very heavy thunderstorms all night! Two of the water tanks are full and overflowing…and Fred has switched the eaves trough piping to the third tank to fill it! Teddy even managed some loads of laundry this a.m. with all the water!!!
About 11 am Monday the females of the house all headed down the hill heading for the museum, leaving Fred with his head in a book (one which Teddy found at the dump!), and Harry was already at school! We had a lovely visit at the museum, reading about the history of the island, and seeing various displays of bones, rocks, and shells. Then we carried on to town for lunch at Humpty Micks! I had a delicious steak & kidney pie! Carly had a great big salad, Jessica had a wrap, Natasha had a hamburger, and Teddy had a sandwich. Then across the street to the post office to buy stamps for my postcards, on to Thompson's Grocery Store to see if there was anything there we needed, and then the uphill trek home! I have mentioned that everywhere you go is up hill?
I haven't noticed any fat local people here ….only tourists…and not many of those! Considering it is downhill and uphill to go anywhere here, the people are all very physically fit! And I think with the cost of food here, people don't munch on junk food between meals like they do in our country! Speaking of junk food, Carly and Jessica walked down town before supper for another ice cream treat! My knees and hips were still aching from the previous walk, so I opted to stay home! I'm wondering if the wet weather is doing a number on me also!!!
While Natasha, Jessica and I had snoozes, and Fred still had his head in his book, Carly and Teddy did a 2 ½ hour ride and hike to the bottom of Mt. Gower! Carly said she got some good pictures of it, but would certainly never be able to climb it!
No luck changing our flight back to Sydney….one seat available on Thursday, so the thought is we might go to the airport Thursday on stand-by, in case another seat becomes available. Otherwise we'll leave Fri. afternoon as scheduled…and cut back on our touring plans in Sydney. We're really wishing we had booked less time on Lord Howe and more in Sydney to see everything! Especially now that we have rain forecast for the rest of the week, so looks like our time on the beach will be very short! Teddy and Natasha spent the morning planning with Carly and I on what we want to see while in Sydney…and depending on our arrival there how much we'll be able to fit in! Natasha has kindly offered us the use of her apartment while we're there…and I'm looking forward to a long soak in a hot bathtub! Teddy, Natasha and Jessica are flying over to Sydney on Sunday, so we'll meet up in China Town for a Chinese supper!
Natasha brought some fruit with her…..Mangosteen - a small fruit which looks similar in size and colour to a plum, from Indonesia. You cut it open and eat the white seed inside…which is in sections similar to a Jap orange. It has a very light flavour similar to orange…very delicate tasting…with a texture similar to a scallop. How‘s that for a description! I don't think I would go out of my way to purchase any of those….$19.00/kg. in Sydney.
For supper Teddy prepared pasta marinara which had shrimp, mussels, clam & squid in a tomato sauce served over pasta. I think it was excellent, but not being a seafood lover I just barely managed to get it all down! I didn't dare bite into anything….just sort of let it slide down my throat! The salad was lovely though! I don't think Fred is much of a seafood lover either….he was complaining that spaghetti is supposed to have a meat sauce on it, and I noticed he didn‘t finish off his bowl full! Poor Teddy! I think she felt badly after all her work!!!
Wednesday, March 22
Good Morning:
A slightly overcast day with chance of heavy rain and thunderstorms later today, so we have to pack all our excursions into our early day activities.
Teddy mentioned that once every three months a number of specialists arrive on the Island….podiatrist, gynaecologist, etc, etc. You make appointments to see any of these specialists that your body requires. When the specialist sees you, if he feels he needs a further appointment or tests, you will be flown at the government's expense to the mainland. The same goes for dental and eye appointments…it's all part of the island living package…free flights and accommodation, etc. on the mainland.
Yesterday morning Carly and I took a short walk up to High Street behind us, and around the corner to the Palm Sugar Café. This is a lovely little place hidden in the palms, with a huge veranda, where there is seating for about 20 people. We just ordered coffee and tea….and admired the art and jewellery of local artists that was displayed for sale. I purchased a lovely pair of earrings for myself (50% off the $45.00 price), and Carly fell in love with a watercolour of Mutton Bird Island, and actually returned to the café later to buy it! It was painted by Arlene Bridges, a lady we met at the golf club fish fry, as well as at the house the next day for our little wine and cheese get-together. It is so neat to have a piece of art by someone you know! Arlene is a teacher, and I understand she is planning to spend the winter here teaching art classes.
In the afternoon Natasha and Jessica rode their bikes to Blinky Beach, where the big surf was, and Teddy and I walked to Ned's Beach…where we swam a few times, and collected driftwood and shells! It was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon!
Carly and Fred hiked up to Transit Hill where a look-out was set up for viewing the transit of Venus. The last recorded viewing from there was for the 1882 transit. When an smaller celestial object crosses in front of another larger object in the sky it is known as a transit. When this happens with the moon and the sun it is known as a lunar eclipse, but with Venus and Mercury it is more commonly referred to as a transit. The transit of Venus allows astronomers to make measurements to determine the distance of the Earth from the sun. This is possible only if the observations of the transit were done from different places around the earth at exactly the same time, and Lord Howe was one of the places picked. The results were important for navigation as well as astronomy. In 1982 a time capsule was encased under a plaque on the site to be opened in 2082, containing all the information of the 1882 viewing. Pretty amazing history there!
I should give a brief description of the road system here on the island. Originally, the roads were composed of palm tree fronds and horses pulled sleighs over these roads. Gradually, as residents had vehicles brought over by freighter from the mainland, the roads were upgraded to stone or gravel, and are now all tarred. There is one main road running down the western side of the island called Lagoon Road. It starts near the northern end of the island and continues down to the foot of Mt. Gower at the southern end of the island. In mid-island there is a small network of roads that head over to the eastern side of the island, where the majority of the population resides. These roads all wander back and forth through the towering palm and banyan trees. Most of the roads are wide enough for two vehicles, but some are only wide enough for one vehicle, so you have to pull over to let another vehicle by.
There is no garbage collection…..all the residents adhere strictly to the recycling rules….and take composting, recycling and garbage to the local dump at the far south end of the island. The items that can't be recycled are compacted and shipped by boat to the mainland. The garbage is burned.
Aviation fuel and fuel for the vehicles is brought in by boat every second Saturday in drums, as well as propane tanks for cooking on the island. Everyone cooks with propane….and here it's called gas.
Thursday, March 23rd
Good Morning…and another day of overcast, with periods of rain, and occasional showers!
Carly and I actually did a bike ride to the other end of the island first thing this morning, Carly to get her exercise and me to have a look at the dump! At the dump besides the big building for the crushing of glass and cans, there are two smaller buildings for the recycling of household items! There were two long tables in one of the buildings that was covered with various dishes and utensils. Now if I lived here, I would have had a ball….but I couldn't figure out how to transport the child's rocking horse back to Fred's on my bike, or back to Canada on the airplane! And there was a lovely wooden headboard and footboard for a double sized bed….and shelves and shelves of books. I guess that's the local library. I did get a small bucket full of shells and coral …I have seen some beautiful wind chimes made of driftwood and shells, so I've been busy collecting!! We then stopped off at the airport, but the office wasn't open yet…..so we did the bike and walk home! Carly biking and me walking the last ½ mile uphill! Phew!
Tim, one of the locals, who gave us a ride in his truck back from the golf course to Blue Peters after our fish fry, had mentioned he and his wife and kids were moving to the mainland for the boys to go to high school next term. So they would be hiring someone to live at their place and take care of the three rental cottages they have! Boy…did that ever get my old brain thinking!!! Wouldn't Jim and I just love that! So Carly, Teddy and I biked down to meet Annie, Tim's wife. She was most interested in meeting me after talking on the phone to Teddy. They do have one local couple in mind who are interested in the job, but things could change before next January when the new school term starts….they're a young couple who are dating! So that will be something to think about!
Carly and I fly out tomorrow so this will be the last of our LORD HOWE ADVENTURES!!!
