Up the valley we cross the stream, and get a look at
a couple of plants I haven't spotted before, one that looks like a kind of papyrus, and
the other a plant that might be a species of taro.
There are more ruins along the way. The Tourist Office has published brochures for this walk giving more specific details about the original uses of these buildings.
Further up the creek is a most exotic looking flower. It's a kind of balance between botany and archaeology
Here's another ruin.
And here's another piece of botany, In New Zealand we cultivate it in our back gardens for its fruit and the delicious jelly we can make from it. At Norfolk Island, it is an invasive weed: the small red guava.
Finally we reach the top of the walk at the dam.
The remains of a two storey water mill is just down the hill a little.
For a sense of proportion,
Reminds me of the (relatively) tiny size of the suits of armour in British museums.
We make our way back along the road
and along an old road (?) across the paddocks towards the car.
Here's an impressive entry gate. For what was essentially a prison settlement for the most troublesome of the Australian convict population, a slow death sentence, some of the architecture is surprisingly grandiose.
Back to the car and home for a latish lunch then off to Emily Bay. Bonny shouts us to dinner at Barney Duffy's, a local restaurant well worth a visit.
One day left, and I plan to take a closer look tomorrow morning at the bush walks at the top of the island while Bonny is down at the school.
For this walk, check out
http://wudhi.com/mrwalker/norfolk island/norfolk island 01.htm
Saturday morning, I'm all packed up. Bearing in mind my previous experience of Air New Zealand cargo handling, I pack my duty free spirits in a plastic container, inside the day pack, suitably padded inside and out, and then place the day pack inside the big pack, also well padded. This is a successful ploy, though my plastic first aid kit does not survive the return trip.
On the way to the airport, we call at the Farmers Market
for Bonny to collect some vegetables and fruit.
There's also meat and bacon on sale. Local bacon is worth a try.
We check the baggage at the airport and return to The Olive for a final coffee where we are joined by Julie.
Julie does a mean home-made marmalade which I have been enjoying for breakfast this week.
I am aware of a gradually increasing tension as time goes on. I am wondering how my garden is doing, looking forward to seeing Alice-the-schnauzer again, and yet I do not particularly want to leave. It has been a pretty special week meeting some fine people. It is all relatively in the background until I get up to leave the transit lounge
and suddenly I am blinking back tears. I turn for a final shot and catch sight of Bonny waving to me. I sniff a giant sniff and wipe my moustache and unsteam my glasses.
Roll on 5 December when Bonny is due back in Auckland. She is already leaving a bigger gap than I had realised. It does not get any smaller. Watch this space...
