What we've been doing on the farm in August

This month we have had our shed built. I SO sympathise with the people on The Block as tradies come and go as they try and complete an assortment of jobs for various people. The shed houses both the mowers and other equipment. We will get a concrete lip up to the shed (when the concrete man can fit us in.)  When we are harvesting we will have the bins in this shed, but when we aren't we can store the caravan in there.

 You may remember we had one nut. It duly fell off and I put it in the window ledge until the husk cracked and came off. Now just further drying until it rattles and then we will have a one nut banquet!

 Another thing we did was get a tank installed. Fortunately Bradley (in the green and white Bunnings top) is a golfer so that job was done relatively efficiently.

 And as luck would have it, it rained the next night and I was able to turn the tap on and get a trickle out of it.

 Two of our trees look pretty sick, but we will give them another couple of weeks in case they kick away again.  If they dont we will get them out and have a post mortem. With this lovely fine weather we often go for a walk and check them out. Duncan likes to keep the grass in check so I thought I'd better get to grips with the zero turn mower. It has quite sensitive controls and after a few terrifying moments I started to get going OK. I only did 4 rows (of 18) - but I didn't knock over one. Thank goodness for that hay mulch surround.

The next job was to make some shelves and a lockable cabinet from kitsets. We attempted some shelves first. Duncan triumphantly announced he had read the instructions, however the english on these sheets is not of a very high standard and we ended up with some very rickety shelves and 4 pieces left over. A little bit of back-tracking and we finally got it to a serviceable level. The cabinet seemed much easier to do.

Leaderbrand have been slow to get the cabbages out of the next hectare and still have to plough it all up and put in grass. Most of the trees show new growth and we are looking forward to spring.

Just an Old Fashioned Picnic. Friday 11th August, 2017

Our last day - and what a cracker! warm and fine.

Our first stop was the Bounty Folk Museum - jam-packed with authentic exhibits, but very poorly curated and some exhibits starting to disintergrate.

The prisoners

The prison guards

The models in need of repair - guard again

A prisoner in solitary confinement

The governor hands out punishments

Obviously a family! In need of a dust.

The original Mutineers of the Bounty. Most were murdered by the Tahitian men as each white man had a wife and the Tahitian men had three women to share!!

Huge range of artifacts, some recovered from shipwrecks 

Went into Burnt Pine and had a coffee and picked up supplies for a picnic at Emily Bay. We popped in our togs and loaded up the picnic basket supplied by Jacaranda, including a couple of bottles of cider.

The wind was strong, blowing spray up from the reef, but the sun was warm.

This is the tree that Captain Cook painted

We paddled as we walked along the beach to the salt works where they boiled the salt water to evaporate the water from the salt

Looking through a window at the salt works and out to Phillip Island.

On our way back we decided that, indeed, the water was warm enough to swim in - so we did!

Had my sunglasses on when I took a picture of Duncan swimming - he's further out than this!

Lots of buoyancy as the salt water was quite concentrated inside the reef.

Back to the unit to start our packing, sunning and reading on the deck. "Left Overs" pasta for tea tonight, following by fierce 2 handed 500. I won. A great way to end a most enjoyable holiday - a week was long enough though. Fascinating history and a real lesson on setting up the island sustainabley.

No vouchers today. Thursday 10th August 2017

Bit of shopping in town, and then over to Kingston where Duncan played a round of golf. Norfolk Island Golf course looked attractive at a distance and on closer inspection Duncan found it "an enjoyable experience with fairways of kykuia grass which had little run on it. The course was maintained to a very high standard and at 2865m long for 9 holes proved to be challenging. I would love to play it again - a unique experience"

Meanwhile I wondered down the quality Row to the Officers' Bath which was part of the complex drainage they had there.

The drain went underground for the width of the parade field for the gaol troops. Kingston is built at the bottom of some steep hills

Then I went to the museum in one of the fully restored houses. Restored so well that infact they had to take out some features like a bathroom area.
Last night on our Wonderland tour we heard a poem about a Clever Cow who negotiated the cattle stop and ate the prize flowers on the morning of a garden party. Well this is what happened at the museum!!! 13 cows and a calf broke into the front garden and decimated the hibiscus new shoots and the newly planted beds!!

They obviously loved the hibiscus flowers and new tender shoots.

The cottage was quite sparsely decorated, but this plate reminded me of our Nana's.

All these willow pattern plates are slightly different as patents weren't used in those days.

The pentagonal wings of the prison that we saw on Tuesday. One lady was telling us "the one in Port Arthur is much better" only to find that they were both built off the same plan, so not a lot of differences.

Trellising has been added to the verandah - health and safety!

Went back to town for a late lunch then checked out the Art Gallery and a few activities for tomorrow before a nap and book-reading break. We went to Mariah's for dinner. Everything had a smokey taste - in small doses it would have been nice. I think the chef had just bought a new smoker and was trying it out.

My pate was encased in a red currant jelly on the shape of an apple.

Dinner selfie.

Back at the unit we composed a poem for the Visitor's Book.
Nothing could be grander
Than our stay at Jacaranda
We could view this Island Nation
With the best accommodation
Our stay could not be better
Thanks to Bookie and Vanessa

Our own tour. Wednesday 9th August 2017

Off to do our own exploring today and our first call Is Mt Pitt(319m) Then walk to the top of Mt Bates. (321m)

View from Mt Pitt to Phillips Isaland

There is quite a bit of communications gear set up on Mt Bates and Mt Pitt dating back to WW2.

We have learnt quite a lot since we arrived here about the Norfolk Pine.

When the trees are young the branches are erect.

As they get older the branches are more horizontal

When they are old, the branches are downright floppy!

The path is a bit slippery and I wish I had put my tramping pole in as I intended to do. I could also have used it to wave away the native fantails - lighter in colour and bigger in body than NZ's but they still flutter! Lucky we had a clearday for the panoramic view.

But a really like the parts of the walkway where there are metal grids with a stuck-on sand top.

Our next stop is the Botanical Gardens which have several well tended walkways and an informative information centre. (all free)

This is a large model of the green parrot which now seems quite abundant after a period where it neared extinction. The underside of the wings is iridescent blue and its head and spine are red. It looks wonderful in flight - we see them often from our unit.

This is the story of the only Norfolk Island Owl - yes only one. They decided she was a close enough fit to New Zealand's Morepork and brought two males over. One fast disappeared but the other liked what he saw and within a short time there was the essence of a thriving colony. We heard them every night at our unit.

What's this convolvulus doing in a Botanical garden?

Modern rat traps

Duncan tangles with Samson's Sinew

We are now heading to the Northwest corner of the island with viewing points at Puppy's Point, Anson Bay, Fisherman's Lane and then a steep drive to the Captain Cook Monument and view his first landing spot.

Our car didn't have 4 wheel drive so we didn't reach the wonderful looking beach in this bay

Captain Cooks first landing place is in the front bay and Duncombe Bay is beyond the reef.

From The Captain Cook Memorial looking towards a series of interesting rocky outcrops.

By now we were quite hungry, but a number of cafes in this area are closed for the winter so we headed back into town for a meal at the Golden Orb.
Now this is "Our" tour. So you can guess where we head to next - Two Chimneys Winery. We had a pleasant surprise as all the Wines were of a good standard, we had a very good host.... and we ended up bringing half a dozen back to NZ with us!!
Back to the unit for a beer/cider on the deck and read our books until we dropped off to sleep. We cooked tea there and then headed off to Wonderland by Night (you guessed it -we had a voucher). It started 19 years ago as Poetry Under The Stars, but had very poor attendance until the name change. We had 80 there (maximum) the night we went. It was a series of dioramas amongst the trees with amusing poetry by Archie Biggs (we saw him in the cafe next day - he is getting on a bit and so a young woman from Hamilton with family links to Norfolk Island read the poetry)

This is Barney Duffy, a prisoner who mutinied at the gaol. He escaped and based himself in a tree hollow for seven years. Eventually he was tracked down by the Militia and they took him to be hanged. On the gallows he put a curse on the men who bought him in. They were killed in a freak fishing accident in the following month.

The old wash house with Reckitts Blue, wooden pegs, concrete tubs and sunlight soap.

The children's area had nursery rhyme characters , a few witches and even Santa Claus flew past!!

It was very entertaining and even Duncan  - who was a reluctant starter - enjoyed it. Tea and cake followed the walk.