Day 3 on Pitcairn (Friday 23 August)

Well it is day 3 here on the island and last night we had dinner down at Brendas and it just poured down with rain and the wind was blowing so when it came time to head home to the chalet Brenda had to get out her quad bike and take Lea Ann and Uschi up and then come back for Neil and I!  Crikey in the short 100m or so we got saturated in the legs and face and I couldn’t see a thing as there aren’t any street lights this far up the island only on the main road and about 50m either side of that.
So we woke after a very stormy night to a cloud shrouded island … couldn’t see the top of the island at all for most of the day.
After brekky we decided that we would go for a short walk up to Flatland to see Nadine (who is married to my cousin Randy and they have 5 of the 8 children on the island!).  So Neil, Sharon and I head out and within 25m the boots are laden with red mud …

It isn’t raining but the road is very slippery and wet so we have to pick our way along.  We meet up with Brenda, Dad and Lea Ann – Dad is getting very ‘ancy’ as this is the 2^nd day with dangerous fishing conditions so he can’t go out and fish and he is itching, so Brenda decides to take them to Tedside to get some bait – crab

On our way up to Nadines and Randys we come across a Permillo tree which is a cross between a grapefruit and orange

Also around the island are numerous types of banana trees and everyone grows their own supplies as well as public land ones

So after having a coffee up at Nadines we head back home it stops raining and while waiting at Brendas the kids are there (only 4 of them) and they are waiting for Brenda to get home and the first thing they ask her is if they can go for a ‘swim’ … you are not going to believe where their definition of a swim is today …

Left to right are Bradley (12), Adrianna (6), Emily (9) and Issabel (3or4).  They all strip down to their underwear and basically wallow in the big puddle outside Brendas house, I do make a feeble attempt to participate with them but only get this far …

Now aren’t these just faces showing shear joy …

Still not content with just wallowing they decide to make the small down hill in the drive into a smooth slide so they can slip down the slide and into the puddle … who need x-box when you have a puddle!

Ph 11

Eventually it gets too cold for them so it is shower time … but first a pre wash

So while they are all in the shower I head back and find out that the spindly trees in front of the chalet are actually arrowroot trees,

Brenda cuts the roots, mills it and does a process of washing to get the sediment and then lays it out to dry … or something along those lines.  Arrowroot is like cornflour but the island makes a dry biscuit called (funnily enough) arrowroot biscuit and it is just grated coconut (or the island way coc’nut) and arrowroot and water … simply delicious.

Later on Neil and I go back down for dinner – shepards pie and only 3 of the kids are there … all cleaned up!