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Wednesday, 23rd January, 2013

# On January 23rd 1790 HMAV Bounty was burnt in Bounty Bay, Pitcairn Island, by the mutineers. This day is celebrated on Pitcairn Island with a burning of a model of the Bounty and a community gathering. In recognition of this day the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London is flying the Pitcairn Island flag.

Pitcairn Islander Nadine Christian has written a post about Bounty Day on Pitcairn.

Monday, 3rd December, 2012

# Pitcairn, An Underwater Bounty:

The community of the Pitcairn Islands, the National Geographic Society and the Pew Environment Group have come together to call for the establishment of a large highly protected marine reserve within the exclusive economic zone (the area of ocean from the shoreline out to 200 nautical miles) of the Pitcairn Islands.

Friday, 17th August, 2012

# Pitcairn Island is looking for a new school teacher.

Imagine spending a year or two with your partner running a tiny school on an historic South Pacific island.

If you're a registered teacher and are interested in a bit of an adventure teaching a small number of children in the Pitcairn Island school, please apply! Applications close September 30. From the site above:

A full information pack with application forms, can be downloaded from our website http://www.government.pn or can be requested from: The Pitcairn Islands Office, Private Box 105696, Auckland, email: admin@pitcairn.gov.pn. Phone (09) 366 0186

Wednesday, 4th July, 2012

# Pitcairn population growth a priority, says Britain:

Pitcairn's governor, who is also the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Vicky Treadell, says for the island to have a sustainable future, it needs to be re-populated.

Wednesday, 27th June, 2012

# Pitcairn Travel is a Pitcairn owned and operated business offering travel to Pitcairn Island. This is the company I used to book my trip and they were fantastic. They have their schedule for 2013 online now with dates and prices.

When I travelled I used the "Complete Package" option where you pay the one fee and it covers flights from Tahiti to Mangareva, the yacht trip from Mangareva to Pitcairn, food, accomodation and the return trips. All I had to do myself was arrange to get to Tahiti. I highly recommend it. You can email travel@pitcairn.pn for more information about this option.

Most of the options are a 10 day voyage which gives about 5 days on Pitcairn. There's a 7 day trip in June 2013 which gives two days on the island. When I originally booked my trip I went for the 7 day option but I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to stay for longer. In all I spent about three weeks on Pitcairn and it's worth going for the longer time on the island if you want to look around. The island may sound small but there's plenty of things to see and do.

Friday, 22nd June, 2012

# Video of Mrs. T, the Galapagos Tortoise that lives on Pitcairn Island. I took this video when I encountered her while walking along one of the Pitcairn roads heading towards Tedside.

Usually Mrs. T is kept in a gated area in Tedside but she'd escaped and was heading towards town.

Wednesday, 20th June, 2012

# The night before my last day on Pitcairn Island I was asked what areas of the island I hadn't seen that I'd like to before I left. I mentioned "Down Rope" where the petroglyphs can be seen. The petroglyphs are markings at the base of a rockface at an enclosed beach. The markings are thought to be made by pre-european polynesians. To get to there you have to go down a steep path cut into the side of the rock. Parts of it are only about a foot wide and it's a long way down. The yacht taking me back to Mangareva was scheduled to leave at 9am the next day so I didn't think they'd be much chance of seeing it. Shawn, one of the Islanders, offered to take me down at 7am if I was keen and I agreed.

The sun was rising giving a nice morning sky as we were on our way to the Down Rope track via quad bike. In the pictures below you can see the steps leading down at the top of the path. Further down shows the view looking down onto the beach where Down Rope leads. That's Shawn, the Pitcairn guide, who led me down. Without him I'd never have found the path. The beach you can see from that view is the one in this image.

This area of Pitcairn had the only sandy beach that I saw on the island. The other areas were pretty rocky. There were the usual Pitcairn crabs that I'd seen down Tedside while fishing, but also a type of crab that lives in a shell which I hadn't seen before.

An idea of the scale of the cliffs at the bottom can be seen in this photo with Shawn walking ahead of me. They towered above. At the base are the petroglyphs. They are carved into the rock and indented, which you can see when looking up close. To make them easier to find the outlines have been painted which is why they are white and clear in the photo.

The way back up was a bit easier on the nerves, probably because I didn't need to look down, but harder on the legs. In that photo you can see the steps in the rocks on the right - not for the faint of heart! Further up you're clinging to the rockface, then onto slippery banana leaves, and finally back up the top. It was a great experience and I'm glad I was able to fit it in before I left.

# The April/May issue of Dem Tull Pitcairn is out and available for download. Dem Tull Pitcairn is a newsletter with news and information about Pitcairn. This and The Pitcairn Miscellany are two great information sources about current happenings on the island.