Day 1 Norfolk Island

Didn’t get a whole lot of sleep, but that’s probably to be expected for a 1 night stop over. However a tremendous thunder and lightning storm about 10.30 p.m. didn’t help either.  It was a beauty!  The room was lighting up like a Christmas tree with flashing lights and the thunder rumbled loudly overhead and nearby for ages. At least that will help dispel much of the humidity.  Had to keep the air con on all night.  However that turned out to be the least of my worries, as the day unfolded...

Was up and at breakfast by 6.30 with most of my gaggle.  My 2 “No, it is too early for me to go to breakfast” ladies were presumably having their boxed breakfasts in their rooms.  Our shuttle bus arrived at 6.55 a.m. and the driver had clearly overdosed on grumpy pills as he was very impatient and insistent that we all had to be on board right now, even though I tried to explain that the booking was for 7 a.m. and we still had 5 minutes. So my gaggle all dutifully complied and put their cases in the trailer and got on the shuttle bus.  Head count and 1 short.  Big W is nowhere to be seen.  JL goes looking for her and the driver wants to take off but I then go looking for JL and Big W.  With scenes reminiscent of Keystone Cops meets Bennie Hill we finally herd Big W onto the mini bus but she then puts on a performance about her foot being caught and she has to get off the bus.  Not easy to do when all size 26+ of her is wedged into the double seat behind the driver.  After much mayhem I manage to extract her from the seat, get her foot off the ledge where she has stuck the damn thing and thankfully we head off to the airport in a very subdued state.

Being delivered at the airport the driver now wants me to produce 17 tickets that I don’t have.  I told him that I paid for both shuttles at the hotel last night but he can’t go on without some paperwork from me so I grab a scrap of paper, right my memoirs, sign it with a kiss and he’s happy – well as happy as an old bugger on grumpy pills manages to be at that hour of the morning.  But wait, there’s more.  JL’s case is not in the trailer.  It has been left behind at the hotel, so she goes back to the hotel with said grumpy driver and does return to the airport about 45 minutes later, after I’ve somehow managed the fiasco of getting 15 people to do self book-in.  Ye gods... is it really a sign of alcoholism to desperately want a very strong alcoholic beverage at 8 a.m.??? I then “lose’ MP who has decided that it is way too long a walk for her to go through Customs and Immigration and then get to Gate 55 so has decided to arrange a wheelchair for herself, but not tell anyone!!! I track her down and ensure that her wheelchair ‘pusher’ will get her to the Gate on time.  Now Big W has problems with check in as they want to charge her another $120 to put her2nd case through as luggage.  She determines that she will carry it on the plane with her!  I send Big W off with 2 of the other ladies and hope that they can get her through Customs and Immigration while I wait for JL to book in.  Note to self - I will owe those 2 ladies a very strong drink at the end of the day!

Jo has shown up with a leather shoulder bag and water bottle that Big W had left on the coach.  So now Big W will have 4 bags on the plane. I am openly praying that I won’t have to sit with her...

At the boarding gate a head count reveals that we are all there.  Thankfully I had 10 minutes to go to duty free and buy the necessary medicine that I will be extremely grateful for upon my return. I am able to put MP and Big W onto the plane ahead of the rest of the great unwashed.  We all board safely and as it is not a full plane there is room for Big W’s bags in multiple overhead lockers.  2 1/2 hours later we touch down in Norfolk Island to a very pleasant 24 degrees. The meal onboard the plane was delicious.  If you fly Air New Zealand and get the option of Thai Beef salad take it!  I watched the movie ‘Frozen’ and now want a blue princess outfit like Elsa or whatever her name was.

We eventually all get our luggage off the one conveyor. I think there was only 1 poor fellow taking the cases off the plane and I also think he stopped half way through and went for a cuppa, but the suitcases were all in one piece so I have to get used to NI time and know that nothing is done in a hurry here.  Our shuttle was waiting for us once we got through Customs which was also an experience. I don’t think they have a compulsory retirement age here as the grey nomad couple stamping passports really should have been put out to pasture last century.  Oh dear....

We have a short an uneventful ride to our hotel where we are greeted by a delightful native who gives us all a lae – probably the only one this gaggle are going to get in a while – and a cool drink.  We are shown to our rooms and I tell my lot that we are to meet at 6.30 at the RSL club across the road for dinner.  It was currently about 2 p.m.  I trundle across to the RSL and was able to book tables for us – but it is jazz night tonight and they are going to be very busy (whatever that means by NI standards).  I then head to the travel agency to confirm the tours that we have pre-booked.  The main drag is very quaint and what has already surprised and saddened me is the amount of stores that are vacant and those that are up for sale.  It is hardly a thriving metropolis and I wasn’t expecting it to be, but it almost has an air of ‘closing down due to lack of interest’. Hopefully there will be enough around the place for our group to do some shopping and mooching about.

I caught up with JL late afternoon – we are in rooms next to each other – and we had a cuppa.  Then it was time to head over to the RSL which I did, however only 2 of the group were there.  It was almost 10 minutes later before the rest wandered in as they were all waiting for me in the foyer of the hotel!!! No idea where they got the idea that this is where I would be, and a few of them admitted that they thought I had said to meet at the RSL club, but they didn’t want to speak up to the others, so they all just stood around the foyer, waiting, waiting...  Time for another “oh dear”.

Anyway, it was very busy at the club and we did have to wait ages for meals, but the food was good and everyone eventually got fed.  We sat through a raffle draw that saw 4 people win about 16 of the prizes – and coincidentally they all worked at the club.  We figured it wasn’t worth starting an international incident with claims of ‘rigged, rigged’ but it certainly beggared belief. An hour late, but the trio jazz band from New Zealand finally started their set and I lasted into the 2^nd song. Time for this little black duck to head back to the room for a relatively early night.

I have to pay for internet access and as the reception desk is now closed I can’t get the password access straight away, so posting this will have to wait until the morning.  There’s a lovely cool breeze, it is very peaceful and my room has a view out to the ocean, so all is well in karenland having survived my first day in NI. I am optimistic that it can only get better (I’ve already warned Big W that we will not wait for her tomorrow if she isn’t ready for our 1 p.m. tour!!! A number of the group have started complaining about her so I need to nip that in the bud.)