Legendary Pitcairn Island
ISSUE
O1
AUG
2011
Pitcairn Islands Tourism Quarterly
PDT
Newsletter
Sustainable
Island
Heritage
Tourism
What this
means for
Pitcairn Island
The principles of
sustainable Island
heritage tourism refer
to the environmental,
economic and sociocultural aspects of
tourism development
no matter where in the
world it occurs.
Establishing a
balance between
these 3 aspects is
necessary to ensuring
that Pitcairn’s Tourism
industry is built for
long term
sustainability.
The newly formed
Pitcairn Islands
Tourism Department
is committed to
making optimal use of
the islands’
environmental
resources whilst
conserving it natural
heritage, unique
biodiversity and the
socio-cultural
authenticity of the
Legendary Pitcairn
Island community.
Home to the Descendants of the HMAV Bounty Mutineers
A NEW TOURISM
DEPARTMENT FOR THE
PITCAIRN ISLANDS
Recently appointed Pitcairn Island Tourism Coordinator:
Heather Menzies.
In December last year the Government of
Pitcairn Islands established its new
Tourism Department. Previously Pitcairn
tourism initiatives were managed by a
voluntary group known as The Pitcairn
Islands Tourism Board. Informed by the
World Tourism Organisation’s principles of
Sustainable Island Heritage Tourism, the
Tourism Board, in existence for some 5
years, laid the cornerstones for the
continued growth of the industry and the
new department.
Having recently finalised its strategic
objectives for next few years, the small,
busy Tourism Department is now ready to
focus on delivering a structured,
streamlined and sustainable approach to
tourism development so as to gradually
build increased demand for services whilst
creating employment and local business
opportunities.
Tourism Department Coordinator, Heather
Menzies sees tourism playing a vital role
In Pitcairn’s future, stimulating greater
self-sufficiency and increasing
private enterprise development
and income.
The new department is committed to
managing growth carefully.
this issue
What’s
PDT Working on P.3P. 1
Tourism
on Pitcairn
Getting to Pitcairn Island
P. 2
Pitcairn Islands Expo in NZ
Events andP. 3
Pitcairn? I’ve Been there!
P. 4
First time Visit for P&Os Aurora
P. 5
A Wedding Ceremony like No Other P. 6
Social and environmental conservation will
always go hand in hand with tourism
development on Pitcairn - so as to ensure
that
everyone,
including
future
generations, will continue to benefit.
“Pitcairn is in a great position at the
moment. We’re not motivated by the
needs of mass tourism. We can take our
time to do things properly and get tourism
right. With the right intention, local and
international consultation and research we
can optimise the experience of very visitor
to help shape the future course of
Pitcairn’s tourism industry.”
Heather is proud to represent Pitcairn
Tourism. “Pitcairn Island offers a truly
memorable holiday destination for
adventurous
travelers
wanting
to
experience authentic, incredibly friendly
hospitality, undeniable tranquility and
natural beauty. We’re committed to
developing a high level of tourism
satisfaction and meaningful experiences for
our visitors.”
Welcome to
Pitcairn Island’s
first Tourism Quarterly.
We’re building our data
base - tell your friends to
contact
[email protected]
for their FREE subscription
Getting to Pitcairn Island
You will first start your journey flying from your homeland via Auckland, Los Angeles or Tokyo to Tahiti in
French Polynesia. Once you arrive in Tahiti, you will likely spend a few nights in a hotel or pension until
you board the Air Tahiti Tuesday flight from Tahiti to Mangareva in the Gambier Islands. Air Tahiti is the
only airline flying to Mangareva so you need to make sure you can book your flight before contacting our
booking office to secure your passage on the Claymore II.
On arrival in Mangareva, just 300 miles west-north-west of Pitcairn Island, you will take the short ferry
ride from the airport to Rikitea village to board the MV Claymore II, assisted by the crew and readying
yourself for your final 32 hour ocean crossing to Pitcairn.
To make enquiries about flight availability contact:
Judy Robinson at Atlas Limited
Ph: DD +64 9 302-8464, Ph. + 64 9 3091900.
Email: [email protected]
To make enquiries about booking your passage
contact Shirley Dillon at the Pitcairn Islands Office
Ph: +64 9 366 0186
Email: [email protected]
ABOUT PITCAIRN’S DEDICATED CARGO/PASSENGER VESSEL THE MV CLAYMORE II
Pitcairn’s isolation is in itself a real enticement for
many travelers. This and the fact that we don’t have
an airport make getting here an integral part of the
Pitcairn experience.
Our dedicated cargo/passenger vessel MV Claymore II
provides the island’s regular passenger shipping
service, offering travelers all that they need for a safe
and comfortable voyage to the home of the
descendants of the Bounty Mutineers - Legendary
Pitcairn Island.
The Claymore II carries supplies and passengers to
the island every 3 months and Stoney Creek Shipping
Ltd, the owners of the Claymore II, occasionally add
private charters to those scheduled when either the
Claymore or their second ship, RV Braveheart, are in
the area.
The Claymore accommodates 12 passengers in
private twin share cabins on the lower deck. Guests
have their own dinning and lounge area on Deck 3,
with plenty of books and movies and a flat screen
television to help pass the time. Snacks and beverages
are provided in the shared break room, close to the
galley. Bedding and towels are supplied and if you
like a drink after dinner it’s BYO.
The regular passenger service offers visitors a stay of
either: 3, 7 or 10 days on Pitcairn and all voyages a
timed to connect with flights to and from Tahiti.
2011 - SPRING VOYAGE
SPECIAL
7 DAYS ON
OFFFER
PITCAIRN ISLAND
PRIVATE CHARTER
Join the Claymore II in Mangareva Sept 13th
Arrive Pitcairn - September 15th
Depart Pitcairn - September 21st
Arrive Mangareva – September 23rd/24th
in time for Saturday flight to Tahiti
Contact Pitcairn Islands Tourism for More Information:
[email protected]
PITCAIRN ISLAND EXPO AT THE BRITISH HIGH COMMISSION’S
RESIDENCE – HOMEWOOD, IN WELLINGTON NEW ZEALAND
On Friday 10th June a unique 2
hour event was held at the
British
High
Commissions
Residence – Homewood in
Wellington New Zealand to
showcase Pitcairn Island’s art &
culture, trade and tourism
Homewood, the British High Commissions
residence in Wellington ,
New Zealand
Homewood - Henry Samuel
Chapman (1803-1881), the first
judge of the Supreme Court for
the Southern Division of New
Zealand brought 118 acres in
Karori, Wellington in 1844.
Homewood the first portion of
which he designed in 1847 stands
on a residual 2 acres of this land.
Noticeable features are the
tower, porte cochere and bays,
with crenellations; hall, staircase
and interior finishing. We will be
using the hallway, music and
gallery rooms for the event.
The event coincided with Te Papa’s
Maori & Pacific Textile Symposium
where
Pitcairn
artist,
Meralda
Warren, was the key note speaker.
The Pitcairn Philatelic Bureau was
present with a colourful display of
current
and
archived
issues,
impressive coin collections and gift
items and traditional Pitcairn food,
prepared by Pitcairners, resident in
New Zealand, was also showcased.
Any focus on Pitcairn Island would
not be complete without the
delicious Pitcairn Honey.
The
islands isolated location means its
bee population is disease free.
Pollen collected from the abundant
mango, passion flower, guava, lata
and roseapple flowers produces a
tropical, fruity tasting honey which
has been praised by Prince Charles
and the Duchess of Cornwall and
sold in Fortnum & Mason and
Partridges in London.
Meralda has devoted herself in
recent years to ensuring the art of
tapa making, practiced by her
Polynesian and Pitcairn ancestors,
does not die out on Pitcairn.
The Homewood event included two
of Meralda’s beautiful tapa works
featuring scenes of the historic
HMAV Bounty. At Te Papa and
Homewood Meralda told her story
of how she became interested in
tapa making and explain the process
involved in producing her works.
Over 70 invited guests from across
the business and travel sector
attended the entirely well received
exhibition and a further event is
proposed for Auckland, via the
Pitcairn Islands office.
Other
handicrafts
and
Pitcairn
products on display and for sale on
the night included wood carvings,
HMAV
Bounty
and
longboats
models, dolphins, turtles, sharks,
platters and bowls, basket weaving,
jewellery and cookbooks.
Don’t leave it a moment longer!
Experience the Legend
PITCAIRN ISLAND
Call now to book your voyage: +64 9 366 0186 Email: [email protected].
Send Us Your Pitcairn Story & Join Pitcairn’s IBT Club For Free
Pitcairn Island?
I’ve Been There!
We hear from many people who have made
the journey to Legendary Pitcairn Island
that it is the fulfillment of a lifelong
ambition. Whether it’s the island’s natural
beauty, its revitalising tranquility, its
remarkable people or its fascinating
history, Pitcairn Island is, a place like no
other.
It is this that makes each visitor’s Pitcairn
story so wonderfully unique. So, if you’re
one of those who have made your dream
come true – we want to hear about it so we
can share it with our readers. We’ll publish
your Pitcairn story in our quarterly IBT
Column and you’ll join the ranks of those
who can say,
“Pitcairn Island… I’ve Been There.”
Our First IBT
story comes
from Australian
Television
Producer,
Mick O’Donnell
As dawn came up, so did our island
destination, Pitcairn, looming out of the
indigo sea. This fabled place we'd heard so
much about was finally within reach. Our
team of four from Australia's Seven
Network, was out here in the distant
Pacific to film a feature report on the
island's future. Could a community, whose
permanent numbers are only in the 50s,
survive in the 21st Century?
As the motor vessel Braveheart anchored
several hundred meters from the island's
rocky shore, one of Pitcairn's famous
longboats was roaring out from Bounty
Bay to meet us. And there in the smiles
and reaching arms of the Pitcairners
seemed to be the answer. There is
something hearty and warm in a Pitcairn
welcome which seems to be remembered
by all who visit this two square-mile rock,
solitary as it is between French Polynesia
and South America. And, three days on
the island continued to tell that story. If
this British dependency were not to
continue it certainly wouldn't be for want
of effort and enthusiasm on the part of
today's islanders. Most are descendants of
the original Bounty mutineers and the
tough Tahitian women who ensured the
survival of this exile micro-nation over 200
years ago. The island has been evacuated
in the past - leading to the large Pitcairn
mob on Norfolk - but some came back.
Pitcairners have always been determined
to make this place live on as more than
just a romantic notion of the past.
During our too-brief stay, the islanders
were hard at work carving souvenirs and
collecting honey for the last of this
year's cruise ships to pull up offshore.
Olive and Steve Christian were hosting
one of their Friday night dinners at
Christian's Cafe, with the sweetest and
cheapest lobster you'd find anywhere.
Just off the landing in Bounty Bay we
snorkeled in crystal blue water on the
remnants of the Bounty wreck and the
nearby Cornwallis.
And for sheer fun and a sense of the
island's many startling vistas and
historical spots we took a safari of four
quad bikes around what is aptly known
as the biggest little island in the
world. With
local
guides,
we
ventured from the village of Adamstown
to the extraordinary natural bathing
enclosure of St Paul's Pool and on to the
mystical Highest Point. There, the
signposts tell the tale of distance. More
than 7000km home to Sydney. And
distance is both Pitcairn's allure and its
tyranny. It costs a fortune to send the
island's honey - purest in the world - to
customers around the globe.
It costs plenty for adventure travellers to
make it here. But, as the international
yachties visiting when we did found, the
welcome and the mystery of the place
make it worth the journey. Christel, a
young French Canadian sailor told us
many yachties on the Easter IslandTahiti route bypass because of the lack
of a permanent anchorage. But she and
her friends were delighted they stopped
in - for help with their damaged mast
but especially for the generous
hospitality of the Pitcairn families.
The smiles of the island's ten
kids offer the best hope the
island will have a future for
generations to come. They
showed us how to swing in
the banyan trees and to talk a
little Pitkern.
Sound recordist Matt was rescued by
the pastor with a lead for his mike
when his gear was lost in transit.
Cameraman Gary Russell found a
matching big smile and chrome dome in
Pirate Pawl. Reporter Ross Coulthart is
still on a diet after building up
his strength on Olive's cooking. And I'm
missing the peace of Leslie and Jacqui's
deck with the spirit of Fletcher Christian
looking down from Christian's Cave.
Like all who come to Pitcairn, the place
is under my skin and I'm just wondering
when I'll make it back.
Thanks indeed from the four of us to all
the
people
of
Pitcairn. Mick
O'Donnell
The Seven Network's Sunday Night
program will air the Pitcairn special
around Australia in coming months.
CRUISE SHIP THE AURORA
First Time Visitors to PITCAIRN ISLAND
Stopping at Pitcairn Island is
a
highlight
for
many
international
cruise
ship
passengers.
When passengers can’t get
ashore, Pitcairn comes to you!
P&O’s Cruise ship, ‘The Aurora’ visited Pitcairn for the first time
on Feb 14th 2011. Within a few brief hours her 1700 passengers
got to sample Pitcairn hospitality when the virtually the whole
community turned out to setup a Pitcairn Island Curio & Craft
market on board.
Local officials, market traders and crew raced for time as they
hurried to get the market up and running for guest – all within
the brief couple of hours the Captain had allocated to
circumnavigate the island.
A Wedding Destination Like No Other…
Pitcairn’s Seventh Day Adventist Church
Pitcairn Island is one of the most wonderfully
remote islands in the world. If you’re dreaming
of planning a ceremony with a real difference get
in touch and we’ll help you make your big event
truly unforgettable.
Email: [email protected]
NORWAY’S FIRST PITCAIRN ISLAND
EXPEDITION TOUR
Norwegian tour company OrkideEkspressen has created the trip of a life time
for 12 adventurist Norwegian travellers.
OrkideEkspressen, in association with the Pitcairn Islands Office and Pitcairn
Islands Tourism have coordinated Norway’s first ever group expedition to
Pitcairn, scheduled to visit the island for 10 days on the Claymore II in
December 2011.
Promoted throughout the region’s travel trade shows the expedition offer
generated a good deal of media coverage and proved to be so popular that a
second tour has been booked for 2012.
For more information contact:
Bjørn Erik at OrkideEkspressen
Email: [email protected]
TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PITCAIRN ISLANDS TOURISM Contact:
Heather Menzies: Pitcairn Islands Tourism Coordinator phone; + 649 984 0136
Email: [email protected]
Shirley Dillon: PIO Auckland New Zealand: Phone +649 3660186
Email: [email protected]