October 18, 2005 We had a lovely time on Norfolk Island (although I was a bit surprised at the "average age" of each visitor .... about 75 I reckon!!!) .... anyway ... despite all the "oldies", we did have a good time, spent time with some other visitors and we greatly enjoyed the history of the Island, the lovely scenery and especially the friendly service and wecome from everyone we came into contact with. Thank you for organising it all ... your service was great (especially considering our decision to travel was made quite quickly. We had picked to stay at the Governor's Lodge which is just beautiful (probably the 'pick' of all the accommodation which we saw and talked to others about) and was great for a "special" holiday. It is within 5 minutes walk of the main shopping area of Burnt Pine. If we go again, we would probably "downgrade" in that we spent most of every day out-and-about and every evening out to eat, so next time we could save some dollars on accommodation (to spend in the stores!). We picked up on "Norfolk" time very quickly and bedtime seems very early for us "night owls". Lights go out pretty much around 9.00pm (for most people) although there was always an opportunity to socialise at the Lodge with others whom we met and by "lingering" over a meal at the beatiful restaurant there (in the old "governor's" building) ... or drinking at its bar. The staff were just wonderful (both in the restaurant and the Administration) ... and the breakfast each morning was superb. I cannot recommend the restaurant highly enough ... lovely food, excellent service and beautiful decor. I would highly recommend Governor's for anyone really! The side trips we especially enjoyed were the "Progressive Dinner" (the hosts were very welcoming and friendly and full of info about the history of their homes and their connection with the Island); the tour by Arthur Evans called "History in the Making -- a working settlement" (we booked this through the Information Centre as it's not one of the ones organised by the 'regular' tour groups ... Arthur has organised it himself) -- it was very interesting and as one of the descendants who has put lots of time into researching his family, he told some fascinating stories and showed us some really neat things and places. Driving was quite interesting --- we really only reached the speed limit of 50k/h a few times, and most driving was at 25-30k/h due to the poor condition of the roads -- one day my pedometer showed that I'd walked hundreds of paces, even though I'd not even got out of the car in all that time ... how's that for bumpy roads?? ;-) I have attached a couple of my pictures for you to use if you like ... no copyright here (they're much the same as a hundred other tourist's photos). One is the sunset from "Puppy's Point" on the west coast (at one of Pinetree Tours famous "Cliff Top Fish Fry" tours -- although we were finished and on our way home by 6.30pm!!!!); The next is the view of Kingston Township (the old settlement) from a lookout on Rooty Hill Road (if you have a map). Robyn McK ., Brisbane, Australia