"Home-stay" style. This is arranged prior to your arrival on the Island. Accommodation rates start a

The Pitcairn Islands are a loosely grouped handful of tiny islands in the remote South Pacific, farther shop wholesale travel from any continent than any other inhabited island. The islands are the last British colony in the South Pacific and the most isolated British dependency, apart from Tristan da Cunha . The rugged main island was settled by the infamous mutineers of the HMS Bounty and their Polynesian companions, and most of Pitcairn's mere four dozen current inhabitants are their descendants. They are one of the least-populated entities given an ISO country code (PN).
Adamstown , the capital and sole settlement containing the entire population of the Pitcairn Islands - a scattered village of households on the main eponymous isle, up the Hill of Difficulty from Bounty Bay.
Pitcairn was either inhabited or frequently visited by Polynesian peoples in earlier centuries (they left glyphs etched in the rocks), and was visited briefly by Portuguese and British explorers (one of whom gave it his name), but it was deserted when in 1790 the infamous mutineers of the Royal Navy ship Bounty and their Tahitian companions settled there under the leadership of Fletcher Christian. They burned and sank the ship in what is now called Bounty Bay (there was nowhere else to hide it), and founded a village on Pitcairn. At first a rather lawless community of violent drunks, it was "tamed" shop wholesale travel when John Adams, the last mutineer to avoid accident or murder, converted the women and children to Christianity. They lived there for 24 years before being rediscovered by the British, who allowed the community to continue. Pitcairn was the first Pacific island to become a British colony (in 1838) and today remains the last vestige of that empire in the South Pacific.
Emigration first to Norfolk Island and mostly shop wholesale travel to New Zealand in the last century and a nearly-prohibitive approach to immigration have thinned the population shop wholesale travel from a peak of 233 in 1937 to less than 50. The island was rocked in 2004 by accusations of chronic and ubiquitous sexual abuse of the community's young female members (including pre-adolescent girls), and the subsequent investigation of much of the adult male population (including several who were no longer living there), six of whom were sentenced in New Zealand to terms in prison.
The climate is humid and tropical (the Tropic of Capricorn lies a short distance to the north), with average temperatures ranging from 60°F (16°C) on winter nights to 85°F (30°C) on summer days. Rainfall is moderate shop wholesale travel with no strong seasonal pattern, just a bit wetter in the winter. The island shop wholesale travel is subject to infrequent typhoons during shop wholesale travel the season from November to March.
shop wholesale travel Pitcairn shop wholesale travel is distinctly shop wholesale travel volcanic, jutting steeply out of the ocean with a peak of 1,106 ft, seemingly shop wholesale travel a stone's throw from the shoreline (in any direction). As such it has very little of what would be called a "beach" however the word "cliff" gets used a lot and harbours are hard to come by. Bounty Bay hardly deserves the name, consisting of a small indentation in the shoreline with water deep enough only for small boats without keels and a small sea-level landing area... connected via the Hill of Difficulty to Adamstown. It is the only island of the group with fresh water sources.
Henderson is by far the largest island with an area of more than 14 square miles (37.3km²) - more than eight times larger than Pitcairn but with a largely inaccessible interior. It's a flat coral formation, but raised 50-100 feet above sea level by volcanic activity. There are caves along its shoreline which served shop wholesale travel as either tombs or ill-fated residences to an ancient shop wholesale travel people (remember: no fresh water). It might be suitable for building an airstrip if it weren't for all the endangered shop wholesale travel seabirds that find it an ideal spot to land.
Oeno is a small, flat island (accompanied by another shop wholesale travel sandy island known as "Sandy Island") surrounded by a circular reef, a typical South-Pacific paradise with palm trees, lovely beaches, shop wholesale travel and a sheltered shop wholesale travel lagoon.
Visitors staying on the island for any length of time require a license from the governor, because the irregularity of transport means they're effectively residents of the island for the next several weeks or even months. These licenses require proof of good health, the means to leave at the end of the visit (eg, passage on an upcoming ship), shop wholesale travel at least NZD300/week to cover your cost of living on Pitcairn, various other conditions, and a NZD100 fee; they are valid for six months: admin@pitcairn.gov.pn
There is no airstrip in the islands, and it's out of range of land-launched helicopters, so flying is not an option. (The largest flat area on Pitcairn would offer a very short runway, and level Henderson Island shop wholesale travel is both a UNESCO-listed bird sanctuary shop wholesale travel and inconveniently located.) The nearest airport is on Mangareva in the Gambier Islands , 330 miles away. You can catch a charter vessel from Mangareva.
Pitcairn Island is accessible to tourists via the island’s dedicated passenger/shipping vessel, the Claymore II, which provides passage from Mangareva to Pitcairn every 3 months. A small number of commercial cruise ships and private ocean-traversing yachts also visit the island. Sailing from French Polynesia is relatively practical; from almost anywhere else ( e.g., New Zealand , Chile ) it requires crossing thousands of miles of the Pacific Ocean.
The best and most reliable way to get to Pitcairn Island is to fly to Mangareva via Tahiti. Air Tahiti offers the only domestic flights to Mangareva. Air Tahiti flights occur once a week (every Tuesday). You then catch the airport taxi ferry to Rikitea village on Mangareva (in the Gambier Islands). shop wholesale travel The cost is XPF500 one way. The crew of the Claymore will meet you at the wharf in Rikitea and transfer you to the ship. 32 hours later you’ll be at Pitcairn.
For travel enquiries or bookings you can go to Pitcairn's shop wholesale travel government Tourism site at 'VisitPitcairn' or contact tourism@pitcairn.pn or the Pitcairn Island Office shop wholesale travel in Auckland, New Zealand on admin@pitcairn.gov.pn or phone +64 9 366-0186.
Since October 2005 there is now one short paved road on Pitcairn (up the Hill of Difficulty from the landing at Bounty Bay to Adamstown), but most routes around Pitcairn Island are dirt trails, generally very rugged. Walking and personal all-terrain vehicles (3- and 4-wheel "motorbikes") are the main ways to get from one place to another, and a bike is usually available for rent.
English is the official language and spoken by everyone. Pitkern, a mixture of 18th century English and Tahitian with a bit of sailing jargon thrown in ( e.g., "all hands" means "everyone"), is spoken by the residents amongst themselves.
The remains of the Bounty are in Bounty Bay. The ship was deliberately burned and sunk by the mutineers, and it's been well picked over by divers in the meantime, but there's still an allure to seeing (what little is left of) the vessel of the true tale that made "Captain Bligh" and "the Bounty " household names.
The new museum in Adamstown contains artifacts from the Bounty (including Fletcher Christian's Bible), stamps, issues of National Geographic featuring the islands, and other items of local interest. One of the ship's four cannons is planned to be displayed here.
If the ocean is calm enough, go swimming in St. Paul's Pool , a picturesque tidal pool nestled among the seaside rocks in eastern part of Pitcairn. (Swimming shop wholesale travel in the ocean itself generally isn't safe due to the rocky shoreline.)
Sail yourself or perhaps travel with the locals to another of the islands. Oeno has sandy beaches suitable for swimming , Henderson offers rare opportunities for birdwatching and exploration of ancient caves (dwellings?), and both are good for snorkelling or scuba diving among coral reefs and a few shipwrecks. Dulcie is over 300 miles away, out of range of the islanders' boats, and therefore rarely visited, but is also good for seeing rare birds.
The internal economy is based primarily shop wholesale travel on barter, with residents producing much of their own food and sharing supplies from passing freighters or large fish catches communally. When money is used, the New Zealand dollar is the standard shop wholesale travel currency, but easily-exchanged currencies such as US or Australian dollars or UK pounds will be accepted.
The main locally-produced items for sale are handicrafts (especially woven baskets, shop wholesale travel models of the Bounty , carvings of local wildlife out of miro wood harvested from Henderson Island), honey , and the island's postage stamps (also available by mail overseas) are of interest to philatelists. Anything else has to be imported, and is priced accordingly.
shop wholesale travel In Adamstown village you will find the Post Office, General Store, Museum, Public Hall, Seventh Day Adventist Church, and the Pitcairn Island Medical shop wholesale travel Center and Doctor. You can get cash on credit cards in the Government Treasury. Generally, all facilities are open in the morning on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Saturday is the Sabbath and you are welcome to attend shop wholesale travel the local church for the interdenominational service, where you'll enjoy meeting local residents and off island professionals.
There is a small co-op general store which stocks imported foodstuffs from New Zealand or French Polynesia, mostly ordered by customers in advance. It is open 3 mornings/week, an hour each. The local cuisine relies heavily shop wholesale travel on seafood. Deep-fried nanwi (bluefish) is a local favourite, with red snapper, tuna, whitefish, shop wholesale travel grouper, wahoo, and others shop wholesale travel also being common. Pilhi is made from puréed fruit (such as banana, sweet potato, or breadfruit) with sugar and milk, then baked to custard consistency. shop wholesale travel Food staples grown on the island, include arrowroot, sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, shop wholesale travel cabbages, pineapples, melons, citrus fruits, bananas, and breadfruit. Some families keep poultry or goats.
"Home-stay" style. This is arranged prior to your arrival on the Island. Accommodation rates start at USD70 per person per night. This includes all meals and Laundry. Check with your hos