Food and Freight Questions

When you order your groceries is it possible to order in softer frozen goods such as frozen peas that would thaw reasonably quickly?  

Yes any frozen goods can be ordered, even ice cream. They are in a freezer on the supply boat and they are the first things unloaded.

Do you order in cheese or butter from New Zealand? If so, is it still in reasonable condition when you get it?  

Yes it is fine. Once we receive our butter, I usually cut it into portions, wrap it in gladwrap and store it in the freezer. 

Do you use powdered milk?

Yes. I mix up just enough for the day every morning.  Because the power goes off every night at 10 pm the fridge is not working overnight I find that milk tends to go sour quickly if I mix too much. Many people buy the long life  UHT milk as well.

Did you place a food order while you were still in New Zealand so that it would be there for you when you arrived?

Unfortunately for the school teacher the first freight will not arrive until the supply ship the Claymore arrives in March/April!  This is exactly what happens to every teacher.   You arrive early...via cruise boat...so you can start the school year, but all your food and clothes do not get here until a month later!   All the others from the Professional Team will make sure that you are comfortable, just bring the maximum allowable weight in clothes for the flights here plus any resources that you want to start with. Buy food from the general store in the meantime.

 

When packing to go to Pitcairn did you pack your goods into cardboard boxes?

You need to consider your packing very carefully.  The boxes you use will be stored and re-used when you depart. We purchased uniform sized boxes from a packaging company so they were mostly all the same size. It doesn't matter how many boxes you have, so go for two light ones rather than one heavy one. We also bought a roll of shrink wrap plastic and wrapped each box.  For books and documents it is a good idea to line the inside of the box with a large black plastic rubbish bag.  Items do get wet from time to time when in transit. The shipping containers sit on the deck of the Claymore supply ship.  They are supposed to be water tight but I have seen a number that leaked badly. Some people use plastic warehouse boxes. Cardboard boxes do have the advantage of being able to be disassembled and flattened for the duration of your time on Pitcairn.

You will need to type out a manifest.  Number and list every box. Make sure it is addressed clearly.  On your manifest list the contents. Bring plenty of used plastic supermarket bags and these can be stuffed down into small crevices.  They are so useful once here. Pack you boxes tightly so that items do not roll around inside.

Did all of your goods arrive in safe condition?

Yes

Does the size and weight of the boxes matter?

No, but remember they are manhandled from the container to bike trailers on island.

 

Is it out of the question to bring a bicycle to Pitcairn? A kayak?

If you bring a bicycle to Pitcairn make sure it is a robust mountain bike.  Pack it well for the journey on the supply ship. The hills here are very steep for bike riding. Adamstown has approximately 1 km of concrete roading.  This is relatively easy to ride on. Some people have kayaks. You need to exercise great caution about suitable days to go out kayaking. Recently Doctor Kevin and Sharon Donovan kayaked around Pitcairn Island in their quality inflatable double kayak.  If you tip out it is not easy to get back in and there are very few places where it would be advisable to try and come ashore on the treacherous coastline.