This day was an extra bonus day. We were meant to get on a tour to West Island but too many activities we decided to chill out and explore Direction when sunny. We can never be fed enough with this view! 

Louise taking a nap.

 

 

This time we walked to the Northern part of Direction discovering more history of the island. 

THE DIRECTION ISLAND HERITAGE TRAIL

This atoll was first discovered by Captain William Keeling in 1609, but people did not set foot on Direction Island until 1825 -  and then only because of a shipwreck! In the latter half of the 19th century Cocos Malay workers from the Lunies-Ross estate occasionally planted gardens here but it was not until the 1900s that settlement came to Direction Island. In 1901 this island became a vital link  in a newly laid chain of undersea telegraphic cables - and so began a remarkable period of history.

Two dominent historical events associated with Direction Island:

* The cable station that dominated this place for nearly 70 years

* The great First World War naval battle between the German raider Emdem and the Australian cruiser Sydney

Many of the photos used on these panels were taken by Eric Edward Story of South Australia, who was stationned on Direction Island as cable engineer for Eastern Extension Telegraph Company in  1922-23, 1929-30, 1935-36 and 1940-41.

  

  

We are continuously blended by this jewel of the ocean! 

  

Then we found this little cabin built with palm leaves with a tiny kids' chair facing the ocean.