St Helena a time gone by

you the island of Santa Lena is located in the South antique ocean between Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha the nearest mainland is Namibia about 1200 miles to the east as the airport is not yet complete the only way to get to the island is by traveling on the mail ship RMS santolina the RMS santolina is one of only two ocean-going vessels in the world still to carry the privileged title of Royal Mail ship held in the past by so many famous British passenger liners she leaves Cape Town about every six weeks in order to supply the islands of center Lena and dissension the journey to centre Lena takes five days after a two-day stop in Sint alina the ship carries on to ascension this gives the visitor eight days to explore the island the RMS santolina loads up at Cape Town and with the help of tugs gets on its way soon Cape Town with its magnificent view of Table Mountain disappears in the distance and we prepare for our five-day voyage on board this working ship carrying goods and people nearly halfway across the ocean the bow of the ship is laden with containers of goods leaving the stern and decks for the visitors the captain sets his course at 309 degrees and settles down to a calm crossing early in the morning of the fifth day we get our first glance at the island of Santa Lena a 47 square mile island it is one of the remotest settled islands in the world being only ten and a half miles long and six and a half miles wide it is a sub tropical paradise with spectacular contrasts clearly the island has had a very active volcanic history there is no natural Harbor in santolina Rupa's Bay and Jamestown come into view and we mor just off Jamestown in the deep water the islands remote location meant it was used as a place of Exile for key prisoners and also played an important role during the abolition of slavery it is soon time to take the lighter to the customs Hall on the island in Jamestown Center leaner touches many aspects of world history discovered by the Portuguese in 1502 it became a Dutch than a British possession initially under the East India Company then the crown it was a strategically important port of call during the British Empire one feature you notice as soon as you land is Jacob's Ladder this huge set of steps was built in 1829 for the centralina Railway Company to bring provisions from the town to the garrison at the top of the hill the 699 steps average 11 inches rise per step the ladder is 600 feet high it takes the average person about 20 minutes to climb the steps and about 10 minutes to come down the school children can be seen using this ladder daily the town is very quiet today but our flat gives us a good view of the post office and shops Jamestown has the atmosphere of a small English country village it has a tightly patch row of colorfully painted houses on both sides of Grand Parade and Main Street from the top of the hill Jamestown can be seen to be squeezed into the bottom of the valley Rupert's Bay where all the power for the island is generated this Bay is now being used to land materials for the new airport and whilst it won't quite be a harbor approval has been given for a wharf for Rupert's Bay at Flagstaff he'll have 2257 feet you get a fabulous view of the coastline the top of the hill is very windy and only small once grow there indigenous santolina were six unique land birds only one survives today it is a small plumber called a wire bird because of its thin legs only about 200 adults remain from flagstaff hill we move to prosperous Bay Plain where the new airport is being built it is feared that the airport will have an impact on the wire bird that lives here at prosperous Bay plain we visit the bells stone this piece of Truckee under sight is somehow hollow and rings when hit next is Sandy Bay with interesting geological features as well as buildings of historical interest the higher ground is lush but the lower ground is barren the black volcanic sand is evident on the beach along this route an outcrop called Lot's wife is very prominent moving from Sandy Bay the Dianna's peak National Park is a testament to the islands pristine environment and home to most of Santa Lina's endemic wildlife it has 16 own native species of plant 45 occur nowhere else including the white evany flower on santolina three properties are under the administration of the French Foreign Ministry these consist of long Woodhouse the small pavilion briars and Valley of the tomb here is briars pavilion when Napoleon was incarcerated in santolina in 1815 after Waterloo he first stayed at the briars until Longwood house ready Longwood House is much larger than the briars and Napoleon stayed here until his death in 1821 there are large Gardens around the house where Napoleon was permitted to stroll about 20 Royal French soldiers stayed with him at Longwood um would we move to Napoleon's tomb Napoleon was buried here in 1821 but was exhumed in 1840 and his remains tend to place on believes in Paris to plantation house the residence of the island's governor as well as that of jonathan the world's oldest living animal a giant tortoise who is around a hundred and eighty years old to Jamestown a traditional March by the local Scouts and Guides soon it is time to leave and we take the lighter back to the ship lifeboat drill is soon completed and we move off south east back towards Cape Town and the end of our visit to Santa Lena santolina offers many things to see from visiting the georgian town Jamestown to the rugged coastline from the rolling hills to the starkest striking geology at Sandy Bay sent Elena's natural beauty and historic heritage our interns stunning and dramatic breathtaking views from the highest peaks inviting waters and 100% quaintness offering all visitors and extraordinary lifetime experience in spite of its small size the island has a huge amount to offer in terms of outstanding scenery pristine marine waters subtropical conditions and warm and friendly people a true discovery you

Channel: Fixby Films

Views: 458,639

Rating: 4.8541331 out of 5

Keywords: St Helena, Napoleon, Jacobs ladder, Longwood

Id: 0Rhl-7kyZPw

Length: 13min 19sec (799 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 01 2015