Norfolk Island

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We spent seven nights on beautiful Norfolk Island in the South Pacific beginning Sunday, 27 October through Saturday, 2 November. Norfolk Island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia and hence uses the Aussie Dollar but it does enjoy a large degree of self-governance.

We arrived on Norfolk Island after a 1.5 hour flight from Auckland, New Zealand. We had pre-arranged accommodation via Ponderosa Apartments and this included a rental car so that we could explore the island. Once we cleared Customs & Immigration, we were met by Pete, the principal of the car rental company. He showed us to our rental car and we then drove that car and followed Pete in his car to the Ponderosa Apartments. Instead of staying in the main complex, we had booked one of their individual cottages, Niau Cottage 3, a private facility located right off one of Ponderosa’s paddocks. The Ponderosa is a large cattle ranch on the island and the owners have added the cottages and apartments to take advantage of tourism.

Afterwards, we drove the windy, narrow road to Burnt Pine – the only city on Norfolk Island – to find the local, and only, supermarket. There we stocked up on most items we would need for the week. We purchased local produce and had to do without a few other items (for now) as the shelves hadn’t yet been stocked from the most recent shipment of outside goods to the Island. Norfolk Island has lots of gardens for produce but most other items (except for some meat products and locally made beverages) have to be shipped in with sea transport being more cost effective than air transport.

However…. Norfolk Island doesn’t have a deep water harbor so goods do not arrive in shipping containers. Instead, they have to come in via small crates and/or nets. Items are then transferred to small vessels (built from Norfolk Pine lumber) called “lighters” which are towed into either Kingston Pier or Cascade Pier for unloading. (Cascade pier is on the North of the Island and the Kingston Pier is on the South. Winds dictate which pier is used.) Then goods are subsequently delivered using the Island’s road network. Needless to say, this means goods – food stuffs or anything else from either New Zealand or Australia or elsewhere – are costly. That being said, we managed to fill most of the pantry. Alcoholic beverages had to wait until Monday as the Island’s liquor store was closed on Sunday.

We spent our days exploring Norfolk Island. The normal speed limit on most roads is 50KPH (30MPH) but cows, geese and feral chickens (called “chooks”) are often on the roadways so some caution is required. While driving (and also while relaxing at our cottage), we enjoyed listening to Norfolk’s radio station (89.90FM). It offers local news, updates on daily flights to/from the Island as well as a great mix of music.

In summary, Norfolk Island is amazing! It is one of the most beautiful islands we have visited with its lovely namesake trees and awesome coastline. The locals welcome visitors and make you feel like you’re part of the community. There are 170 kilometers of paved roads and we drove every klick – some more than once! Highlights of our visit included:

KAVHA: The Kingston and Arthur’s Vale Historic Area (or KAVHA) is a World Heritage area. It is one of 11 sites which formed the Australian Convict Sites Inscription. On 6 March 1788, a convict settlement was formed in Kingston. It was used (except for a short period) until the late 1840’s. Then, in 1856, Queen Victoria gave Norfolk Island to the descendants of the Bounty mutineers who were then living on Pitcairn Island. The entire community migrated to Norfolk, landing at Kingston on 8 June.

What now remains in KAVHA is a collection of buildings dating back to the convict times. When first entering the reserve, there is the remnant of a Watermill and some other stone buildings that are part of the Vale (valley). As you proceed down towards the sea, there are many more buildings. These include the outer walls of the hospital as well as the jail (gaol). Next to the jail is a Prisoners Barrack building (again, only other walls) which at one time housed 973 men and boys. There is also a Crank Mill, a mill that relied on convict muscle as its power source. Other buildings include the Royal Engineers Office, Old Military Barracks and, of course, Kingston pier.

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	Welcome to the Kingston & Arthur's Vale Historic Area (KAHVA)
	The remnants of an 1828 Water Wheel located at the top of the Vale (its water source is in the picture above - the water behind the sign)
	The beautiful sea coast at KAVHA
	The entry to the settlement Hospital
	The Hospital walls was completed in 1832 and was for use by either civilians or convicts
	Hospital walls - perhaps these lower walls separated small treatment rooms?
	A view of the extremely large New Gaol
	The Gaol archway bears the date of 1847
	A view from inside the Gaol. It held 130 cells and was fully occupied by 1849
	The sturdy walls of the Prisoner Barracks which were used from 1828 to 1848 prior to the building of the New Gaol
	Ruins of the Blacksmith's Compound
	The exterior walls of the Crank Mill which was a hand crank powered by convicts
	The interior walls of the Crank Mill

The setting is absolutely gorgeous as there are great views of two nearby islands, Phillip Island and Nepean Island. The KAVHA site also includes both rocky beaches and sand beaches. There is a beautiful bay, Emily Bay, which is more sheltered and offers a spot for swimming and/or snorkeling. One point is home to a sole Norfolk Pine and is aptly named, “Lone Pine” point. KAVHA is a great place to spend an entire day, especially if you bring along a picnic to enjoy in the shade at one of the many picnic tables provided in the area.

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	Phillip Island as seen from KAVHA
	The aptly named, "Lone Pine Point"
	Nepean Island
	Lindy sitting by an original "lighter boat"
	Lindy by a modern "lighter boat" sitting at Kingston pier (still looks a bit scary for offloading goods from a ship)

Norfolk Island National Park: Norfolk Island National Park comprises 14% of Norfolk Island. On our first excursion to the Park, we drove to Mount Pitt. It is the second highest point on Norfolk at 320 meters (~990 feet). It afforded spectacular 360 degree views of the island. Wow! From there we took the brief “Summit Walk” to reach the highest point on Norfolk, Mount Bates at 321 meters (~993 feet). Just below the summit of Mount Bates are the remnants of a WWII radar station and its generator. After taking time for photographs, we reversed our path and returned to Mount Pitt. There we enjoyed a great picnic while watching the island and the sea. Simply amazing!

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	Welcome to the Park! The wooden sign below the English sign is written in Norfuk, the original language brought to the island by the Bounty mutineers from Pitcairn Island
	Views of Nepean Island (left) and Phillip Island (right) from Mount Pitt
	Ed on the Summit Walk trail to Mount Bates
	A lovely view from the Summit Walk
	An informational sign en route to Mount Bates which describes the WWII military installations
	The remnants of the WWII radar station
	The concrete which once held a WWII generator
	We made it to the summit of Mount Bates!
	A beautiful Fiddlehead Fern on Mount Bates
	One of the many flora on Mount Bates

Cascade Pier & Old Whaling Station: Having already seen the Kingston Pier, we decided to take a drive to see Norfolk’s other pier, Cascade Pier. En route we stopped at the Island’s saw mill; yes, it’s in use as lumbering is an active business. We continued on to Cascade Pier. While we were there a couple of fishing boats came in after their morning at sea. Very near the Pier, is the Old Whaling Station. It was used to render whale blubber into oil that was subsequently sold in Australia and New Zealand. All that remains are some rusting equipment and outlines of some concrete vats. On our return route back to the Ponderosa, we drove via Cemetery Bay and stopped for a picnic lunch at Emily Bay in the KAVHA. As we noted earlier, Norfolk Island is small.

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	The island's saw mill
	Cascade Pier
	A view of the coastline near Cascade Pier
	Lindy at the old whaling station
	Looking down on Cemetery Bay
	Views of Nepean Island (front) and Phillip Island (back) from Cemetery Bay

Touring the Northwest Areas of Norfolk: Our touring today focused on visiting the Western and Northwestern sections of Norfolk Island. We began by stopping at the lovely Anson Bay. Afterwards we drove north and saw Duncombe Bay from the point of Fisherman’s Lane. It too was beautiful. We backtracked a bit until we were able to turn to the east and north to enter the Captain Cook Memorial in a section of Norfolk Island National Park that we had not previously visited. It was here that Captain Cook landed on Norfolk Island on 10 October 1774. He named it for his benefactor, The Duchess of Norfolk, and claimed it for England. The Island was uninhabited when Captain Cook landed there so he was credited with discovering it. However there is evidence of a Polynesian settlement near Emily Bay that preceded Captain Cook by several hundred years. There is a monument to Captain Cook as well as informational signs giving the names of nearby islands and what is believed to be Captain Cook’s landing spot. Again, it was all quite beautiful! During our day outing, we enjoyed each of the spots mentioned alone. That is, we didn’t have to share the spots with anyone else…we never saw another person; there’s not many places in the world that offer such beauty and solitude!

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	The stunning Anson Bay
	Duncombe Bay as seen from Fisherman's Lane
	What is believed to be Captain Cook's landing spot (on the gravel beach)
	This tiny island is called "Green Pool Rock"
	In this closer view, you can see the pool atop the rock
	This shot includes: "Cathedral Rock", "Elephant Rock" and "Bird Rock" (can you figure out which one is which?)

Touring the East & Southwest of Norfolk Island: We thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Two Chimney Reserve on Norfolk’s eastern coast. It was a lovely area that provided great views. Again, we had the Reserve to ourselves. As we made our way back across the Island, we stopped at the Queen Elizabeth Lookout over the Kingston Area. It afforded great views of the area. We then drove to the Headstone Reserve on the Southwest part of Norfolk. The road to the area was closed due to bridge repair. However, it was within walking distance so we did visit the Reserve and again enjoy some incredible views of the sea. We also had a treat in seeing some amazing Moreton Fig Trees which made a canopy over New Farm Road, the road we used to access Headstone Reserve.

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	Lindy on a steep slope at Two Chimney's Reserve
	The beautiful coastline at Two Chimney's Reserve
	A different but equally stunning view from Two Chimney's Reserve
	Looking down into KAHVA and beyond from the Queen Elizabeth Outlook
	The beautiful coastline at Headstone Reserve
	The Moreton Fig Trees along New Farm Road

Burnt Pine: Burnt Pine, Norfolk Island’s only city, has a main thoroughfare plus a few side streets and a small mall. It’s easy to park your car and then wander everywhere on foot (which is what we did except when grocery shopping). Many shops carry goods that are duty free vis-à-vis the Australian mainland. So, for Aussies this is a shopping haven. We enjoyed shopping too and were very surprised to see how many different products were available (including items from the U.K., Italy, Germany and Scotland). Wandering around town was a great way to spend an afternoon. The town also has a variety of coffee shops and restaurants for individuals wanting to eat out and/or those staying in non-apartment accommodations.

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	A view down the main thoroughfare in Burnt Pine
	Shopping along a side street