Norfolk Island… Paradise Awaits
Norfolk Island offers all the things you love about the South Pacific…and a whole lot more. Around every bend you’ll find a new surprise or twist that will make you rethink your notions of paradise. The beaches are some of the Pacific’s best, with clear waters sheltered by teeming coral reefs just a short swim from the sand.
You’ll also discover moody cliffs where waterfalls tumble into the sea and dramatic headlands with views that go on forever. The culture, too, is unlike any other in the Pacific, proudly weaving together the DNA of Bounty Mutineers and their Polynesian families.
Norfolk Island has been enjoying organic produce and paddock-to-plate dining long before it became ‘a thing’. The island is home to the tallest fern trees on the planet and towering pines that tickle the underbellies of passing clouds, while our lush forests and offshore islands are sanctuaries to some of the world’s rarest birds.
Adventures are truly wild. Norfolk Island’s fish-filled waters will have you reeling in the haul of a lifetime and the empty waves will take you back to a time when surfing had soul. If you prefer adventures on dry land, the Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site will transport you back through some of the most punishing and daring chapters of Australian and South Pacific history.
And right next door, an incredible golf course is the place where modern tales of heartbreak and triumph are born. Welcome to an island where doors are rarely locked and hearts are always open; a place where wandering cows have right of way and everyone has time to stop and chat.
Here are just six things to inspire you and help you to plan a trip to Norfolk Island…now a simple (quarantine free) direct flight of less than three hours on Air Chathams from Auckland Airport.
1 - Cultural and Historical Insight:
The 250-hectare Kingston UNESCO World Heritage site includes four fascinating layers of history and occupation.
Primarily, the site comprises a large group of buildings, archaeological sites and ruins from the Penal Convict Settlement (1824 -1855) with evidence of buildings from the earlier Colonial Convict Settlement (1788-1814) and an exceptional cultural landscape, evocative of the convict era. There are also archaeological remains from the pre-European Polynesian Settlement before 1788.
Pitcairn Islanders re-settled on Norfolk Island in 1856 and established their families and communities within the vacant Penal Convict Settlement buildings at Kingston. An outpost for banished British prisoners, home to the descendants of Bounty mutineers, Norfolk Island’s history reads like a page-turner.
Take a self-guided tour around historic military and government buildings and the ruins of old jails, or browse the exhibits of Norfolk Island Museums, hosted across several heritage venues.
Norfolk Island Museums staff run tag-along tours, which are included with the museums pass. For an additional fee, you can also join a locally-led tour of the fascinating cemetery, where hand-carved epitaphs record the tragic ends of Norfolk’s early inhabitants.
2 - Colourful Underworld:
Emily Bay Lagoon is a tropical beach as most of us imagine it, with spotless sand and water so clear you can see fish darting below. This is one of Norfolk Island’s best swimming beaches.
The reef-sheltered waters here are perfect for a paddle and there’s an offshore pontoon, known locally as ‘the raft’, from where you can jump into the water. What’s more, the snorkelling here is pretty special. From the sand, at low tide you can swim out to the reef where neon-bright fish weave around corals.
If you’d rather stay dry, hop aboard the glass-bottomed boat, which makes daily trips out to the teeming reef. Whatever way you look at it, the underwater world here really has to be seen. It’s home to more than 60 individual marine species and that’s not including the coral nor anemones!
And to make it even more special, Emily Bay is part of the Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site. Wander through the pines along the shore to locate the ruins of the convict-era Salt House.
3 - Nature Escapade:
If Norfolk Island isn’t on your bucket list of great walking and hiking destinations, it should be. What the island trails lack in length they more than make up for in beauty, diversity and history.
From the hiking trails of the Norfolk Island National Park to the walking tours around the Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site, every step on the island is paved with breathtaking scenery and incredible stories. Norfolk Island is the perfect year-round hiking destination.
After working up a sweat on the walks and trails, just head down to some of the world’s most beautiful beaches and cool off in crystal-clear waters. Being a maritime climate, the weather can be changeable so it’s always good to pack an extra layer. But you’ll usually find a hat, togs, sunscreen and water bottle are of far more use!
Norfolk Island National Park offers 10 well-marked walking tracks, with lengths and grades to suit everyone’s ability. You can take a rainforest hike beneath the world’s tallest tree ferns, follow coastal tracks alive with the ever-changing songs of the sea and climb summits to see the horizon in all its 360° glory.
The Botanical Gardens’ easy trails, boardwalks and circuits are the perfect way for nature lovers to learn about Norfolk Island’s unique flora, while enjoying more of the island’s best views. All walks are self-guided, but if you’d like to learn more, why not sign up for a breakfast bushwalk or bird-watching tour.
4 - Uluru of the South Pacific:
Phillip Island is just six kilometres south of Norfolk Island, but a world away from its rolling green hills and sunlit beaches. Stark, rugged and otherworldly are all words that come to mind for this 190-hectare island that forms part of the Norfolk Island National Park.
Indeed, Phillip Island’s wind-worn contours and rich reds, purples and yellows have earned it the nickname the ‘Uluru of the South Pacific’. Each year thousands of migratory seabirds, such as masked boobies, black-winged petrels and sooty terns, nest amid rare and endangered plant species, making the island a must-do for birders and naturalists.
Getting to Phillip Island is an adventure in itself and requires stepping on to a rock-ledge landing from a small boat, followed by an exhilarating climb up rope ladders and a hike over steep inclines. If you’re up to the challenge, you’ll be rewarded by scenes straight from a Sir David Attenborough nature documentary and 360° views that go on forever.
5 - Food Lovers Indulgence:
When it comes to great food, Norfolk Island is one of the South Pacific’s fastest rising stars. Rich, organic soils and seasonal growing cycles mean the food is some of the freshest and tastiest you’ll find anywhere on the planet.
If you feel like a splurge, feast on mouth-watering fresh-caught seafood cooked on an Argentinian barbecue, or carve into a flame-grilled cut of Norfolk Blue beef served up in the atmospheric dining room of a convict-era home.
You’ll find plenty of more casual and takeaway options too, from wood-fired pizzas to burgers big enough to satisfy the appetite of the most ravenous castaway! Sample cellar-door delights of an award-winning winery or drop anchor at a cocktail bar and experience the island-inspired creations of local mixologists.
Got a thirst for great craft beer? You won’t go thirsty on Norfolk, and if you’ve overindulged, kickstart the next day with locally grown and roasted coffee.
Norfolk Island is a culinary adventure for self-catering foodies too. Put together a banquet with local cheeses and breads and fresh produce and preserves gathered from the island’s honesty boxes, or savour a hamper filled with artisanal delights to be
delivered right to your door to make picnicking in paradise even easier.
Hard-core foodies can dive even deeper into Norfolk’s culinary culture on food and farm tours or by booking a spot for a clifftop fish fry, high tea or the popular Progressive Dinners.
6 - Snapper’s Paradise:
At just 35 square kilometres, Norfolk Island is compact, making it a breeze for camera wielding shutterbugs to explore, and despite the island’s size, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a destination which offers more scenic diversity per square metre.
Norfolk Island’s maritime climate and waters offer ever-changing tones, from tropical to brooding. The coastline morphs from pristine beaches to dramatic cliffs, while interiors shift from rolling farmlands to deep forests.
Then there are World Heritage buildings that range from the regal to the ruinous, incredible bird life, impossibly dark skies and magical slices of island life. Wherever you point your lens on Norfolk Island your viewfinder will reveal 360° of Wonder.
Looking for incredible seascapes? Set up your tripod at Cemetery Bay at sunrise as the incoming tide crashes over dramatic rock formations and tide pools. Then at sunset head to Anson Bay, where algae-covered boulders make stunning foreground subjects.
If you’re the kind of photographer who likes getting wet, pack your fins and mask. Pristine waters offer incredible visibility, perfect for shooting Norfolk Island’s coral gardens and rich sea life.
Explore Hundred Acres, a reserve filled with towering pines and red-tailed tropicbirds. Discover lush, hidden worlds in our Botanical Gardens. You’ll discover endless moods in the historic architecture and cemetery at the Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Norfolk Island is a Gold Level Dark Sky Town, so on a clear night point your camera to the heavens and capture the galaxies as you’ve never seen them before.