Get Away with Dre to Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a tiny island in the South Pacific Ocean, nestled between New Zealand & New Caledonia. If you’re looking for it from our main island, it’s east of Evan’s Head (Evan’s Head is just south of Byron Bay).
On the 24th June 1856, Queen Victoria made Norfolk Island a separate settlement under the administration of the Governor of NSW.
The main language on Norfolk Island is English, but some Norfolk Islanders speak the local language Norf’k which is a mix of Tahitian and Old English from the Bounty descendants.
Norfolk Island enjoys a subtropical climate so you can go all year long, but if you’re looking for hot island vibes, book to go October to April.
Norfolk Island is just a 2 and a half hour plane ride from Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland, so if you were looking for a holiday spot away from home but still be close to home, pop Norfolk Island on your list.
Cows on Norfolk Island (Image supplied by Norfolk Island Tourism)
Emily Bay aerial (Image supplied by Norfolk Tourism)
Beach, please
Norfolk Island has 32kms of coastline – so you know you’re going to get a lot of beaches – but out of all the beaches on the island Emily Bay Lagoon is a must visit.
Think spotless sand and blue water so clear you can see the fish below. The bay is reef-sheltered making the water a perfectly calm place to swim in. They also have an offshore pontoon you can swim to and chill at.
Snorkelling at Emily Bay can make the hours go by because there’s so much to see, but if you don’t want to get in the water you can get on a glass-bottom boat that takes you to the reef to you can see the magic of the ocean without getting wet.
Emily Bay is part of the Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site, so after a dip you can walk to the site and learn about the history of the island.
Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site (Image supplied by Norfolk Island Tourism)
Kingston UNESCO World Heritage Site
If you love anything historic, pay a visit to the World Heritage-listed Australian Convict Site and the ruins of a brutal outpost for banished British prisoners. You can take a self-guided tour around the historic military and government buildings, and the ruins of old goal.
You can check out the exhibits of the Norfolk Island Museum which are spread out across several heritage venues and get a museum pass and tag along on some of the tours to get the most out of the history heads museum staff.
You can even do a local-led tour of the cemetery, which is part of the UNESCO site. The tour brings to life the stories of the people laid there, often tragic details about the causes of death, showing the brutality of life on a the island’s 19th century convict compound.
Norfolk Island Cemetery (Image supplied by Norfolk Island Tourism)
Dark skies at Kingston (Image supplied by Norfolk Island Tourism)
Night sky viewing
Norfolk Island is isolated in the South Pacific and with basically no light pollution, the skies breathtakingly beautiful at night. Everyone says, the first night is jaw dropping (that’s what she said).
Norfolk Island was awarded the rare and coveted status of Gold Level Dark Sky Town by the Australian Dark Sky Register in 2019. It’s known it have some of the darkest and most star-filled skies on the planet.
Basically anywhere on Norfolk Island is a good place for stargazing. You can head to the Anson Bay cliffs, head to highest points on the island – Mount Bates & Mount Pitt – to feel completely surrounded by stars, or Emily Bay’s pontoon to see the stars mirrored in the ocean.
There’s also a few stargazing tours you can go on.
All images kindly supplied by Norfolk Island Tourism.
