While it may never be mentioned in the same breath as Fiji, Tahiti or some of the South Pacific’s other romantic hot-spots, the kind of cosy isolation you can only find on an island by itself in the middle of an ocean shouldn’t be understated. What’s more, you won’t find it crowded with holidaymakers desperate for the perfect breakaway, in fact about the only thing you might run into on Norfolk Island are the cows who move slowly about the roadways as if they own the place (and be warned, under the quirky set of local laws they virtually do).
Most people know Norfolk Island as a nasty penal settlement from the 1800s, but what they don’t appreciate is just how beautiful the landscape is.
There are isolated beaches here as good as any you’ll find anywhere in the Pacific, the fishing they say is better than anywhere, while the waters for snorkelling and diving are the cleanest on Earth, because of the island’s total isolation. There are untouched forests to walk through, mountains to climb, incredible rocky coastlines to kayak, and a growing number of gorgeous restaurants and cafés ideal for long, romantic meals. There’s even a winery now on the island, and a coffee plantation.
But what Norfolk Island offers above all, is the friendliest people in the southern hemisphere. Here it’s mandatory to wave when you pass another car, you can vary between one finger and the whole hand, but it’s frowned on if you don’t, and forget about locking your car or hotel, the locals will see it as an insult.
Need to Know
DO take a drive to Puppies Point or Anson’s Bay with a blanket and a bottle of champagne and enjoy the best sunset location on the island. Remember there’s nothing at all between you and Australia 1500 kilometres west.
DON’T go to Norfolk Island without studying up on the locals first. Watch “Mutiny on The Bounty”, they’re all descendants here and the arguments over whose relative was the most significant will make more sense after seeing the DVD.
COUPLES WILL LOVE sleeping in a cottage overlooking the island’s most stunning coastline and waking to watch whales swim past, check out www.forrestercourt.com
