Norfolk Island is small and isolated so it pays to go prepared. Here are some helpful tips for you before you visit. I assure you that if you go prepared you will have a wonderful time.
* Take plenty of cash. We were there for a week and the whole time we were there the island's sole cash flow machine was out of order. Neither the Post Office nor the Commonwealth bank would allow me to draw money so I ended up with only a $1 coin in my wallet for the last four days. I did get by OK but it was disconcerting and I couldn't make any purchases at the markets where they dealt mostly in cash.
* Be sparing in your water use. Norfolk depends mainly on rain water and although most dwellings have large water tanks they do go through periods of drought. In times of drought the island's desalination plant operates but water must be carted to where it's needed from there. We used water from our showers to water the garden at the house we were staying in.
* The island has a surprising number of cafes and restaurants. You will be spoilt for choice. We went to many and they were all good and reasonably priced. For fine dining we went to The Homestead and Bounty Club and for cheap and cheerful we went to the RSL Club and the Bowling Club.
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| The Homestead Restaurant |
* Don't expect to find everything you want at the supermarket. The island is dependent on shipping for all their supplies and if the weather is bad shipping can be delayed by several months. Having said that, despite remarkably empty supermarket shelves, with a bit of creativity, we were able to buy plenty to cook with. Slick and Son by the airport is a beautiful butchery/deli and is very well stocked with goods they air freight from Australia. The islanders are incredibly resourceful and will make the most of what is available. We always found plenty to choose from the menu when we were eating out.
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| The shelves were pretty empty while we were there. They were waiting on a delayed shipment. |
* There are plenty of good shops in Burnt Pine. You can buy pretty much anything you want from hardware to clothing to kitchen equipment. I highly recommend Aatuti Art in Burnt Pine for good quality art, hand printed garments and fine souvenirs.
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| Aatuti Art (Photo by Aatuti) |
* The car rental company by the airport has excellent cars and a good range to choose from. We hired two for our group and they were modern and well maintained.
* The roads are varied. Some are in very good order and quite a few are very pot holed but the pot holing is generally fairly superficial. Nevertheless drive carefully especially since the cattle on the island roam free.
* The locals are really friendly so take time to chat with them, it is rewarding. And listen out for people speaking the local language, Norfuk, which is a blend of 18th century English and Tahitian. We came across a group of young people at the bowling club holding a conversation in Norfuk and we were intrigued.
* For a small island there are plenty of tours you can take. Everything from Convict Tours to Culture Tours, Farm Tours and Food Tours. I highly recommend the Progressive Dinner, which I talked about in my last post. It is so much fun.
Finally, unfortunately there are currently no direct flights from New Zealand. We were lucky to get on direct flights at the time we went. Now it requires a long and expensive trip via Australia. Here's hoping there will be flights from New Zealand once again in the future. I, for one, would dearly love to visit this lovely island again.
So as the Norfolk Islanders said to us as we were leaving:
"Yorlye kum baek sun" or You all come back soon.
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