Overview to Norfolk Island: Travel Guide and Tourist Information
Like its neighbors, Fiji and Vanuatu, tiny Norfolk Island is an isolated dot of land, surrounded by the immeasurable vastness of the Pacific. A self-governing Australian territory of some 5km by 8km, it’s one of the most wonderfully isolated places imaginable.
The major plus of this compact destination is that no matter what you want to do, it’s likely to be close at hand. The island’s diminutive size allows travelers to fit in a trip to the coral reefs, an expedition hiking though the forests and an evening in the local restaurants all in one day.
Much of its striking landmass (an odd combination of tropical palms and the signature pine trees) has been assigned natural park status: there’s some great trekking and bushwalking along the tracks of the Norfolk Island National Park.
The island is also a haven for bargain hunters, as there’s no duty or tax on goods bought. Alongside its cheap shopping, there are some excellent restaurants serving the freshest of freshly-caught seafood.
As you’d expect, there’s some great diving and snorkeling. Various companies operate out of Kingston, taking divers out to the semi-tropical reefs that lie just off the coasts. There’s some good surfing, too, with Anson Bay being particularly popular amongst backpacking surfers.
When the island’s discoverer, Captain Cook, described it as a ‘paradise’, he wasn’t far wrong. With its subtropical climate, wealth of natural resources and almost unmatchable sense of tranquility, it’s never exactly a bad time to be ‘imprisoned’ on the Norfolk Island.
