It’s all about History – Norfolk Island

Not alot of people seem to know exactly where this little island is, but it lies in between the north tip of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia.

If there’s one place in this world that has managed to preserve its history, it’s right here on Norfolk Island – it’s like a real life museum without the walls!  The island is  home to the descendants of the famous Bounty mutineers.  There is still evidence of convict history everywhere – the old prisons, homes, hospital and buildings where slaves and prisoners were worked to death. You can take a ghost tour at night where they share real ghost stories, then finish the tour off at the island cemetary! You can also take a history tour during the day where you can learn about all the horrific things that happened on the island – after all, the island was used to imprison convicts (and make sure they endured the harshest of punishments!).

Alot of people have a misconception that there’s nothing to do on Norfolk Island, yet I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually enjoyed visiting this little island.  It was both interesting and beautiful!  It has a very, VERY laidback and slow-paced lifestyle where most people on the island know eachother….and are all very friendly!  Everyone seems to wave at everyone too, whether they know you or not….so just wave back (as they say “when in Rome..?”).

The locals are all very welcoming of visitors to the island, and they have their own native language which is a mixture of Old English and Tahitian! It’s very safe staying here too, you can drive around the island and leave everything in your car (windows open), with the keys still in it, and you wouldn’t have to worry about anything disappearing.  The fastest speed you can drive around the island is about 50km per hour (not that you would really need to drive fast anywhere here though).

A funny thing that I found about Norfolk Island is that cows just walk around the street and they actually have more right of way than you do (so if you hit any of them, they can get better Lawyers than you can to! ha!).  The island is very ‘rural’ and very green and peaceful, so another great way to get around and see the island is to go bike riding.  You will also find that almost everyone on the island is multi-skilled….so the same flight attendant that took care of you on the flight over to Norfolk Island can be the same person who takes you on a bike tour or pampers you with a massage at the local day spa!

There’s more to do here than most people think, and if you’re interested in convict history…you can see alot of it up close right on this little island!

Photographs: by me