Norfolk Island 1

 Friday 5 March 2021

I was up early and ready to call an Uber just before 6am to get me to the airport in time to meet my fellow travellers at 6:30 am. There was quite a crowd lining up for the flight and the queues were long because there were only 2 staff open for checking in. Once that was done we quickly moved through security and found Gate 55 at the far end of the terminal. It was all very empty with many of the shops actually closed down due to the Covid cut on travelling.

The flight over was smooth but the landing was quite bumpy. We arrived soon after 11:30 island time but then were subjected to more Federal Police border checks - quite confusing when were were actually not arriving in Australia but just moving from one "town" to another in NSW. Our bus then took us to Paradise Resort where we settled in to find out that a tsunami (65cm) had just hit the island. 

Having survived the tsunami Kerrie and I went for a walk up the road to the nearest high point where we could look out to see and get an idea of just how hilly the whole island is. We walked back around the very large block finding lots of dry cowpats and cattle grids and even electric fences on the front yards. The cars that seemed to make quite a bit of traffic are all very small, even the trucks are tiny.

Back to the Resort in time to unpack a little and then down to meet the others for a chat and update on the itinerary.

For dinner our bus took us to The Bounty were I sat with Kerrie, Diana, Edith and Beverly. 

The food was great - I had fresh Trumpeter caught yesterday. The sunset was stunning and even the staff came out to photograph it.

We were home by 8pm to settle in and retire early after a very long day. Kerrie had left Springwood at 3:30 that morning.