Alex & Jill Benham - Travelogue: Friday 29th August 2025

As today's orientation tour is booked for 8:30, it was plunger coffee and marmalade of a gluten-free wrap (in place of bread) for breakfast before heading off to the Pioneer Tour Office for the tour. Damian was our guide, another of the Mutiny descendants.

We spent quite a bit of time around Kingston and now have a much better understanding of the two penal colonies and then the settlement of the Bounty Mutiny descendants in 1856.

First stop was Queen Elizabeth lookout, which looked over Kingstone and out towards Napean and Phillip Island. It is somewhat surprising to see so many of the buildings from convict days still standing and in good condition. I might add that these buildings date from the second penal colony, as when the first was abandoned, all buildings were destroyed so that they didn't fall into the hands of the French (England was at war with France at the time).

The buildings' longevity is attributed to the fact that they were built from coral rock (calcarenite) mined locally and with lime mortar mined offshore on Napean Island.

from Queen Elizabeth Lookout

from Emily Bay
From Kingston we drove to Cascade Bay, once home to a whaling station. Cascade Pier is one of only two piers on the island (the other being where we had just been in Kingston) and today, fishing boats and the monthly supply vessel keep the pier "sort of" busy. When a ship arrives, it’s all action – cranes unloading cargo, boats zipping between ship and shore, and locals watching it all unfold. Until recently, it was also where cruise ships called, but our guide tells us this is no longer happening. I need to fact-check that, as Google says it's still happening.
From Cascade, we drove to the north of the island to Orn Dar Cliff (on the Cliff) where the Fish Fryups are held. In our case, it was for morning tea - tea/coffee and scones. It was then back along the western coast road to Burnt Pine.
Lunch today was at 'the Boat Shed', part of the Governor's Lodge establishment. It was then back to Endeavour Lodge for a restful afternoon.

Come 4pm, we went for a drive to Captain Cook Lookout on the north of the island. On the may we passed through an avenue of Morton Bay fig trees. They may not be native to the island but they certainly like this spot.

Captain Cook Lookout. It was here, in 1774, that Cook first landed and famously described Norfolk Island as ‘paradise’. With its soaring pines, craggy headlands, and views that stretch far into the South Pacific, it’s easy to understand why it captured his heart. He was also keen about the Norfolk Pines being used for ship masts and the flax plant being used for sails. Unfortunately, when the first convict settlement was established, they discovered that the Norfolk Pine was not as suitable mast material as he had hoped.

A stone obelisk marks the place of Cook’s landing, but the real spectacle begins at the lookout where you can gaze across sheer cliffs fringed with Norfolk pines, and out to sea where dramatic rock formations, including Bird Rock, Elephant Rock, Cathedral Rock, Green Pool Stone and Moo Moo Stone, rise from the ocean. Thanks to another visitor with a telephoto lens, we could spot Masked Boobies on Moo Moo rock, but they were a bit too far away for our camera.