Up early this morning to meet our 11:35am flight from Brisbane to Norfolk Island. We thought we might have an easy run re the traffic as it was light going north, while those coming south were reduced to a crawl. That was until we got closer to Brisbane and onto the Gateway Motorway. Just as well we gave ourselves plenty of time. Parked in Airpark2 and caught the bus to the International Airport. Even though it is actually a domestic flight, Norfolk Island being part of Australia, the flights go from the International airport - unfortunately. Such a palava to get through airports.... It was much less hassle last year flying internationally to New Zealand from the Gold Coast than flying out of Brisbane.
The flight itself was straightforward and only about 2 hours. Interesting that as we were coming in to land, I took some pictures out of the window. Little did I know I was taking a picture of Endeavour Lodge, where we were to stay for the week.
We were picked up at the airport and delivered to our accommodation, Endeavour Lodge, found on the southern side of the island.
The lodge is made up of several self-contained units overlooking the ocean and looking out towards Phillip Island. 'tis a lovely spot and nice and quiet. The one-bedroom unit we're in is nicely appointed, quite large and has a tremendous view from our balcony. It's a bit away from "town", but as a car is provided (a Kia Rio) as part of the package, that is not a problem. A local mobile phone is also included in the package ($5 Credit) as Australian SIMs do not work on the island.
The owner of the lodge, Duncan Evans, is a 7th-generation descendant of Fletcher Christian (the leader of the Mutiny on the Bounty) and his wife Gaewyn, is a descendant of the Reverand Henry Fulton, an Irish political prisoner who was the Presbyterian Chaplain during the first Convict settlement from 1801 to 1806.
After settling in, we went for a bit of a drive to town (Burnt Pine) to do some grocery shopping. As you would expect, prices are a bit up on Mullumbimby, and there was no gluten-free bread to be found - not surprising really. We came back via historic Kingston, where the convict settlements had been built. Lots of history, but as we would hear more on the Orientation Tour tomorrow and a walking Tour on Monday, we just did a drive through.
Dinner tonight was at the Salty Beer Garden. Grilled local fish (Trumpeter, what we would call Sweetlip), and it was very good.
