Emily Bay is perfect for swimming and snorkelling. Photo / Supplied
Dionne Christian discovers that horseback is just one way to see Norfolk Island's spectacular scenery.
We'd been on Norfolk Island for about five minutes when the inevitable question came up: "Is your surname really Christian - any relation?"
I am not related to Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian or his descendants who came from Pitcairn Island to settle Norfolk in the 1850s. My ancestors were horse trainers and riders from the English Midlands and, in a roundabout way, horse riding - it really is in the genes - brought us to Norfolk Island.
A few months back, I downloaded a list of 15 of the world's great horse treks, but most are in faraway places which would be expensive and challenging to travel to with children.
Mine are aged 10 and 5; one is an extremely picky eater; the other seems to have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever.
According to the list our choices included Mongolia - can you get fries there? Botswana - do they need malaria meds? Chile - will altitude sickness be a problem? Jordan and Kyrgyzstan - love to go but, no offence intended, how safe are they? Iceland - could we survive the long long-haul flight?
So I decided horse trekking would, for the moment, be best kept to New Zealand and closer destinations even if these weren't (but possibly should be) on that top 15 list.
Only an hour and 50 minute Air New Zealand flight away, travelling to Norfolk Island was the perfect opportunity to introduce lively Miss 5 to air and overseas travel while not unsettling more cautious Miss 10 and I figured we could ride through some gorgeous landscapes.
In fact, those landscapes were so gorgeous we didn't make it to horse riding until day five of our week-long visit. On Norfolk's Mt Pitt, which gives a 360-degree view of the island, we spied the beaches and made straight for them.
Emily Bay, with its golden sand and pristine waters as warm as a bath, is protected from the more tumultuous seas surrounding Norfolk by a reef just off Lone Pine headland. It makes it a calm and safe swimming and snorkelling spot, and will be forever remembered by our family as the place where Miss 5 and Miss 10 learned to snorkel and were captivated by discovering what lies beneath.
It will also be remembered as the place where Miss 5, keen to swim to the pontoon in the middle of the bay, disturbed the tranquillity by screaming, "Stranger danger! Stranger danger! - I don't know this woman" when I dragged her back into water that wasn't above my head, let alone hers.
Anson Bay went on the "must-visit list" after we looked down on it from the clifftops during the informative Pinetree Tour's half-day island tour. It is tucked into a cove down at the bottom of one of the island's near-vertical craggy cliffs and takes about 20 minutes to walk, along a fairly well-established track, to the bottom. You need to take care if swimming there as it's a surf beach so the shore quickly drops down into deep water. We jumped over the waves and, as we walked back to ascend the cliffs, laughed about sinking to our shins in the softest sand we'd encountered.
The girls couldn't believe there were no traffic lights and that Norfolk Island is home to one of the Southern Hemisphere's biggest toy shops, where you'll find some of the cheapest Lego, not to mention Miss 5's favourite, Dinosaur Train dinosaurs.
The toy shop, at The Bounty Centre in the Burnt Pine shopping area, has a second branch at the Walk in the Wild and Mini Golf complex a minute out of town. There was also an icecream cafe. It really was kid paradise.
After swimming, snorkelling, island tours, shopping, museum visits and bush walks, the time for horse riding arrived. Looking like a cover girl from one of the horsey books she devours nightly, Miss 10 blended perfectly into Silky Oaks Stables; Miss 5 looked good, too, especially after the very patient stable owner, Judith, firmly but fairly reminded her to sit the right way round on her horse.
Then, on the equally patient and bomb-proof ponies, the ride began.
By now, the girls had rightly observed the flora and fauna on Norfolk Island is the same but different as New Zealand. It is vivid green with cabbage trees, ferns, tea-tree and flaxes but more subtropical vegetation like creepers and climbing vines, palms and hibiscus and, of course, iconic Norfolk Island pines which soar skyward to meet pure white terns circling overhead. We were delighted to see fantails, silvereyes and an emerald dove but also the island's bountiful feral chickens, which scurry along the pathways and tracks.
It is worth noting the flora and fauna does not include snakes or poisonous spiders - always a bonus when you're riding in new territory. But be warned if you tend toward arachnophobia: Norfolk is home to the large but harmless golden orb web spiders that build and live in webs so big they look like mist descending around the trees. The sight of these impressive webs and their residents delighted us, as did watching the free-range chickens and cows leisurely grazing unfenced alongside the roadsides. The cows really are a sight to behold.
Depending on which of the Silky Oaks Stable treks you choose, the price can include a Devonshire tea at neighbouring The Tea Pot Gardens. Alternatively, take the two-hour City Slickers Trail Ride and have billy tea and bush tucker in the bush. Safe, relaxing and beautiful scenery, what more could a family group want from a horse trek?
Sometimes the simple things in life are the best and that's probably the way to sum up Norfolk Island. There aren't mega-malls, wall-to-wall theme parks or glitzy multi-storeyed resorts, but you don't need them when there are boundless opportunities to slow the pace and go on bush walks, bird-watching expeditions, garden rambles, farm tours, horse or bike rides, glass-bottom boat trips, or try kayaking, fishing, snorkelling, painting safaris, mini golf and even cooking classes.
If that doesn't spin your wheels, there are numerous art galleries and cultural attractions which show off Norfolk's astounding history.
IF YOU GO
Where to eat
There are no fast-food chains on Norfolk Island but a goodly number of family-friendly restaurants and cafes, a pizzeria and a couple of fish 'n' chip stores. Prices can be a little more expensive than New Zealand - after all, it's an island and most things have to be imported - but portions are generous and the laidback atmosphere lends itself to relatively stress-free family dining.
We enjoyed meals at Pa Yea's restaurant, The Olive Cafe, Cafe Tempo, the leagues club, the Golden Orb Bookshop & Cafe, The Rock restaurant - kids can draw on the paper tablecloths there - and The Blue Bull cafe Restaurant. The main attraction at the latter was the pet steer, Blue Boy, who comes from a Norfolk Island heritage herd.
Pinetree Tours' clifftop sunset fish fry featured fish so fresh it might as well have jumped into the frying pan, plus a huge range of salads and desserts. It was one of the best locations we've dined in: on a clifftop surrounded by Norfolk Island pines with a view across the Pacific Ocean.
You'll also be hard pushed to find a fresher, more innovative meal than the platters offered as part of the Hilli Goat Farm tours. The tour, which includes watching the milking process, is a relatively new enterprise where born-and-bred island girl Emily Rvyes is producing artisan cheeses and complementing these with vegetables and fruit from her family's extensive gardens.
Getting there and around
Air New Zealand has a weekly direct service between Auckland and Norfolk Island. Once there, rental cars cost about $25 a day or you can hire a bike.
My list of things to do and see
The Norfolk Island Visitor Information Centre produces a holiday itinerary planner which notes, from dawn to dusk, the tours and activities that run daily. There's also a list of the top 101 things to do on Norfolk Island. Our highlights included:
1. Snorkelling at Emily Bay
We hired gear from Land and Sea, Taylors Rd, Burnt Pine which, wisely, also rents out beach umbrellas.
Half-day Island Tour, which includes morning tea, and its Ghost Dinner Tour, which was spooky and enlightening.
3. Bush walking through the Botanic Garden
An easy and accessible walk where we saw giant vines, tree ferns, whitewood trees and emerald doves. Many more walks can be done through Norfolk Island National Park.
4. A Walk in the Wild and Mini Golf
There's a short historical-themed bush walk and a mini golf course complete with a haunted house where neon lit up the kids' clothing.
5. The Norfolk Island museums at Kingston
Four museums spread across the easily walkable World Heritage site at coastal Kingston, where you'll also find one of the world's best-restored collections of Georgian buildings on prime seaside real estate.
6. Fletcher's Mutiny Cyclorama
A 360-degree painting which shows the history of the Bounty mutineers and how they came to be on Norfolk Island. It is housed in Gallery Guava, which features contemporary work by some of Norfolk's leading artists.
A range of rides to suit beginners and more experienced rides.
8. Tour of the old Pitcairn Settlers Village
You'll visit one of Norfolk's oldest homesteads and gardens as well as walk around barns, a dairy and outbuildings filled with the most remarkable range of artefacts. There's also a chance to see the Pacific's oldest working forge in action and ride on Norfolk's first roundabout. The kids loved it, especially getting to work the forge.
The writer and her family travelled courtesy of Norfolk Island Tourism, Air New Zealand, South Pacific Resort hotel and Dii Elduu House.
And no, it's not Sydney, Melbourne or the east coast.