Norfolk Island

Norfolk Island is a small Australian external territory in the South Pacific, about 1,400 kilometres east of the mainland. Ships anchor offshore, and passengers tender to a landing where tall Norfolk Island pines, the source of the island's name, line the roads. The population descends partly from the Bounty mutineers, who were resettled here from Pitcairn Island in 1856, and that heritage runs through the local dialect, food, and place names. The UNESCO-listed Kingston and Arthur's Vale Historic Area preserves the ruins of a brutal 19th-century penal colony, with crumbling stone buildings and overgrown cemeteries. The maritime museum displays artifacts from both the Bounty and HMS Sirius. Emily Bay has a sheltered lagoon with calm water for swimming, and the national park offers subtropical forest walks and coastal trails. There is no public transport, so hire a car or join a tour. The currency is the Australian dollar, and the pace here is genuinely slow.