MELBOURNE TO SYDNEY

Welcome to our holiday to stunning Norfolk Island to celebrate Thanksgiving Day. With chauffeured pickup from home, we travel to Melbourne Airport. Here we’ll be greeted by our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours Tour Director who will assist us with check in and join us for the tour. On arrival, we are transferred to our overnight accommodation. We will enjoy dinner in our hotel and prepare for our journey to magnificent Norfolk Island tomorrow morning.

Lunch at own arrangements and cost

OVERNIGHT: Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel, SYDNEY

SYDNEY TO NORFOLK ISLAND

This morning, we depart from Sydney International Airport on our Qantas flight to Norfolk Island. Once on this beautiful island, we are transferred to our home for the next 7 nights. Castaway, our accommodation, is in the heart of Burnt Pine with sweeping valley and garden views. Here we enjoy some welcome sandwich platters, then time to settle in. After our long day travelling, we’ll be eating inhouse this evening and enjoy a Pizza and Cheese Night at Castaway. Some might say they serve the best pizza in the South Pacific! What a great way to start our tour.

Light lunch served inflight

OVERNIGHT:  Castaway Norfolk Island, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

ISLAND TOUR

After breakfast we join our Half-Day Sightseeing Tour around the Island.  This tour will help us get familiar with the island’s geography and let us discover all the important places. It takes us back in history, visiting the convict ruins of Norfolk Island’s famous penal settlement. We hear the stories of the settlers who followed from Pitcairn Island and learn interesting facts about Norfolk Island today - the government, immigration laws and lifestyle. We visit St Barnabas Chapel which was the mother church of the Church of England’s missionary work in Melanesia. The mission operated between 1867 and 1920. During that time thousands of students from the Pacific Islands came to the Mission College to live and study, living apart from the rest of the island’s population, and being mostly self-sufficient. We also stop for a delicious Devonshire Tea. This afternoon, we make our way to Cyclorama where we can experience the totally unique 360o panoramic painting that will take us on an amazing journey. We will feel like we are there witnessing the Bounty adventures and discovering how the world’s most famous mutiny created the Pitcairn and Norfolk communities. The remainder of the afternoon is free for personal sightseeing, or perhaps relaxing with a book.  This evening, we’ll enjoy dinner at The Bounty Bar & Grill. But the evening isn’t over yet as we enjoy Wonderland by Night as we follow a gently meandering path through 10 acres of Norfolk Pines with dioramas, poetry and stories of times gone by that have shaped life on the Island today. Thousands of lights turn this into an evening in an enchanted forest.

Lunch at own expense and arrangement

OVERNIGHT: Castaway Norfolk Island, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

CONVICT SETTLEMENT TOUR

We have some free time this morning; some of us may like to wander down to the Sunday Markets, others may like to do some personal sightseeing. Back at The Castaway, we enjoy lunch. This afternoon, we enjoy a most interesting tour of the Convict Settlement at Kingston where our informative guide will take us through the eras of convict settlement on the Island. We will walk through the cemetery and hear the history of various convict and colonial head stones, pass the houses along Quality Row and visit the restored Military Barracks. We stroll through the ruins of the gaol and visit All Saints Church admiring its beautiful stained glass windows, which was in convict times the Commissariat Store. Think of the generations of families that call this island home and all that has made Norfolk Island the destination that it is today.  Dinner this evening is at the Governor’s Lodge Resort.

OVERNIGHT:  Castaway Norfolk Island, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

PADDOCK TO PLATE TOUR, COLLEEN McCULLOUGH TOUR AND LAVENDER FARM

This morning we take the Paddock to Plate tour. We will visit a market garden that supplies the Island with fruit and vegetables, a free range egg farm where we get our eggs, and a cattle farm that produces beef cattle.  At each stop our farmers will tell us how they farm on Norfolk Island, and the challenges that this entails. Afterwards enjoy a sumptuous two-course lunch in an Island home, showcasing our local produce. What a great morning! Early afternoon, we enjoy the Colleen McCullough Tour as we get a glimpse into the life of a literary icon. Colleen McCullough made Norfolk Island home for 36 years. Our tour takes us to the private luxurious hideaway that she and husband, Norfolk Islander, Ric Robinson called home - ‘Out Yenna’. Together, they created an opulent hideaway and maintained their privacy to ensure that Colleen had the perfect environment for her writing. Some of her most powerful titles were created in this much loved sanctuary. If you have read her amazing books, you will love the experience of sharing the world of Colleen McCullough, author of “Tim”, “The Thornbirds” and “Morgan’s Run”.  Our last stop for the afternoon is Fitzy's Farm, Norfolk Island's first-ever Lavender Farm! On this informative tour we learn of the challenges in setting up this beautiful farm.  The island's unique climate and soil conditions meant that carefully selected lavender varieties were chosen that would thrive here and adapt. A highlight of the farm is the copper distilling equipment used for steam distillation of lavender to extract essential oils. You'll get to see this equipment in action and learn about the fascinating process of steam distillation. It's through this process that we obtain the precious lavender essential oils, which have various applications in aromatherapy, skincare, and more. During the tour, we'll take an easy walk around the farm, accompanied by the owner, who will provide us with detailed insights into the 15 different lavender varieties that have been planted. To make our experience even more delightful, we'll be treated to a Lavender & Blueberry Gelato in a Waffle Cone. If you prefer a different flavour, just let us know, and we'll accommodate your request. The lovely Hilli Restaurant is our venue for dinner this evening.

OVERNIGHT: The Castaway, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

GLASS BOTTOM BOAT AND ISLAND FISH FRY

This morning we transfer to beautiful Emily Bay. Waelkam Abord! (welcome aboard) our glass bottom boat cruise. We board our boat from a beach jetty so no wet feet. We cruise the beautiful crystal clear, calm waters of Emily and Slaughter Bays inside the reef.  Coral gardens and over 100 species of tropical fish, the vast marine life and their habitats make for wonderful viewing.  Back on dry land, we enjoy a light lunch. (Timing this morning is dependant upon the tide.)  We have the remainder of the day at leisure  - perhaps the shops are calling, or some personal sightseeing, or maybe just relaxing while you read a book - the choice is yours!  Tonight, we’re in for some fun as we perch on the clifftop watching the sun sink into the west at the Island Fish Fry. Get ready for a night of delicious food, live music and stunning views! The Island Fish Fry is the must-do event for anyone visiting the island, and it's not hard to see why. Local dishes are served and the evening’s entertainment includes the Baunti Byuutis dancing group.

OVERNIGHT: Castaway Norfolk Island, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

THANKSGIVING DAY PICNIC

Norfolk Island celebrates Thanksgiving Day annually on the last Wednesday in November.  During the 1890s, Isaac Robinson, an American trader who settled on Norfolk, proposed an idea of dressing All Saints Church in American-like style for Thanksgiving. The idea was supported because, at that time, Americans had a great influence on other nations around the world. Robinson died the next year, but his idea to decorate the church continued. People also sing American hymns and share a potluck meal consisting of cold pork, chicken, bananas and traditional American pumpkin pie. We relax and enjoy the festivities of the day partaking in the grand picnic. We have plenty of time to freshen up back at our hotel.  Tonight, we experience insight into Norfolk living as we progress with each course from Norfolk Island home to home. Meet the locals and listen to their family histories and stories during our three-course Progressive Dinner.  This will be one of the highlights of our tour!

OVERNIGHT:  Castaway Norfolk Island, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

ISLAND CULTURE TOUR

We have another interesting day today. This morning, we take the Island Culture Tour as we experience the culture of what came before—the arts of weaving, cooking, dancing and our Norfolk Language were inherited from our mutineer ancestors and their Tahitian wives. Join us for a cooking demonstration, a taste of traditional dishes, Tahitian dancing, and learn some of the Norf’k language we are so proud of. The remainder of the day is free for some last minute shopping or sightseeing. Tonight we enjoy dinner at the Homestead Restaurant - look out for the stunning Moreton Bay Fig Trees. Standing in a row along the road’s edge, these majestic sentinels are a horticultural wonder, dwarfing all who pass by. What a wonderful final night together!

Lunch at own expense and arrangement

OVERNIGHT: Castaway Norfolk Island, Burnt Pine, NORFOLK ISLAND

NORFOLK ISLAND TO MELBOURNE

We enjoy a leisurely breakfast with time for last minute packing.  We now visit the Bounty Folk Museum. While small in size, the museum is wide in scope, and tells the strange and startling history of Norfolk Island, from the harrowing tales of ill-fated convicts brought here, to the against-the-odds survival of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian wives.  After lunch at Castaway, we are transferred to the Norfolk Island Airport for our flight to Brisbane.  After clearing Customs, we will transfer to the domestic airport to connect with our flight home. Upon arrival in Melbourne our chauffeurs will be waiting to take us safely home with many interesting stories to tell about our Norfolk Island adventure — all a part of O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours service.

Light refreshments served inflight