Norfolk Island

A few nights working on Norfolk Island

Posted by Gary

A few nights working on Norfolk Island

I’ve just returned from a short trip working on Norfolk Island. I’ve now had three short trips to the island in three years. While I’m not at liberty to share what I was doing, I can share what I ate!

The first trip was in 2019. The second in 2020 before COVID-19 struck. I also shared some thoughts from my first trip here.

COVID-19 has impacted travel to and from the island, with Qantas taking over most flights instead of Air New Zealand.

Norfolk Pines all in a row!

No butter on Norfolk Island

We discovered soon after landing that there was no butter on the island. Because of COVID-19 freight supplies had become unreliable and there had not been a delivery of butter. While the island is replete with cattle, the cattle are for beef and not for dairy products. Prior to the legislative requirements for the pasteurisation of milk, there was an abundance of fresh milk, cream, and butter. Now, most island residents rely on UHT milk.

This meant my usual travel breakfast of Eggs Benedict was not possible without butter for the hollandaise sauce.

Monday dinner

“The Bowlo” The Bowling Club Bistro
Taylors Road, New cascade Road, Burnt Pine

Local Norfolk Island rump steak with prawns and chips. A steak knife would have helped, but the meat was very tasty and tender. I asked for medium rare, however, it was served medium. Not a disaster, because the meat tasted so good. The prawns were a great addition too.

Tuesday breakfast

The Olive Café
Taylors Road off Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Fried eggs and toast with tomato chutney. Don’t be fooled, the yellow stain on the toast isn’t from butter.

Tuesday lunch

The Olive Café
Taylors Road off Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

A BLT with some of the best hot chips I’ve ever eaten. The chips taste and have a mouthfeel like they’ve been double cooked in beef dripping.

Tuesday dinner

The Garden Restaurant and Bar
70 Queen Elizabeth Avenue, Shortridge

The pork belly and vegetables were superb. However, the crackling was soft and limp. I enjoyed the sneaky Brussels sprout which you can see under the prism of pork.

Wednesday breakfast

Golden Orb Bookshop Café
Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Bacon and a fried egg. Again, don’t be fooled by the yellow stain on the toast.

Wednesday smoko

Prinke eco store

36F Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Prinke makes the best coffee on the island.

Photograph of the definition of the Norfolk Islander word Prinke. Gary Lum. Claire Quintal.
prinke

Wednesday lunch

Juddway
36 Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

A magnificent takeaway crab and prawn roll. Six solid inches of goodness. The bread roll was soft and fluffy and the prawns and crabmeat were fresh.

Wednesday dinner

Bounty Bar & Grill
Douglas Drive, Burnt Pine

Surf and turf! Local Norfolk Island scotch fillet cooked medium rare with calamari and deep-fried prawns. I amazed my work colleagues as I cleaned up my plate including the crunchy and delicious prawn heads and tails. I also scored the deckle meat from another work colleague’s scotch fillet. I had an amazing night.

Thursday breakfast

The Olive Café
Taylors Road off Taylors Road, Burnt Pine

Sitting outside and enjoying fried eggs and toast with tomato chutney again. Yep, don’t be fooled by the yellow stain on the toast.

Thursday lunch

This is a fresh kingfish ceviche made by a local St John Ambulance manager who is also a qualified chef. This was a magnificent lunch and a great last meal on the island.
This is a fresh kingfish ceviche made by a local St John Ambulance manager who is also a qualified chef. This was a magnificent lunch and a great last meal on the island.

Bowling Club Bistro

The Olive Cafe

The Garden Restaurant and Bar

Golden Orb Bookshop Café

Juddway

Bounty Bar & Grill

Prinke eco store

The damage

So, I know what you’re thinking, how much weight did Gary put on over the three nights away?

Would you believe I weighed in at roughly the same weight I left?

I know right! Pretty amazing. God is good. I think it comes down to the amount of standing and walking and other activity. At my regular job with all the teleconferences and video teleconferences it’s like I’m growing my COVID-19 arse like some sort of weird science experiment.

Final thoughts on Norfolk Island

  • Have you been to Norfolk Island?
  • What did you think?
  • Would you be able to cope for three days without butter?
  • What’s your favourite travel breakfast?

Acknowledgements

Work travel always requires support from work colleagues and I am always grateful for their help and assistance.