A tiny island sits somewhere between Australia and New Zealand, surrounded by the southern Pacific Ocean, its minuscule 13.4 square mile surface is covered in ancient Norfolk Pines and its fortress-like cliffs are battered by massive Southern Ocean swells and cyclones. Welcome to Norfolk Island: the best surf destination you’ve never heard of. People who have heard of it tell me their grandparents love Norfolk Island — “they go there like, every year!” But it’s not just for the geezer set; this tiny island has a hidden talent for perfect, crystal clear, empty barrels.
The first time I ever heard of Norfolk Island was when I was eight years old and my parents informed me we were moving there from our home in New Zealand. I was imagining a coconut palm-fringed desert island, and was surprised when we arrived at an emerald-green speck in the middle of a nowhere. As it turned out, Norfolk was far more than your average island paradise — it’s rugged, complex and vibrantly green.
If you were a kid who was into the outdoors and loved surfing, fishing, mountain biking, kayaking or horse riding, it was an awesome place to grow up. With no crime and a small population where everyone knew everyone, we were allowed to roam the island with no adult supervision and during summer, bands of feral children would beg a parent to drop them at the beach for the day on their way to work.
Being a wussy kid who was bad at swimming, I didn’t take up surfing until I was an adult. Now I love returning home on holidays and heading down to Bumboras, a sweet longboard break, paddling into those clear and warm subtropical waters to just float and watch the terns fly past, rousing myself to catch the occasional wave when I feel like it. And I cannot see a single other soul around.
The photos in this gallery are by two talented Norfolk photographers: Matt Fieldes and Zach Sanders.
