A Lunch Date with the Fantails

I thought I would kick us off with a blog about my absolute favourite place and one to put on the must visit list. Our National park.

Over my lifetime I can happily say I've not been very excited or motivated about getting out and about for a walk……. I mean let's be honest who is these days. Pounding the pavement in my city suburb with traffic whizzing by was just not my thing. Maybe it was the distracted driver fussing over her Cat in a cage on the backseat that ran her car off the road, onto the pavement and nearly took me out…. Maybe all the above.

Well hasn't that all changed since I moved to the Island, changed so much in fact that I dropped 15kgs from walking alone.

Norfolk Island is a whole different world, it's so peaceful and green. There is so much to explore you can't help but let your feet wander, no pavement needed!

Our National park is by far my favourite walking spot and has fast become my happy place. It's my chill zone and a place I look forward to visiting every day.

The Island has been my home for nearly 3 years now and not one day in the National Park has ever felt the same. In the early mornings you feel the crisp freshness of the air and the still of the night before, the birds are the first to wake and the sun is just starting to peak through the trees. Midday-Afternoon you hear the energetic hustle bustle of the bird life happily singing after their morning worms and dose of vitamin D. My favourite time is a few hours before the sun goes down, it has a peaceful calm to the park and it's the perfect place to unwind before I retreat to the Hideaway at the end of the day.

The park has a variety of different walking tracks for all levels and ages so wether I'm up for a challenge or just a relaxing stroll it's up to me.

Bird Rock, Palm Glen and Captain Cook look out tracks are all equality beautiful and I love to walk around them all but when I'm craving a view of the Islands untouched beauty, I'm off up Mt Bates to the highest point on the Island. Bearing in mind that I'm a Nanna now It would normally take me around an hour to walk from Captain Cook look out to get to the top of Mt Bates

Mt Pitt is the second highest point on the Island (but let's not hold that against it).It has a 360 degree panoramic view of the entire Island in all its glory, plus you get a view of Philip Island and let me tell you, it is breath-taking. This is a spot hubby and I often drive up to (YES, you can drive) just before sunset with a picnic basket of cheese and crackers and a glass or 2 of red…. Romantic huh!

Being my Fathers daughter another part of the National Park I really enjoy is the bird life. What would a National park be without the birds? It would be like a beautifully furnished house that nobody lived in. It's the birds here that bring the park to life. You can hear the green parrots chirping away as they sit up in the trees watching you stroll by or sometimes you can meet them down on the track. The energetic fantails follow you along dancing and fluttering around on the track just beside you as your shoes stir up all the insects for them to snack on. I often do refer to my walks in the National Park as a lunch date with the fantails.

The National Park is a safe place to walk alone and I am always greeted with a smile and a quick hello from anyone passing by.

My Daughter and 2 Grandsons are coming for a visit in late September and I can't wait to bring the boys for an adventure walk to see what plants, birds or even insects we can discover. Many species here on the Island have evolved into unique, or endemic, forms due to isolation from other populations but I wont be THAT Nana with the boring facts so I will keep it light and hunt for sticks and rocks and see if we can find some insects for our own little lunch date with the fantails.