Give way to wandering cattle

Norfolk Island sits in the South Pacific Ocean, about 630 miles from Auckland, New Zealand.

With just 53 miles (85 km) of road (90% of which is sealed), and a total area of just over 8500 acres, Norfolk is not a place where you would expect to see many 4WD vehicles.

Yet, the 4WD to 2WD vehicle ratio is extraordinary. We couldn’t find any official figures, but we would guess it is around 50% – which means there are at least several hundred of them. Due to the short distances, most of the 4WDs are small Japanese vans and pickups; their purpose in life seeming to be the negotiation of driveways in wet weather.

The 4WDs are usually purchased from dealers in New Zealand and then shipped to Norfolk Island.

Like all incoming goods, the vehicles have to be lifted off the ship by crane, lowered into an (1800s-style) open ‘long boat’ for the short run to the island, then lifted off by another crane.

We loved the road rule, ‘All traffic must give right of way to wandering cattle’, and the sight of a local businessman driving his Porsche – at the maximum legal speed of 31mph!