Sorry, forgot a question - I understand this is considered a domestic flight, yet the ticket says we embark from the international terminal. I researched the documentation needed and it says that for arrival in Norfolk, passport s preferred, but valid photo ID is ok for aussie citizens. I have a passport, my family do not - I think we are ok to enter Norfolk with this, but how does it work getting into an international terminal without passports?? I just do not want any nasty last-minute surprises!!
Anyone over 18 needs some form of ID. This can be a passport but doesn't have to be.
Anyone under 18 doesn't need ID so long as they are travelling with a parent or guardian who does have ID.
The list of acceptable types of ID are listed here:
https://www.qantas.com/au/en/travel-info/travel-advice/travel-documents.html#forms-of-identification under "Domestic flights within Australia departing from an international terminal".
Once you pass through immigration, you will be airside and can take advantage of the Qantas First Lounge plus duty free.
There's a few good restaurants around the island, would recommend looking them up and and definitely booking the ones that sound good in advanced. As well as The Homestead which has been mentioned, I found The Hilli Restaurant and Cafe really good for dinner. For non-restaurant food, there's also a supermarket (pricey and limited range as you'd expect it to be), 2 butchers, and a decent bakery as well as some general stores. There's also plenty of free public BBQ's scattered around the island. The butcher across the road from the airport was very good for meat.
The beaches are lovely as well. Emily Bay is the most popular and is a great place to snorkel — if you've got a snorkel make sure you bring it with you incase you want to go for a swim as there's plenty of cool fish and a reef as well. For an awesome view across the whole island, go for a drive up to the Mount Pitt lookout.
For internet, there is no roaming on the island so your Australian SIM will not work. You can get a local tourist SIM but it's pricey so you need to be very careful as you can quickly burn through your data allowance. There's some paid public Wi-Fi hotspots around the island but these are fairly pricy to use as well. When I was there, the accommodation provided internet so I just waited until I was there.
I would recommend using Google Maps on your device and downloading an offline map of the island before you leave Australia so you can use it for navigation without needing data. The island is easy to get around but it just helps if you're going somewhere specific.
If you're into plane spotting, would recommend parking beside the runway to watch one one of the Qantas arrivals/departures. The best spot is on the side of the runway opposite to where the terminals are. You'll often see a few locals parked up to wave at the arriving planes. The airport boundary is quite close to the runway so it's pretty cool to watch.
The comment from henrus about giving a wave to other drivers whilst you are driving (the Norfolk wave) is so true as well. Don't forget to give way to the cows. It's very easy going driving around, however most of the roads are poor quality with lots of potholes etc.
