Norfolk Island Mount Pitt Mossy Philpott's Lookout Foresteasytravelpost #NorfolkIsland #MountPitt #
#easytravelpost Mount Pitt (320 m) is Norfolk's second high point, the Philpott's Lookout spur runs off the summit through Norfolk pine (Araucaria heterophylla) and native flax (Phormium) forest with a mossy understorey. No park entry, no permit, free all hours; Brisbane→Norfolk flight 2.5 hrs (weekly), Sydney→1.5 hrs. Kingston→Mt Pitt car park 10 min drive.
I flew Brisbane→Norfolk, rented a car (60 AUD/day, left-side drive), drove to Mt Pitt 07:20, walked the Philpott's Lookout loop (2 km). The moss is the pine-forest floor: Fissidens on the basalt boulders 1 cm, Thuidium on the Norfolk pine root-flare 1 cm, 13°C in August, a Norfolk parakeet (green, endemic), the Pacific rolling to Philip Island. I reached Philpott's at 08:00, moss on the lookout railing black-green with salt-spray, ate a 10 AUD Kingston café muffin, watched a red-tailed tropicbird glide the cliff line.
Mistake: I walked the loop at 14:00 in a June gale — wind 60 km/h on the exposed spur, held the rail; 07:00–10:00 calm, or skip the lookout in gale season. Another: Norfolk car rentals sell out — book with the flight. Would you fly to Norfolk for the free Mt Pitt→Philpott's mossy pine-forest loop, or skip the summit and do the Kingston–Emily Bay convict-site walk instead?