Ever since 1999 when we went to live on Norfolk Island we have wanted to visit Lord Howe Island. At that time you could do a three way flight in a small plane - Sydney - Lord Howe Island - Norfolk Island - Sydney. But shortly after our arrival there was a plane emergency and that route was cancelled.
In February 2020 we spent a week on Lord Howe Island, relaxing, enjoying the isolation with no internet or mobile phone and celebrating a special occasion. Little did we realize that the Coronavirus COVID19 was about to strike and living in isolation would be part of every day life for weeks. We were thankful to have had 'an outing' before the restrictions came into play.
With no internet available on the Island this is once again a retrospective account, so more photos less words!
All of Lord Howe Island and the waters surrounding are UNESCO World Heritage listed for its global natural significance. Being part of a chain of volcanic mountains, it has its own unique microcosm.
We stayed in an apartment at Milky Way Villas, the perfect location, facilities and service for our type of holiday.
Milky Way Apartments are location very close to Old Settlement Beach so we spent lots of time there. The scenery is idyllic and the weather was perfect.
Lord Howe Island is the natural home of the kentia palm, the palm found in homes all over the world.
Lord Howe Island is shaped like a croissant with steep mountains, Gower & Lidgbird, at one end and a range running along the outer spine. The inner section is mainly beaches and coral reefs.
A walk from our home base (people walk or ride bicycles, very few cars) along Lagoon Road introduced us to the layout of this simple island.
The Island Trader arrives once a fortnight bringing supplies from Australia.
The White Tern is a common bird.
These tern chicks were being hand reared as they had been blown from their nests during the recent cyclone.
There is simple shopping available on the Island, the Anchorage (below) is the biggest eatery and the various dining places have a system where they share the opening nights. With only 400 visitors at one time there is not the need for all to be open. For example, the restaurant at our accommodation was open Sunday and Friday evenings for dine-in or take-away. On other nights they took their guests to other restaurants in their courtesy bus, that restaurant returned the guests back home.
Walking, climbing, snorkeling and other sea sports are the main attractions but there are a couple of tours available. We did the Chase 'n' Thyme Island Tour with Peter which was an excellent introduction to life on LHI. We visited the golf club, the brilliant waste management facility, the weather station, all the public facilities, the base of the mountains and had afternoon tea at his home. We learnt about the past, the present and the future.
On another occasion we did the Ramble with Ron, a delightful 3 hour walk where we learnt about birds, flowers, geology, fossils, past industries, bush tucker & medicines plus snippets of colourful local history.
Our third little tour was with Islander Cruises Glass Bottom Boat turtle and snorkelling tour. Lord Howe is unique in that it has coral so far south from the tropics. The turtles and tropical fish were great and Kel enjoyed snorkelling. I had a knee injury which stopped me going in the water.
Talking of knees, walking was our main aim as we were in training to walk part of the Camino in Spain later in the year. Just before leaving home I had injured a knee but it was coming along well. On the first evening we walked part of the Kim's Look-out walk which was challenging but exciting.
Another day we did the Stevens Reserve walk where we saw evidence of the damage caused by the recent cyclone. The endemic species of palms were thriving in this reserve, also banyan trees.
Several days in we did the Transit Hill Trail climb, 121 metres up with paths and boardwalks through many varieties of trees. It was at the peak that scientists hoped to view the Transit of Venus in 1882. Unfortunately the clouds came in so the view was't as good as hoped. Sadly the trek back down was damaging to my knee and that was the last trail I was able to do.
On the penultimate day Kelly undertook the big walk, the Kim's Look-out Malabah Loop Trail by himself. He confirmed that it was challenging, dangerous in places, a little scary but exhilarating.
Lord Howe Island has a history linked with flying boats. For twenty seven years the Island was serviced by Catalina flying boats. A plaque at the flying boat airport commemorates the first flight in 1947.
Every day we spent time wandering on the beach, finding shells and fish in pools, amazing rock formations and great photo opportunities. How to choose the best photos to post!
Every evening we took our drinks and nibbles, our books and cameras down to the beach for sunset. Sometimes they were a non-event but most times they were spectacular.
A week passed quickly and it was time to return home. One last glance at the lagoon and we were on our way back to Sydney.
We ticked off another bucket list destination, thoroughly enjoying our peaceful week away from the internet and mobile phones. The way of life where houses don't have keys, few cars pass you as you walk or ride about the island and every-one waves is very appealing, and very reminiscent of our three years on Norfolk Island.
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