Favourite Place #6 - Lord Howe Island, New South Wales

Mounts Lidgbird and Gower

OK, I admit it. I'm shallow.

For a favourite place to make it onto my favourite places list, it's got to be able to deliver experiences I can't have anywhere else. In Australia, if not the world!

And a selection of good bakeries doesn't hurt either …

Stepping onto the 1km airstrip bisecting Lord Howe Island and into a Bali Hai-esque panorama featuring the twin peaks of Mounts Lidgbird and Gower was a splendid start to our April 2011 stay.

And from there it just got better and better.


The Golf Course

 600km east of Port Macquarie, this unique island is a parallel universe – old favourites amongst birds, plants and insects coexist with endemic species, and it punches above its weight with with a disproportionately high number of state, OZ and world exclusives. Hardly surprising, then that the Lord Howe island group was World Heritage listed in 1982!

The lagoon surrounded by the world's southernmost coral reef (and where new fish species are still being discovered) is the only place in NSW where the sun sets over the sea. And the 9 hole golf course, the only one anywhere on World Heritage turf, is in a setting so spectacular I could almost see the point of golf … hitting the ball into the sea in such a place would almost be an honour!



1% of World population of Lord Howe Is Woodhen#

And when a Lord Howe Island woodhen pecks your toes? Well, it IS is a thrill to be had nowhere else in the world … and by not many others.

Down to the last 30 birds in the 70's, the woodhen narrowly escaped extinction through a successful breeding program and its population is now stable at around 300.


Ball's pyramid – at 550m high the world's tallest volcanic sea-stack and 23 km from Lord Howe Island – is visible from a few strategic points on the island.

Claimed for Australia in the 70's by explorer and entrepreneur Dick Smith, it was once the last place on earth for the Lord Howe Island Phasmid - rarest insect in the world. Thought extinct for many years, a breeding program saved this giant stick-insect from extinction when a remnant colony was discovered on Ball's Pyramid. Devastatingly, our sightseeing cruise was cancelled – but that's just strengthened our resolve to return.

Ball's Pyramid from Lord Howe Island#

Tropical island, palm trees, cliché … yeah, sure! But not when the palms are Kentia palms – a Lord Howe Island exclusive, strong contender for world domination in the indoor plants market and the island's major export. Knock off two world exclusives for the price of one by checking out the phasmids at the Kentia palm nursery … three if you spot a woodhen on the way!!

But ... it's not all moonlight and magnolias here in paradise – several endemic bird species are now extinct, courtesy of the colonial practice of importing animals for food and hunting and an invasion of shipwrecked rats. That won't scuttle our plans to return (SOON!), however, as the sound management and conservation practices are balancing the ecosystem to assure the island's integrity. Although bakery sl*ts like us would be lured back by the fabulous baked goods at Humpty Mick's Cafe and Thompsons' Store anyway ...

My arty shot of the lagoon

If this is paradise, I don't care if I never get to me* - but just to show I can be balanced about a place I really like, there ARE some things it DOESN'T have. Here's a list:

Top 5 things Lord Howe Island doesn't have:

1. Public Transport: Walk, cycle, or hire a car – but only if you can drive at 25 kph or less!

2. Cats: All cats, feral or domesticated, have now left the island. Some bird species are showing their gratitude by increasing their populations significantly!

3. Mobile Phones: Clearly not Telstra shareholders, an island referendum voted against them! My care factor? Zero!!

4. Crime: Although I could be wrong about this. We DID see a couple of cyclists without helmets – could this be the start of an unprecedented crime wave???

5. Snakes: WOO HOO! Yeah!! ALL Right!!! Walk without fear in that long grass!!!!


My arty sunset shot!

 And don't think for one tiny instant you've heard the last from me about this magical, wondrous island and my new favourite place - I'll be boring you rigid showcasing its delights in future posts so be warned look out for them soon!!

# Pic by Pilchard
* Apologies to Charlene