Mount Lidgbird and Mount Gower loom over the island

Lord Howe Island
Beautiful island off the coast at the same latitude as Port Macquarie
Lord Howe Island is located 702 km north east of Sydney and directly east of Port Macquarie. It is, by any measure, an exceptionally beautiful holiday destination which has become one of those secrets that visitors prefer to keep to themselves.

The island is crescent shaped and is 11 km long and 2.8 km wide. It covers a total area of 1455 hectares and there is a coral reef which runs for 6 km down the western side of the island enclosing a lagoon. The shape of the island, as the famous travel writer Jan Morris once observed, is 'some sort of a sea scorpion, with the two high mountains at its southern end representing the sting in the tail.'

If you are looking for a modern, unspoilt paradise this is probably it. The island was totally uninhabited when, on 17 February 1788, Lieutenant Henry Lidgbird Ball, who at the time was the commander of the HMS Supply, discovered it. Ball was on his way from the infant colony of Port Jackson to Norfolk Island when he sighted the island. He named it after Richard Howe, a British Admiral.

The first settlers arrived in 1834. The group, taken to the island on a whaler, comprised three Europeans from New Zealand accompanied by a small group of Maoris. The 'settlers' returned to New Zealand when they were offered money to leave by a couple of Sydney businessmen named Dawson and Poole.

View from Kims Lookout south across the island

Dawson and Poole tried to set up a settlement. Dawson became disenchanted and left. Poole persisted and by 1851 the island had a population of 16 all of whom lived off the produce of the sea and what they could grow in their gardens. The appearance of the community meant that it was visited periodically by trading and whaling vessels and a small trading business emerged. In 1182 the whole island was declared a Botanic Reserve. By 1900 there were about 100 people living on the island. The economy was a mixture of subsistence, a small trade in palm seeds and some trading with passing boats. It was until the 1940s that the island really started to develop. A regular flying boat service from Sydney brought tourists to the island. The flying boat was replaced in 1974 when a small airstrip was built. In 1982 the island was World Heritage listed. It is currently administered by a board which ensure that World Heritage values are sustained.

Things to see:  

Physical Features
Lord Howe Island is part of a series of volcanic pinnacles which lie on a submarine ridge which runs from the north island of New Zealand. The volcanic action occurred 7 million years ago. The pinnacles include Balls Pyramid (it stands 552 metres out of the sea and was first climbed as recently as 1965); Gower Island, Sugarloaf Island, Mutton Bird Island, Blackburn Island and the Admiralty Islands. Both of the island's mountains - Mount Lidgbird (777m) and Mount Gower (875m) - are volcanic in origin. Over the past 130,000 years sand and saltwater have combined to form a rock known as calcarenite which is common on parts of the island. This calcarenite has fossilised a number of unusual extinct creatures including a large horned turtle.

The coral reef of the western coast of the island is the southernmost coral outcrop in the world and has over 60 different species.

What is its World Heritage Listing?
The brochure on the island's World Heritage status explains: 'the Lord Howe Island Group is considered to be an outstanding example of an island ecosystem developed from submarine volcanic activity, having a rare diversity of landscapes and biota. The high proportion of endemic species make the Group a superb example of independent evolutionary processes at work.'

Flora and Fauna
It is claimed that when the first Europeans landed on the island there were only three types of animals - two lizards and a bat - native to the region. There were, obviously, more substantial numbers of birds, insects, spiders and snails. Today 18 species of landbirds and 14 species of seabird breed on the island.

The Lord Howe Island Board have produced a number of excellent sheets which provide detailed information on the flightless and rare Woodhen (the island is home to this endangered species), the island's range of land animals including all the birds and invertebrates, the island's plant life, the marine life and the seabirds. This is an island where the nature lover, with a pair of binoculars and an eagerness to explore, can spend weeks investigating the flora and fauna.

Walking on Malabar Hill

Walking Trails
There is really only one road on the island and it runs from a little beyond the jetty in the north down past the airport to Salmon Beach in the south. There are numerous tracks around the island including tracks to the top of Mount Gower (875m) (this can only be undertaken with the assistance of a guide as their is no path) as well as the smaller rises - Intermediate Hill (250m) and Mount Eliza (147m). The Lord Howe Island Board has produced a sheet describing each of the island walks and rating them from one to ten. The walks include:

Transit Hill
A grade 3 walk through rainforest and along the Blinky Beach.

Clear Place
A grade 2 walk through a palm forest and along Middle Beach.

Stevens Reserve
A grade 1 walk through a rainforest with interpretative signs.

Max Nicholls Track
A grade 4 walk up Dawsons Ridge, through rainforest and on to North Beach.

Mount Eliza
A grade 3 walk up Mount Eliza offering good views of the nesting seabirds (in season).

Old Gulch
A grade 1 walk along North Beach to a deep cavity in the cliffs.

Malabar and Kim's Lookout
A grade 3 to Malabar and grade 5 to Kim's Lookout with excellent views over the island and an opportunity to see nesting birds (in season).

Coastal Track to Rocky Run and Boat Harbour
A grade 5 walk around the coast to see birds and enjoy the view.

Goat House
A grade 8 walk to Goat House Cave on the side of Mount Lidgbird. Great views and walking through wet rainforest.

Intermediate Hill
A grade 6 walk up Smoking Tree Ridge through the rainforest.

Little Island
A grade 2 walk through a palm forest with great views up to Mount Lidgbird.

Mount Gower
A grade 10 walk to the top of Mount Gower (875m). You must be accompanied by a licensed guide. Be warned: if you are scared of heights there is one section where you walk along a path which is only about 1 metre wide and there's nothing between you and the ocean far below.

Cycling is a popular mode of transport

True Quietness
There is a limit of 400 on the visitors to the island and the speed limit for the few vehicles is restricted to 25kph. Consequently there are no crowds and there is a true sense of tranquillity.

The Blue Peter
On the horizon, particularly when you are at an elevated point on the island or cruising around the island, can be seen the remarkable formation known as Balls Pyramid. It rises sheer from the ocean for 552 metres and was first climbed as recently as 1965. It has always presented a temptation to visitors but the regular coastal cruise boats have been restricted in their access to the pyramid firstly because of its distance from the island and secondly because of the swell and the speed of the cruise vessels. It is hoped that the new Blue Peter, a 35 foot twin-engined Kevlacat built at Mooloolaba in Queensland and capable of carrying 12 passengers and crew will be able to make more regular visits to Balls Pyramid. It can also be chartered by fishing and diving. Contact Trader Nick's on (02) 6563 2002 or 1800 063 928 (check out their website as well - hotlinks available at the bottom of this page) for bookings.

	Tourist Information
	Lord Howe Island Accommodation Museum Complex Cnr Lagoon & Middle Beach Rds Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2114 or 1800 240 937
	Resorts
	Arajilla Retreat Old Settlement Beach Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2002, 1800 063 928 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2022 Rating: *****
	Apartments
	Blue Lagoon Lodge North Beach Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2006 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2150 Rating: ***1/2
	Lodges & Chalets
	Capella Lodge Lagoon Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 9918 4355
	Apartments
	Earl's Anchorage Anderson Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2029
	Ebbtide Holiday Apartments Neds Beach Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2023 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2153
	Hideaway Apartments Middle Beach Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2054 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2003
	Howeana Apartments Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2258 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2158
	Leanda-Lei Apartments Middle Beach Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2195 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2095 Rating: ***
	Lorhiti Apartments 78 Anderson Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 3366 8000 Facsimile: (02) 3366 8377 Rating: ***
	Mary Challis Cottage Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2076 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2159
	Milky Way Apartments Old Settlement Beach Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2012, 1300 36 1153 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2164
	Ocean View Apartments Malabar Hill Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2041 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2122
	Pandanus Apartmenets Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2228
	Lodges & Chalets
	Pine Trees Lagoon Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 9262 6585
	Apartments
	Somerset Apartments Neds Beach Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2061 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2110
	Somerset Holiday Apartments Neds Beach Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2061 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2110 Rating: ***
	Waimarie Apartments Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2057 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2138
	Holiday Homes & Units
	The Broken Banyan Anderson Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2024 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2201 Rating: ***
	Lodges & Chalets
	Beachcomber Lodge Ned's Beach Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2032 Facsimile: (02) 6563 2132
	Restaurants
	Garden Court at Lorhiti Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2106
	Arajillla Retreat Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2002
	Beach House on the Moon at Milky Way Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2021
	Beachcomber Lodge Restaurant Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2032
	Capella Lodge (guests only) Lagoon Rd Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 9290 1922
	Lord Howe Island Bowling Club Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2171
	Pandanus Restaurant Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2400
	Pinetrees Lodge Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2177
	The Shores Restaurant at Blue Lagoon Lodge Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2334
	Cafés
	Coral Cafe at the Museum Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2488
	Humpty Mick's Cafe Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2155
	Palmsugar Cafe Lord Howe Island NSW 2898 Telephone: (02) 6563 2120