Lord Howe Island

Only an hour and a half flight from Sydney in the Tasman Sea, you would think you were in a different country. Lord Howe Island, where only 400 visitors are allowed at one time, is another one of Australia’s World Heritage listed sites.

Originally uninhabited, the island was discovered in 1788. Three couples from New Zealand arrived about 45 years later, and over the years the island became a stop for whaling ships to pick up provisions. With the collapse of the whaling industry in the 1870’s, the islanders started exporting the kentia plant, an ornamental pot plant popular in North America and Europe. Around the late 1940’s, tourists started to discover the island and arrived by a flying boat service. Today even though regular flights come in from Sydney and Brisbane, the island has hardly changed since the days of its discovery.

An island of extraordinary geology, Lord Howe Island is surrounded by the world’s most southern coral reef. The Lord Howe Island Marine Park is home to and protects numerous marine life, rare coral and green turtles. There are 500 species of fish and 90 species of coral living in the 6 kilometer coral reef known as The Lagoon. This coral reef is fed by warm currents coming from the Great Barrier Reef, and was declared a Marine Park in 1999.

Blackburn Island, situated in the Lagoon, is where shearwaters mass at sunset. Balls Pyramid, located twenty-three kilometers to the south, is a spectacular 550 meter (1,804 ft) high wall of sheer, grey basalt cliffs. This is the world’s tallest sea stack, and in 2001 a colony of giant stick insects that were thought to be extinct were discovered here. Balls Pyramid is a dive site for the experienced with an abundance of Galapagos sharks, kingfish and canary-yellow golden drummers. There are more than 50 dive sites, including resort dives in the shallow waters of the beach, to the popular sits at Malabar Hill and around the Admiralty Islands to the north of Lord Howe Island.

For snorkeling, the lagoon cannot be beat, where elegant wrasse and moon wrasse swim right up to you. Or if you prefer, it is possible to walk the reef out to the rock platform to enjoy the marine life. At North Bay, you can explore the wreck of The Favourite, and you can find many green turtles at the coral-lined Sylphs Hole. Kayaking and sailing are popular in the lagoon, and if you prefer something more low key you can take a glass bottom boat cruise around the island. And a stunning way to end the day is a sunset cruise while sipping a glass of champagne.

Ned’s Beach was declared Australia’s cleanest beach in 2005 and is an excellent place to enjoy swimming. For surfers, the surf breaks at Lagoon Beach or Blinky Beach are excellent and less crowded.

Lord Howe Island is home to more than 130 species of permanent and migratory bird species, and 14 species of seabirds and is Australia’s premier bird watching destination. Lord Howe Island is the remains of a large shield volcano that has been eroded by the sea over millions of years, and more than 100 plants species are unique to this rich volcanic soil. Cultivation and exportation of the kentia palm returns all profits to the community and is second only to that of tourism.