Australia’s Lord Howe Island

– Words and Photos by Marion Halliday, an author, blogger and Aussie traveller.

Posted on November 1, 2018

By Marion Halliday. As the plane banked and descended through the last thin clouds, the island emerged. A multi-hued green jewel of an island, set in the glittering blues of the surrounding sea.

Lord Howe Island was looking a lot like paradise! Now all we had to do was land.

Although the short 900 metre (2,952 feet) airstrip bisecting the island diagonally across its narrowest point was now clearly visible below, touchdown wasn’t necessarily assured. Almost constant crosswinds make the approach tricky, and planes sometimes turn back if the landing is too dangerous.

But not today! A few minutes later I was standing on the grassy tarmac taking my first (but not last) photographs of Mounts Lidgbird and Gower, the twin peaks giving the island its distinctive silhouette.

779 km (484 miles) and a two-hour Dash-8 Turbo Prop flight from Sydney, Lord Howe Island isn’t just different from most of the rest of Australia, it’s different from most of the rest of the world. That’s not merely my personal opinion either.

In 1982 the whole Lord Howe Island group, 27 islands with a combined landmass of only 1,455 hectares (3,600 acres) and the surrounding marine environment, was granted World Heritage status for its beauty and biodiversity.

And when the most famous living naturalist on the planet, Sir David Attenborough, describes it as “so extraordinary it is almost unbelievable”’, you know it’s going to be amazing.

So I expected the staggering scenery, fantastic natural attractions, various outdoor activities and laid-back islander lifestyle.

I was really looking forward to checking a few world exclusives off my list, and it is not that difficult on Lord Howe Island. I scored world exclusive #1 right after we left the terminal with our accommodation host for a quick familiarisation tour of the island, and drove past the 9-hole golf course. Not only is it perfectly picturesque, it’s the only golf course anywhere on World Heritage turf.

THIS ARTICLE CONTINUES ONLINE IN
Globerovers Magazine December 2018

Marion Halliday is Red Nomad OZ, author, blogger and Aussie traveller who loves discovering nature-based attractions and activities – and scenic loos – all over Australia. Her Aussie travel expertise, photography and the storytelling skills she developed in corporate life come together in her Aussie travel blog where the highlights (and lowlights) of her many years of down-under travel provide inspiration for other Aussie explorers.