> > by Craig Tansley
World-renowned solo yachtsman Ian Kiernan sailed to Lord Howe Island in 1974 on his way to 44 islands throughout the Pacific. Lord Howe was the first and last island he visited and coincidentally, his favourite. Largely ignored by mainland Australians, what we’d find just 600 kilometres off our east coast ironically is the kind of tropical paradise we’d happily fly 10 hours for.
You know an island group must be pristine when it’s granted World- Heritage Listing – Lord Howe Island is just one of four island groups on the planet to earn it. And why not? It has the world’s southern-most coral reef and is actually one of Australia’s top dive locations, with water clearer – owing to the island’s relative isolation – than the Great Barrier Reef. What’s more, two thirds of the island is covered in natural forest and at any one time no more than 400 tourists are allowed on the island – meaning there’s a lot of area to lose yourself and your partner in. There’s also only 350 locals to share it with. But the best thing about Lord Howe Island is its tiny size, at just 11 kilometres by 2.8 kilometres at its widest and longest points it’s possible to see the perimeters of your secluded, perfect world. A six-kilometre- long coral reef runs along its western side enclosing a deep blue lagoon, completing the cocoon. Established amongst this retreat is a low-impact tourism industry that provides just enough ambience without ever being intrusive. There are lots of activities available; everything from diving to surfing to lagoon cruises to deep sea fishing and hiking, or better still, Lord Howe Island is the best island in the Pacific to do nothing at all and feel not a scrap of guilt about it.
WHERE?
Lord Howe Island is located 600 kilometres east of Australia (in line with Port Macquarie) and is almost two hours’ flight from Sydney.
TOP THREE THINGS TO DO:
Try the world’s best day walk – a six hour trek that begins beside the lagoon and winds its way up to the mist forest at the peak of the 875 metre high Mt Gower.
Hire snorkel gear, go diving or even just take a glass bottom boat ride inside Lord Howe Island’s famous lagoon – home to over 500 species of fish and 90 species of coral in the world’s cleanest water.
Sip champagne on a sandy beach at sunset overlooking the lagoon as huge mutton birds come in to roost metres before dining on freshly caught fish
right by the beach at Arajilla.