Lord Howe Island
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I was very lucky recently to have the opportunity to spend six days on Beautiful Lord Howe Island. Four of us from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast drove down the coast and spent a night at Coolangatta before catching a small Eastern Air Services flight to the Island.
We left our car in the long-term car park a short walk from the airport at the Platinum Business Aviation Centre, 30 Eastern Ave Gold Coast Airport. This is not at the main passenger terminal. We were restricted to 14 kg checked and 7 kg carry-on luggage each and had to be there 45 minutes before departure. Our flights were $1500 for each return. The flight takes around 100 minutes. The Island is part of NSW.
We stayed at Milky Way Villas, which were absolutely lovely close to beaches, walks and shops.The site manager Andrea picked us up from the airport and dropped us off when we left. My friends had stayed at these Villas on a previous trip. The Young family owns the complex and Sissy was very helpful in helping us plan our trip.
is breathtakingly beautiful. It is just like you see in all the photos and videos. It felt like being in paradise. It is only 10 kms long and just over two kilometres wide but there is so much to see and do there.
We went for long bush walks, swam with the fish at Ned's beach, climbed some of the mountains, snorkelled over coral reefs from a glass-bottomed boat in the blue lagoon and just relaxed. I was amazed at all the birds.
It is a place where you can relax or be as active as you want. Every morning Andrea or one of the other employees would come and ask us where we wanted to go for dinner. We went out most nights to different places and the food was very yummy at all of them. We got a ride to the venue and someone from the restaurant would drive us home. Most people who live on the Island are multi-skilled. There is a limit on visitors so it feels very uncrowded and relaxed.
After we settled in, we went for a walk around the area. It was raining and blowing fairly hard so we spent some time in the excellent museum.
The next day we went for a walk to North Bay Beach past Old Settlement Beach. We followed a track up and over the ridge. After exploring the beach, the others headed back and I climbed Mt Eliza. It was windy and I was expecting a sign saying I couldn't get to the top because of nesting birds up there, but it must have been too early in the breeding season for the birds because I got to the top. It is closed off later in the season. I was the only person up there and the 360-degree views were incredible.
On the way back, I stopped for a rest on a steep part of the track and a Golden Whistler bird flew down to the trees in front of me I'd never seen one of these birds before. It had a bright yellow chest with a black band.
I had seen a Currawong on my way up the track through the forest It had just caught a lizard. This bird is a subspecies that is unique to Lord Howe Island. They eat native fruits, seeds, insects, grubs, chicks of other birds and lizards.
The native birds on the Island were amazing. There were birds everywhere. Even previously endangered Woodhens were strolling around everywhere. A breeding program has been very successful. here are no cats on the island, which helps the birds.
My friends were waiting on the ridge top and we all then walked out to Kim's lookout where there were more fantastic views of the Island.
I bought two very interesting and informative little books at the post office. One was
Birds of Lord Howe Island and the other one was Ramblers on
Lord Howe Island, which described all the walks you can do. Ian Hutton, a local wrote the books. My friends bought a marine one and a plant one.
The next day we walked to Ned's Beach and went for a snorkel and swim. There were lots of colourful fish, including Wrasse and Kingfish. We ate some Kingfish one night and they were delicious.
The water was a bit cool so after getting warm and dressed a couple of us went for a walk up to the top of 208m Malabar Hill summit. You go past a plaque for men who died in a plane crash in 1948. The wreck of the plane is below the hill. You can't see it from the hill, but there was a short track up to the wreck from near our villa.
I hiked up to the wreck the next morning. It was a tragic accident. The RAAF Catalina was flying low with a faulty hydraulic system and crashed into the side of the hill. Seven of the nine-member crew were killed. As I wandered around the wreckage I saw a couple of Woodhens sitting in one of the plane pieces.
Later that day we all went on a glass bottom boat snorkelling tour out into the lagoon. We hired wet suits and snorkelling gear from the company. We saw lots of beautiful coral, fish and even a large Green Sea turtle.
We were there in early September and the white terns were just starting to return to the Island. Every day we saw more of them arriving and sitting in the trees. I also saw my first Emerald Doves and Buff-Banded Rails just foraging beside the road. The whole Island is a bird watcher's paradise.
I had good views of the Admiralty Islands from some of the lookouts I climbed to. I didn't climb Mt Gower or Mt Lidgbird as they are both extremely hard, but I climbed the third highest point to Intermediate Hill on my last day. I also walked over Transit Hill and explored Blinky Beach, which was named after Captain Blenkinthorpe who landed the first settlers in 1834. A party watched the Transit of Venus from Transit Hill on Dec 8th 1882.
It was sad leaving the Island after our wonderful time there. The flag was flying at half-mast and we learned the Queen had died that morning. There is a range of accommodation on the Island, but it is limited to 400 beds so you need to book a long way ahead. Food and wine are fairly expensive but we took some with us to save costs. It was a very memorable trip and I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to visit this amazing place.
#adventure
#beaches
#health_fitness
#nature
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%wnbrisbane
143928 - 2023-06-13 20:41:00