Page 60 - Holidays with Kids - Volume 62 (January 2020)

LORD HOWE ISLAND, NSW

Hot hotels
04 05 Arajilla Kids from six can stay at all-inclusive Arajilla, a seriously
stylish retreat with 12 two-bedroom villas scattered amid the
jungle. arajilla.com.au

Somerset Apartments Families of all ages are welcome at
The first thing you'll notice when you touch Somerset Apartments, where spacious lodges with kitchenettes
down on Lord Howe is the quiet. Once the The great have access to facilities including barbecues and laundries.
buzz of the twin-prop fades, the only sounds outdoors somersetlordhowe.com.au
are the rustling of palms and the chatter of There aren’t many
terns and shearwaters. Thousands of them. places in Australia that
A crescent-shaped drop of basalt in the don’t have phone
Tasman Sea, around 600 kilometres east of reception – by choice. Lord Howe is one of metres high, happens to be the world’s tallest
Port Macquarie, this island is one of Australia’s them. While some resorts have Wi-Fi, it’s slow sea stack. There were attempts to climb the
most important bird habitats. Its Jurassic-like and unpredictable, so the best thing is to ditch spearhead back in the 1960s, although
landscapes of soaring sea cliffs and tangled devices and make the most of the island’s humans were banned from the islet after the
jungle are the breeding ground for 14 species bountiful natural assets: unspoiled and empty rediscovery of the stick-insect-like phasmid;
of seabirds, not to mention 130 permanent and beaches, towering peaks and protected once thought to be extinct. While humans are
migratory bird species – among them the Lord crystal-clear lagoon. no longer permitted on land here, those over
Howe Island woodhen, endemic and saved Lord Howe’s waters are home to 490 the age of 10 with PADI scuba certification
from extinction by local conservation efforts. species of fish as well as bottlenose dolphins, can dive into the waters that surround Ball’s
It’s a setting so wild and wonderful that Galapagos sharks and humpback whales Pyramid. In addition to schools of rainbow
Lord Howe has earned a UNESCO listing for during their migratory season. A recent runners, rare Spanish dancers and Galapagos
natural beauty – one of only four global increase in the amount of seagrass has also whalers, you’ll also have the chance to come
archipelagos bestowed such acclaim. It’s also seen the island’s resident turtle population mask-to-whisker with rare Ballina angelfish.
the only Australian destination to make surge, with green, hawksbill and loggerhead
Lonely Planet’s list of the top destinations to a common sight in the westerly lagoon. Walk this way
visit in 2020, coming in at number five. Small shacks along Lagoon Beach advertise The island is criss-crossed with incredible
The second thing you’ll notice is that ways to explore this watery paradise, whether hiking trails, from scenic hour-long jaunts to
everyone knows each other, unsurprising it’s in a kayak or on stand-up paddleboard, or seriously challenging walks that take the best
given the permanent population totals just aboard a glass-bottom boat. The latter takes part of a day – the Mount Gower trek on the
360 people, with daily visitor numbers capped you over immense coral bommies before island’s southern tip falls into this category.
at 400 by a set number of hotel beds. The mooring so you can don a mask and flippers The eight-hour guided walk takes you up 875
sub-1,000 headcount means that this “town” is and explore shipwrecks in the company of metres, with the trail so steep in parts that you
one of the safest places in the country. There enormous anemone and schools of Moorish need a helmet and supporting ropes, bolted
is no crime, and all accommodations have a idols. On the other side of the island at Ned’s into the rocky face of the cliff.
no-key policy. Locals don’t lock their cars Beach, you can slip $1 into an honesty box to You don’t need a guide to tackle Goat
either, which, when on the road, must abide claim a bag of fish food, then wade into House Cave on Mount Lidgbird, but you will
by an island-wide speed limit of 25 kilometres bathtub-warm water for a fish feeding frenzy. need stamina. It’s only five kilometres, but it
per hour. But consider swapping four wheels On calm days, boats will whisk you takes about four hours to complete; over that
for two. Given the island is just 11 kilometres 20 kilometres out into the Pacific to Ball’s distance you’ll climb and descend about 450
long, cycling is the best way to get around. Pyramid, a dramatic hunk of basalt that, at 562 vertical metres, through a forest of pandanus

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