Lord Howe Island
We just returned from a week's holiday on Lord Howe Island. We picked mid-May because that's when the prices drop to the off-season rates, and I was a bit concerned that the weather would be cold and miserable. But it was beautiful! Clear sunny days, cool nights, and a couple of downpours that cleared away to lovely afternoons.
We stayed at Earl's Anchorage, which is the newest accommodation on the island. We shared a two-bedroom bungalow with my parents, and this worked out really well (there were two bathrooms ☺). Knowing we had a small child with us, they provided not only a cot, but a stroller (used only once) and a high-chair (used all the time).
Ned's Beach is the place to see lots of fish. People have fed their bread scraps to the fish there for many years, and now the fish mill around in ankle-deep water waiting for food. There are lots of big kingfish, small sand mullet, the occasional parrot-fish and many others.
At low tide you can snorkel there amidst the coral and see even more, such as anemone-fish and galapagos sharks. And there are ducks on the sand.
On the other side of the island is the lagoon, also great for snorkelling. We saw a moray eel and a butterfly or scorpion-fish, and Graham saw a turtle.
The other main thing to do is bushwalking, and the most challenging walk is to the top of Mount Gower. Naturally Graham wanted to do that. He would have liked me to come too, but I didn't like to leave Louka with mum and dad for the whole day, and neither of us thought it would be practicable to take her up the mountain. Graham said the walk wasn't too hard, the main problem being fear of heights. There are ropes to hold on to on all the steep bits, but Graham admitted even he got a bit wobbly in the knees at times. Still, I think it would have been worth it. The top of the mountain is a plateau covered in cloud forest, with orchids and moss in the trees ― all the views are from the cliffs on the way up. He also got to to hold a muttonbird, and see plenty of the local woodhens, which made my mum jealous (she did get to see them later).
Louka got to play on the beach a lot. She loved watching the fish and the ducks at Ned's Beach, and picking up shells and pieces of coral ―and putting them in her mouth. I think she even got a slight tan. So now we're thinking we'll have to take her back again when she's a bit older, say seven or eight, and can snorkel and bushwalk with us.
We stayed at Earl's Anchorage, which is the newest accommodation on the island. We shared a two-bedroom bungalow with my parents, and this worked out really well (there were two bathrooms ☺). Knowing we had a small child with us, they provided not only a cot, but a stroller (used only once) and a high-chair (used all the time).
Ned's Beach is the place to see lots of fish. People have fed their bread scraps to the fish there for many years, and now the fish mill around in ankle-deep water waiting for food. There are lots of big kingfish, small sand mullet, the occasional parrot-fish and many others.
At low tide you can snorkel there amidst the coral and see even more, such as anemone-fish and galapagos sharks. And there are ducks on the sand.
On the other side of the island is the lagoon, also great for snorkelling. We saw a moray eel and a butterfly or scorpion-fish, and Graham saw a turtle.
The other main thing to do is bushwalking, and the most challenging walk is to the top of Mount Gower. Naturally Graham wanted to do that. He would have liked me to come too, but I didn't like to leave Louka with mum and dad for the whole day, and neither of us thought it would be practicable to take her up the mountain. Graham said the walk wasn't too hard, the main problem being fear of heights. There are ropes to hold on to on all the steep bits, but Graham admitted even he got a bit wobbly in the knees at times. Still, I think it would have been worth it. The top of the mountain is a plateau covered in cloud forest, with orchids and moss in the trees ― all the views are from the cliffs on the way up. He also got to to hold a muttonbird, and see plenty of the local woodhens, which made my mum jealous (she did get to see them later).
Louka got to play on the beach a lot. She loved watching the fish and the ducks at Ned's Beach, and picking up shells and pieces of coral ―and putting them in her mouth. I think she even got a slight tan. So now we're thinking we'll have to take her back again when she's a bit older, say seven or eight, and can snorkel and bushwalk with us.
posted by Liz + Louka at 10:14 am
2 Comments:
..come on guys, this is a week old, where's the next installment?
Sorry Kofi! I've added a new episode. How did you like the shark?
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