Rainbow colored fish swirled around my legs in the crystal clear waters of the South Pacific. During a walk in the semi-tropical rain forest, I clapped my hands and chirps of flightless birds ran towards me, tamed by the lack of predators. People were cycling 13 km of narrow roads, through tunnels shaded by overhanging palm trees and children walking barefoot at school. There were no billboards, room keys, bicycle locks, or cell phone reception.
By depositing coins in boxes of honor, I picked up an avocado in a roadside fruit kiosk, a mask and a snorkel in a deserted beach hut and a cart and clubs on the golf course of nine holes. There were rarely more than two other people sunbathing on one of the island’s 11 white sandy beaches, and the largest crowds I saw were with the fry weekly.
Lord Howe Island is only 11 km long and 2 km wide, an idyllic ribbon of boomerang-shaped land 780 km northeast of Sydney. The island embraces a turquoise lagoon bordered by the world’s most southerly coral reef and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982 for its spectacular volcanic geography, rare endemic fauna and native plant species that l ” you can’t find anywhere else on Earth. After a visit in 1997, British nature historian Sir David Attenborough described it as “… so extraordinary that it is almost incredible … few islands, surely, can be as accessible, so remarkable, but if preserved ”.
Yet this slice of paradise is notoriously overpriced for most travelers. Although only a two hour flight from Sydney or Brisbane, it is actually cheaper to buy a ticket to Los Angeles. Restaurants are expensive, as are high-end accommodations on the island, which could be booked a year in advance. There is no camping or budget accommodation and cruise ships are prohibited.
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Is Lord Howe’s most exclusive island in Australia a retreat for the super-rich who watch the traveler every day?
Not at all. In fact, it is exactly the opposite.
Everything about Lord Howe is laid back, except for the fervor with which its inhabitants protect their paradise. The uninhabited island was not discovered until 1788 and many residents are descendants of the first European settlers in 1833. For them, a pristine environment has been their bread and butter for almost a century since tourists first landed on the Sandringham Flying Boats lagoon in the late 1940s.
In 1981, long before “ecotourism” was a buzzword and “overtourism” a curse, the roughly 350 permanent residents expressed concern about habitat destruction, invasive species, pollution and development. As a result, the elected council of Lord Howe Island, consisting of four locals and three members of the New South Wales State government, capped the number of visitors to a maximum of 400 at a time . And it remains so.
The island has strict rules and environmental policies. Cars are reserved for residents who need them. There is no air conditioning. The council must be consulted before the felling of a tree branch or the choice of a paint for the house. “We are kidding that you need a permit to dig in your garden!” said Clive Wilson, longtime resident and guide. “We are accused of being a crazy bureaucracy, but our goal is to preserve our unique and delicate environment.”
Our goal is to preserve our unique and delicate environment
Libby Grant, manager of Capella Lodge, briefed me on island life on the short airport shuttle to the complex of nine suites in an electric golf cart. Like all residents, the lodge collects rainwater for drinking and uses drilling water for washing and gardening. “One of our biggest challenges may be waiting for the fortnightly barge to arrive with food and supplies from the mainland,” she said. Fortunately, island nurseries grow fruits and vegetables. “Our chef is also looking for sea vegetables in the regions of the island and the fishermen provide us with freshly caught kingfish.”
Recycling is an important part of everyday life. Organic waste from homes, restaurants and public trash cans as well as sewage sludge, paper and shredded cardboard are transferred to a vertical composting unit, a world-class facility that converts 86% of the island’s waste as compost for the community. Recyclable plastics, aluminum and glass are shipped ashore and sold to offset transportation costs. Non-recyclable materials are compacted and end up in a continental landfill because there are no more on the island. A user-pays system discourages the disposal of household garbage, which means that to buy a new sofa, it could cost $ 1,200 to ship the old one.
Electricity is also very expensive – a long-awaited solar and battery system to reduce dependence on expensive and polluting diesel is expected to be completed in 2020.
“The high costs for residents and businesses are the result of remote island living becoming more contemporary and environmentally friendly,” said Grant, particularly when welcoming customers who expect all the comforts of home in the range of Lord Howe’s strict ecological limits.
I grabbed a free bike from the bike rack and drove through the tiny island township half hidden in the tropical foliage. There is a community center / theater, a bakery, a butcher and a general store; a post office, some great boutiques and Government House where the birth of a new island baby is announced by a pink or blue “coat” on the mast. Proceeds from sales of the bottle shop, which is operated by the Island Board, are donated to local improvement projects, which means that “breaking a tinnie” (a colloquial Australian expression for “opening a beer”) is literally a community service.
The island’s tiny landscape is varied, with dense rainforest and rugged mountains, so there are a dozen or more outdoor activities to enjoy, including surfing, mountain biking, and lawn bowling. At the 6 km long lagoon, I rented a kayak and paddled to Rabbit Island, which I had to get for a picnic.
Back on land, I slipped into a diving suit on a diving boat and I communicated with swarms of tropical species from the warm currents of the Great Barrier Reef that mingle with the cooler waters of Lord Howe. This mixture creates a rich and unusual collection of creatures and corals that do not mix normally, such as tuna and temperate salmon alongside tropical angelfish and 86 types of hard coral.
In the late afternoon, I cycled to Ned Beach for the ritual of feeding the fish in the shallows.
The next morning, I joined a small group for a wet day hike on 875m of Mount Gower that looms from the southern tip of the island alongside its tropical twin, Mount Lidgbird. Our guide, Jack Shick, is a fifth generation islander and third generation mountain guide. “About 170 species of sea and land birds live or visit the island where they have no predators,” he said of the birdwatcher’s paradise. “Now I want you to yodel loudly.” We did, and the Providence petrels swirling above us suddenly fell to the ground with curiosity, waddling awkwardly towards us with long wings spread.
The hike became more and more surreal as you approach the misty, mossy summit of the cloud forest, a Tolkein world made up of stunted and gnarled trees, orchids and dripping ferns.
But as much as I was enchanted by Lord Howe’s natural attractions, what was even more rewarding was to feel the passion and determination of a tight-knit community focused on protecting their fairytale island.
We grew up with the fundamental conviction that it is our responsibility to protect our environment and our way of life.
At the office of the Lord Howe Island Board, I met the sixth generation member and islander Darcelle Matassoni, who left for an education and a career on the continent in 1998. “After the birth of my daughter in 2014, I realized that it would be careless not to allow her to grow up in this environment, “she explained, explaining that she returned the following year, taking seven part-time jobs to survive. “I love the fact that we think the ‘devices’ on this island are masks, snorkels and bikes; that we trade vegetables and fruit for eggs or fish; and live “in season,” she said. “And that we grew up with the fundamental conviction that it is our responsibility to protect our environment and our way of life.”
Just down the road to the intriguing Lord Howe Island Museum covering local heritage, history, wreckage and nature, I looked for curator Ian Hutton, resident naturalist and author of 10 books on the Island, including A World Heritage Guide – Lord Howe Island. “People talk about the Galapagos Islands because of Darwin’s connection, but there is more diversity on Lord Howe Island and it is so untouched – the island is just as it was when it was first discovered for the first time, “said Hutton, an islander since 1980.” And we’re all working to bring this island back to its original state as much as possible. “
Wildcats, goats, pigs and, in 2019, rats were eradicated – all of which decimated endemic flora and fauna. Indigenous animals have been brought to the brink of extinction, such as the flightless Lord Howe Woodhen (there are about 30 left) and one of the rarest insects in the world, the Lord Howe Island Phasmid.
Lord Howe is also the world leader in noxious weed eradication, reducing infestations by 90% in one of the most ambitious weed eradication projects on an inhabited island.
Since 2001, Hutton’s zeal has been channeled into his project on the Island of the Friends of Lord Howe, working with volunteers who pay to visit the island and spend half the day removing weeds or regenerating the bush. “It is a more economical way to visit, and they feel they are contributing to the future of the island,” he said. “We recorded 26,622 hours of volunteer work and some people returned a dozen or more times.”
Residents and visitors can also work together as citizen scientists alongside LHI conservationists and conservationists to protect the island’s biodiversity from its peaks to the bottom of Lord Howe Island Marine Park 460 km2, which was created in 1999. “We are protecting Lord Howe from the tourism impact of some other destinations by providing conservation programs in which residents and visitors can participate,” said Trina Shepherd, Executive Director Lord Howe Island Tourism.
In 2018, for its long history of sustainability and conservation programs, the Lord Howe Island Board received the best Australian eco award, the Gold Banksia.
Then, in the fall of 2019, the spotlights of international tourism focused for the first time on the isolated island when Lonely Planet placed it in its ten best regions to visit in 2020. How will this affect this fragile environment, I asked myself?
“While we are proud of the designation of Lonely Planet,” said Shepherd, “we do not expect any significant change or impact as our visitor numbers have long been capped.” Reservations, however, may need to be made more in advance due to global exposure. “We are certainly receiving more requests,” she said.
It was my third visit to Lord Howe Island since 1983, and by the time it ended, I was delighted to confirm a remarkable fact which is sadly rare these days: that my favorite place on Earth has remained charming, retro, uncrowded, underdeveloped, just as strongly community oriented and even more environmentally pristine than 36 years ago.
It can be done.
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