The Locals' Guide to Lord Howe Island

The Locals’ Guide to Lord Howe Island is written and photographed by a collective of island locals who love their home and have knowledge to share.

Lord Howe Island is an island of two coasts, and each is distinct in many ways – the west coast is dominated by the lagoon, and the east coast….

Ben Waters, surfer and artist, lives the dream life – he surfs Lord Howe Island’s perfect waves and then returns to work on his commissioned artworks.

Lord Howe Island has 11 named beaches and probably the same number of unnamed coves, inlets and bays – many are very rarely visited.

Dani Rourke, the owner of Pinetrees Lodge on Lord Howe Island, shows what it takes to run TripAdvisor’s No.1 Hotel in Australia.

Malabar is one of Lord Howe Island’s iconic walks, and many guests reach the summit during their stay to see the vast area of cobalt blue ocean.

Erin Mayo, Ranger, has the best job on Lord Howe Island – when he’s not exploring the remotest pockets of the island, he’s abseiling off 200 metre cliffs.

Blinky Beach attracts the explosive cyclogenesis weather beasts from the east, and it’s a sucker for swell and nasty beach breaks.

Dean Hiscox, Mt Gower Guide, has seen more of Lord Howe Island than most people – as the park ranger for 16 years, Dean went everywhere.

Solitude is an easy commodity to find on Lord Howe Island – with tourist beds capped at 400 and an even smaller residential population.

Stevens Reserve is a 1.2 km loop trail located near the “CBD” on Lord Howe Island – the track is a perfect introductory walk to the island.

Lord Howe Island activities are determined by three factors: the direction of the wind, the sky and the best location for lunch.

The Australian Geographic Expedition to Lord Howe Island, supported by the CSIRO, led 20 citizen scientists to some of Lord Howe Island’s remotest corners.

On your next walk to North Bay (and assuming it’s low tide and a south wind), scramble around the eastern rock ledge to the Herring Pools.

Lord Howe Island is a true Pacific dream, with emerald green mountains, white sand beaches and a shimmering turquoise lagoon.

North Bay is the Blue Mountains and South Coast of Lord Howe Island in one spot – the place where locals and guests go for a day trip.

The northern hills of Lord Howe Island are often seen as the poor cousins of the big mountains in the south – they are smaller but still require exertion.

We ventured to a remote coastal ridge on the eastern side of Mt Lidgbird, via the marked track to Boat Harbour.

It’s the Lord Howe Island beach in the middle, affectionately known as ‘Middles’ – it’s between the world famous Neds Beach and Blinky Beach.

En route across the Lord Howe Island Lagoon to North Bay, the impending silhouette of Mount Eliza jaunts up into the open sky like a menacing dorsal fin.

Climb to the Saddle on Mt Gower, Lord Howe Island’s highest mountain, and discover the beauty of a physically demanding day.

North Bay is a Sanctuary Zone. It’s a ‘leave nothing but footprints’ type of place, apart from the dripping wet fact that most of it is underwater.

We decided to take it all a step further and share the experience of walking all the peaks on Lord Howe Island in one day – as a team, as friends.

Its official name on local maps is Blackburn Island, although locally it’s known as Rabbit Island – the prominent island in the Lord Howe Island Lagoon.

I’ve come for the low tide at Middle Beach and have hit it bang on – the famous rock shelves are exposed in full glory.

Lord Howe’s best guide, and ex-park ranger, Dean Hiscox, will help you ‘enjoy’ one of the hardest days of your life. We’re not joking.

Kayaking on the Lord Howe Island Lagoon is all about quiet, isolation and serenity – the only noise you hear is the sound of your paddle in the water.

We think we live in a remote community on Lord Howe Island, and our guests from the ‘big smoke’ often reinforce our perception of remoteness.

Whilst most activities on Lord Howe Island are best enjoyed in the sunshine, today we’re on a quest only possible after heavy rainfall.

Our first few years on Lord Howe Island were chaotic – we had new careers, 30 staff, 85 guests, a toddler and a family business in transition.