Emma Rooksby, NPA member
I was the lucky winner of the main prize in the National Parks Association’s 2023 raffle, and the choice between Lord Howe Island or Norfolk Island was easily made: my partner Keith and I didn’t need to debate or discuss, we both immediately plumped for LHI. I’ve long been interested in the vegetation and ecology of the island, and have followed the impressive restoration and research work being done there, but for various reasons (including my terrible fear of flying) a visit was never a possibility. Winning the raffle made all the difference for us.
Lord Howe Island is an extraordinary place to visit. Everyone who’s been there says so, and it’s true. The reliance on walking and cycling to get around slow the pace of life and the low number of cars mean it’s safer and quieter to walk and ride than on the mainland. The views are spectacular, from almost anywhere on the island. You can do a different bushwalk every day of the week, or add in some snorkelling or kayaking for variety. And the assorted wildlife that wander, fly or creep around the place are pretty unfussed about humans. Some, like the Lord Howe Currawong (Strepera graculina crissalis), are positively curious (and therefore fairly easy to photograph).
We were pleased to see the large number of Lord Howe Woodhens (Hypotaenidia sylvestris) roaming the settlement, many of them accompanied by this year’s batch of chicks. Scientists have estimated that the optimal population of Woodhens is somewhere around 250, with the eradication of wild pigs from the island being the factor that allowed the species to come back from the brink of extinction.
We also had the incredible experience of encountering Muttonbirds or Flesh-footed Shearwaters (Ardenna carneipes) flying in to land at dusk, before heading into their burrows. They come in at some speed and more or less crash land on the sandy soils of the lowland rainforest. We weren’t expecting to see them, but were heading down Malabar Hill in the dark after a sunset photography trip, and just happened to be in the right spot at the right time. The area was fairly busy, as there was also a group of researchers and volunteers out catching Muttonbirds to record their weight and other information. We got out of there pretty quickly after having one bird more or less land on us.
And the forests. The forests are absolutely spectacular. With around 85% of the island covered in remnant or recovering vegetation, and the largely volcanic geology, every walk or ride you take is through some kind of forest. The island is characterised by a high degree of endemism compared with most of mainland eastern Australia, with many unique species and subspecies present. This is true of the flora as much as the fauna, and I spent many happy hours before the trip familiarising myself with the local plants. I initially relied on Volume 49 of the Flora of Australia (Oceanic Islands 1), published in 1994, and this was good when used in conjunction with the more up-to-date information in the NSW PlantNET website. But once on Lord Howe Island, we had easy access to Ian Hutton’s excellent small field guides to the plants of the island. These include excellent photographs and tips on identification, and cover a couple of species that have been discovered in recent years. The guides noted a couple of plants that can be identified by smell, such as the Boar Tree (Geniostoma petiolosum), which was in full and pungent flower during our visit, and could be detected from quite some distance away.
Being on the island was of course much better than reading books about it! The plant life was just fascinating. We live in Wollongong, and there was a fair cross-over in terms of species also present on the island, but on LHI, many species were larger, fleshier or softer-looking. For example, the Lawyer Vine (Smilax australis), which in the Illawarra is a harsh prickly thing, looked lush with much larger foliage.
The lowland parts of the island are home to some spectacular Banyan figs (Ficus macrophylla f. columnaris) and Pandanus (Pandanus tectorius). Hard to photograph, they are on their own a good reason to visit the island, just to spend some time with. Higher up, and particularly in the cloud forest at the top of Mount Gower, the vegetation is quite different. We weren’t able to make the climb, but we did walk to the Goat House Cave on the slopes of Mount Lidgbird, seeing a changing palette of species as we ascended. These included the spectacular Lord Howe Wedding Lily (Dietes robinsoniana), growing on rocky ledges, though my camera misfired for that one and we didn’t come home with any decent images of its stunning white flowers. One of the best views we saw on our whole trip was along this track.
We did at least one walk every day, took in the massive views, ate delicious food and had a proper holiday, away from the stresses and strains of every day life. Huge thanks to the National Parks Association of NSW, prize donor Oxley Travel and the good folk at Milky Way who made our stay comfortable and pleasant.