I
amwaitingfora bodytoturnup.Notreally,but
asI ramblethrougha seasidepaddock,thickmist
shroudingthetoweringrockofMtGowerahead
ofme,I can’tshakethefeelingI couldbeinan
AgathaChristienovel.
Theairis thickwithhumidityasgranitecloudsthreaten
toburstoverhead.Tomyright,white-cappedwavescrash
intothereef,whileonmyleft,enormousblackcowswith
menacinghornseyemesuspiciously.Astherainarrives,
I retreatbacktomysuiteat CapellaLodge,whereI continue
tostareintothegreatgreyabyss,hypnotised.
Yesterday,thissameviewwasa vibrantgreenvista,
reachingacrossa canopyofkentiapalmstothetwinpeaks
ofMtGowerandMtLidgbird.It lookedmorelikeHawaii
thanNewSouthWales.Today,it’slikebeinginTasmania.
Later,thelocalswilltellmeit’sgoodthatI gottosee
theislandlikethis.It’snotalltropicalparadise,theyare
keentostress.Theirislandis moreinterestingthanthat,
morecomplex.If youwantaneasy,breezybeachsideescape,
youcangotoQueensland,thankyouverymuch.
Ironically,thenextdaydawnsbrilliantblue,the
cloudlessskyoutshoneonlybytheturquoisewaters
surroundingtheisland.Weheadoutona turtletourwith
AnthonyRiddle,a sixth-generationislanderandjackofall
trades.Inadditiontorunningsnorkelandturtletourswith
MarineAdventures,he’stheco-founderoftheLordHowe
IslandDistillingCompany,whichuseswildbushlemons
andnativehibiscustomakeLordHoweIslandGin.He’s
alsothemaninchargeof keeping the green looking tip-top
at the local golf club.Havingmultiplejobsis notunusualonLordHowe.
Thelocalpublicanis alsotheisland’sphysiotherapistand
themilkmanis inchargeofrefuellingat theairport.That’s
whathappenswhentherearelessthan 400 residentsin
a place.There’sa lottogetdone.
ThemainindustryonLordHoweis tourism.And
whilethelocalsrelyonit,it’sfairtosaytherelationship
is a littlecomplicated.Chancesareyou’veheardaboutthe
restrictionsonLordHoweIsland,whichcapthenumber
ofvisitorsat anyonetime.Thereareonly 400 guestbeds
availabletovisitors,allwithregisteredoperators.Thisis
notsomewhereyoucansimplybooka houseonAirbnb.
Thisis designed,inpart,toprotecttheisland’swayof
lifeandensureit is neveroverrun.There’snochanceof
LordHowebecomingthenextNoosaorByronBay.Even
at theheightofthesummerseason,therewillneverbemore
thana handfulofpeopleonanyoftheisland’sbeaches.
Moreimportantly,it’sa wayofprotectingthe
environment,whichis thenumberonepriorityonLord
Howeandthereasonit hasUNESCOWorldHeritage
status.Theislandis hometoa numberofendemicspecies
ofplant,marineandbirdlife,includingtheLordHowe
woodhen, which looks suspiciously like a small kiwi.➤