Thisis whereI shouldconfessthatasa NewZealander,
I’mpronetocomparingeverywheretomytrans-Tasman
homeland.I findparallelsinnearlyeverylandscape.But
onLordHowe,thesimilaritiesareuncanny.Andforonce,
it’snotinmyhead.
“Thefloraandfaunahereis moresimilartoNew
ZealandthanAustralia,”confirmsRiddle.This,heexplains,
is becausetheislandis partofthesamecontinent,
Zealandia.(Ifyoudidn’tknowthatwasa continent,you’re
notalone.It’sa fairlynewdevelopmentwithscientists
officiallydeclaringit theeighthcontinentoftheworldin
2017.Mostofit is underwater,withNewZealand,New
CaledoniaandLordHoweformingtheonlylandportions).
Twitchers– that’sbirdwatcherstomostofus– come
fromallovertheglobetospotsomeoftherarestbirdsin
theworldhere,includingtheprovidencepetrel,whichwas
madefamousbyDavidAttenboroughinhis’90sseries
TheLifeof Birds.
Duringourvisit,thesanddunesofBlinkyBeachare
overrunwithnestingsootyterns,whotakeanimmediate
disliketoourpresence,repeatedlyswoopingonusuntil
weturnheelandrun.
Thisis justpartofwhatmakesLordHowesointriguing.
Theotherkeycomponentis thecommunityitself,whichis
governed by a distinct set of rules beyond those that apply
totherestofNewSouthWales.Legally,youhavetolive
onLordHowecontinuouslyfor 10 yearsbeforeyouare
consideredanislanderandallowedtoleaseorbuyproperty.
Socially,I’mtold,it takesa lotlongerbeforeyou’reaccepted
asa local.
Everyonceina bluemoon,thereis anexceptiontothis
rule.Whichis howIslandHousecameintobeing.When
oneoftheisland’sageingholidaycampscameupforsale,
therewerenowillingbuyersontheisland.Instead,Sydney
propertydeveloperMichaelMaxwellpurchasedtheproperty
and,togetherwithhissonTim,hasspentthepastfiveyears
creatingtheisland’smostexclusiveaccommodation.
Afterclearingthesite,a seriesofnewbuildingswas
erected,includingtwoopen-planlodges,completewith
custom-builtkitchens.Eachhousehastwobedroomsand
twobathrooms,alongwitha collectionofcarefullycurated
furniture,artandothercurios,purchasedonvariousbuying
tripstoDenmarkandJapan.Colourfulartworksbya number
ofIndigenousartists,includingReginaPilawukWilsonand
KatjaraButler,popfromthewalls– eveninthebathroom.
Outside,freestandingcopperbathtubsinviteyoutosoak
underthestars.
There’sa gamesroom– witheverythingfromyoga
matsandpaddleboardstofishingrodsandsnorkels– and
somethingTimlikestocalltheTransitRoom;a sortof
communalloungewhereguestscanlistentovinylrecords
whilehelpingthemselvestoa well-stockeddrinkstrolley
(incasethey’vetiredoflisteningtovinylrecordsandhelping
themselvestotheirwell-stockedbarandwinefridgeinthe
otherhouses).
Theideais forfamiliesorsmallgroupstohirethe
entirecomplexasa privateoasis.Theminimumstayis
fivenightsandtherateincludesaccesstoIslandHouse’s
privatechefKimieUemotoandherhusbandHiro,who
helpsmanthehibachigrillamongotherjobs.Vegetables
aredugstraightfromthegardenandservedalongside
a selectionoffreshfish,whichyouarewelcometocatch
yourselfshouldyouchoose.
It’stheheightoflow-keyluxury;thoughtfuland
consideredwithoutbeingoverlysplashyorflashy.ByLord
Howestandards,it’sina leagueofitsown,yetstillinkeeping
withtheethosoftheisland.BecauseLordHoweis not for
everyone and that’s just the way the locals likeit.●Twitcherscomefromalloverthe
globetospotsomeoftherarest
birds in the world here.GOURMET TRAVELLER 121