Last day at Lord Howe Island

Oh, it has gone so quickly.... and there's so much more to see and do.  We spent our last day walking down to the 'CBD' for the last time, and we had lunch at The Anchorage.  Then it was our last walk back to Lorhiti to wait in the 'transit lounge' for our lift to the airport.  Jess has the transit lounge well stocked with drinks and snacks for her guests, all on an honour system, and there is a shower and toilet available for use after you have checked out of your room.

We've been really happy with our accommodation and the cheerful, friendly service provided by Jess throughout our stay.  The gardens were beautiful, and the location was fantastic - I loved the fact that we could nip down to Ned's Beach from the back of the property, and that it was only a 10 minute walk to the CBD.   

Over 6 nights, I am very proud to say that we ate out every night - hey, I'm on holiday too!!!  Some of the restaurants were closed for winter, but we managed.  We ate once at Pandanus - lovely food, and the seafood salad in lime and chilli was excellent.  We ate twice at the Golf Club - we had to go back because the beef cheeks in Indian masala spices were divine!   We had many good coffees, several lunches (the chilli beef & chorizo pies and the Moroccan lamb shank soup were fantastic) and one dinner (yummy apple & rhubarb crumble) at The Anchorage.  And we had two meals at the Bowling Club - I previously mentioned the wonderful salt and pepper squid.  The meals were about the same price as you would pay on the mainland, they were of very good quality, and you got free transport there and back.  Can't complain about that.

Even though it was winter, the water at Lord Howe was still warm enough to swim or snorkel (though I'm from Canberra, so that might explain it).  The  coral and fish I saw while snorkelling was some of the best I have seen, particularly since it was only a 10 minute boatride out to the reefs.  And swimming with sharks and stingrays was an exciting bonus.

Because Lord Howe has a population of only around 350, with a cap on tourists of 400 at any one time, the island has a lovely, friendly, relaxed feel, where you constantly see familiar faces and stop to have a chat.  The locals are so proud of their beautiful home and are happy to share their stories with you and point out places to go.

During our time on the island we walked many kilometres over some challenging, rocky, but spectacular terrain.  We chose not to climb Mt Gower this time - we'll save that for our next trip, and we'll start training for it.  But we'll definitely be back.