Hiking the “Jurassic” Island of Lord Howe
I met my Waterloo at the stage of the climb above the saddle called “Get Up Point.”
By Sandra B.
What a fabulous time we all had when, after 2 years of planning, we eventually took off from Sydney on our Dash 8 to Lord Howe Island.
Mt Gower awaits!
I really didn’t know what to expect but I had heard many wonderful things about the Island and I was not disappointed. It has more in common with New Zealand than mainland Australia even though it’s part of NSW. There are no snakes or spiders and although wet and muddy, we didn’t come across any leeches either.
Highlights were seeing the endangered woodhen and the sweet and curious seabirds, the Providence Petrels and the magnificent banyan trees.
But we were there to hike and climb and hike and climb we did. Day 1 was wet and a bit miserable so perfect for a driving tour of the island with Chase ‘n’ Thyme where we learnt just about all you need to know about how people live and work on the Island. After lunch, we set out on our first hike of the southern section of the Island including Intermediate Hill, Transit Hill, and past Muttonbird Island. We walked up and down these hills for 5.5 hours and arrived home in the dark, tired but satisfied and hungry for a delicious dinner prepared by Michele.
Day 1 Hiking
The next day was the Big One, Mt Gower! The night before it rained all night, I recall lying awake listening to the rain and thinking that the day was sure to be cancelled. We learnt later the guiding company came so close to calling it off. Fortunately, there was no rain but the track was wet, muddy and extremely slippery. Standing tall at 875 metres, Mt Gower is a challenging 8-hour return hike with rope-assisted climbs and dizzying drops. Hikers traverse around 14 kilometres across the mountain’s rugged terrain encountering some of the islands rarest plants and wildlife along the way.
The Traverse
I met my Waterloo at the stage of the climb above the saddle called Get Up Point. I won’t go into detail but I injured myself and it shook my confidence and I decided I couldn’t go any further. 5 of us turned back at that point and spent a considerable amount of time on our bums in the mud slipping and sliding back to the saddle. Kudos to both Ali and Michele who managed to get to the summit. Coming down, in my opinion, was harder than the ascent. We all made it back safely although some of us more bruised and battered than others.
Summit Diamonds
The advantage of spending time at the saddle was enjoying the company of those darling birds, the Providence Petrels. Jane learnt how to call them in and they would literally flop down beside us, as if falling from the sky and making their distinctive noise, pecking at our shoelaces and keeping us company. Much to our amusement some of them followed us some of the way back down getting underfoot and cross if we inadvertently stepped on their feet.
Coming down!
The next day after a leisurely breakfast of bacon and eggs cooked by the marvellous Michele, we set out to hike the island's northern section, including Malabar Hill (from where I caught a glimpse of Balls Pyramid), Kim’s Lookout and Mt Eliza. The views from each of these summits gave us a different perspective of the island and its beauty. There were many ups and downs and thousands of stairs and another 5.5 hours of hiking.
Exploring every inch!
We ate like Queens with food prepared by the marvellous Michele. And had a fun last evening with drinks at the Pub and dinner at The Anchorage.
What a great group of women. I loved every minute I spent with you all, so much fun and laughter, hard to get a word in of an evening as we talked and laughed about the events of the day.
So many stories!
Special mentions to my fabulous roomies Joan and Ann, to Kim for bringing and sharing her famous Butterscotch Schnapps, to Ann for bringing and sharing her Bundaberg coffee chocolate liquor and to Michele for all the planning, the preparation, the cooking, for making us walk beyond which some of us wanted to and above all the laughter.