Hiking Lord Howe Island

A two-hour flight from Sydney, Lord Howe Island is just 7 miles long and is officially a part of New South Wales.

Here you can climb Mount Gower, at 2870 feet, Its an 8 mile round trip to the top.

Lord Howe Island was first discovered by the British in 1788 and the early settlers were amazed at the plants that they found there.

The island was among the last on Earth to be discovered, and being a World Heritage site, only 400 visitors are allowed on the island at any one time.

It’s a botanist’s paradise with over 100 species of plants found nowhere else in the world.

It’s called the island of palms,. There are different palms, but the most famous are the Kentia palms,.For 150 years, they have been a valuable export from the island, suplyimg the indoor potted palm market.

Locals also used the palms for building material on boat sheds. The leaves were used in four layers to make a fairly waterproof roof.

Collecting the seeds of the Kentia palms has been a major source of income on the island for generations – but there’s a special knack to climbing the trees.

You have to put a strap around your feet and you shinny on up – it’s the only way to collect the seed on the tree. Its something you need learn early as a child as it csn be to difficult to try as an adult.

There are some very steep and narrow parts on the way up Mount Gower, but ropes are in place to aid the climber.

The higher slopes of the mountain are home to many nesting sea birds including 30,000 pairs of very noisy Petrels.

Pushing up the mountain it can take five hours of climbing to finally reach the top.

Only 700 people climb Mount Gower each year, so you won’t encounter too many fellow hikers on the mountain.

There are spectacular views at the summit.

On a clear day, you can see Ball’s Pyramid,At 1800 feet high, it’s the tallest volcanic stack in the world, and part of Lord Howe Island’s Marine Park.

Destination – Australia