PURPLE HAZE, LAZY DAYS
Purple Haze, Lazy Days - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Purple Haze, Lazy Days | |||||
| By: Hilary Doling, Issue 32 – Spring 2007 | |||||
| (Lord Howe Island) | |||||
| SUNSETS THAT TURN THE SKY VIOLET, AN ABSENCE OF CARS, AND VERY FRIENDLY FISH MAKE LORD HOWE A DREAM LOCATION. | |||||
| The rough silvery wood of the jetty is warm under our bare toes as we squat on the bottom of the barnacled steps. Gliding in the water just under us, so close we could touch it, is an enormous ray. Under the jetty more rays glide silently; ink blots in the blue. My small son is wide-eyed with wonder; Playstation was never like this. Nature puts on a show all over Lord Howe Island. Down at Ned’s beach the term ‘fish feeding’ takes on new meaning when a rainbow-hued parrot fish nibbles your toe and colossal King fish swim so close their regal fins brush your legs. Fed with bread the fish have good reason to be friendly and the ducks waddling down the beach have to fight for their share of attention. Only when the official Lord Howe ‘feeder’ arrives once a day with buckets full of entrails is there a true feeding frenzy, when the water bubbles and froths like shaken up champagne. All this action takes place against a paint pallet of pale turquoise water, dramatic volcanic outcrops and beaches scattered with coral like bones from a shipwreck. If there were a beauty pageant for Australian islands, Lord Howe would win, no contest. Its beaches aren’t as blonde as some of our Queensland contenders, nor is it as darkly dramatic as some Tasmanian offerings, but the island is a rare natural beauty. From the moment a welcoming local bounds onto our Dash-8 aircraft in long socks and pressed shorts, straight out of a Fifties family sit-com, I realise Lord Howe is also a reminder of gentler times; before traffic jams (the only cars are owned by locals), burglar alarms (hotel rooms are left unlocked), and shopping malls. Even the tiny airport building has a picket fence. Within a day we settle into the rhythm of island life, breakfasting late and cycling all over the tiny island, which appears to have more bikes than Beijing. We get excited at the prospect of heading into ‘town’, a tiny collection of weatherboard buildings with a post office-come-café, a hairdresser-come-gift shop and a village store selling shells and sarongs alongside the sliced bread. We also get used to the trusting island approach and put money into ‘honesty boxes’ for rounds of golf, and snorkel equipment and wetsuits hanging ready for our use unguarded at the beach. Lord Howe’s two luxury lodges add glamour to either end of the island. The service, food and setting of both are so good that all this perfection is almost more than one small island deserves – but who’s complaining. | |||||
| Capella Lodge | |||||
| To the south is Capella Lodge isolated (if you can call it that on an island that is only 11kms long), save for the nearby ninehole golf course and a couple of remote cottages. It sits in the shadow of the spectacular Mt Gower, and wraparound windows mean the view is ever present. The beauty of the mountain, haloed in mist, swathed in forest green and skirted by aquamarine water takes your breath away. At cocktail and canopy hour guests sit on the deck and toast its majesty until the sun slinks away. Capella is all about beach house chic and casual elegance. Everything is light and bright. Along the back of the bar are fishscale blue tiles and the restaurant has artwork by Bruce Goold (of Mambo fame). The rooms have secluded decks and cushioned daybeds. Book the Lidgbird Suite and you get a smart green and cream golf buggy thrown in, useful for nipping down to the golf course or an island tour when your legs are tired of cycling. Best of all are the managers and staff that make that subtle combination of laid-back friendliness and ultra-efficiency look deceptively easy. | |||||
| Arajilla Retreat | |||||
| The track to our suite meanders through a Kentia palm and Banyan tree forest; here and there light dances through canopy and makes lacy patterns on the path. All the suites at Arajilla Retreat are nestled in the palms. The dual level Banyan suites are decked our in cool beige and cream, the Kentia suites have stripes of colour. This isn’t a traditional family resort but there are a couple of two-bedroom family apartments where your children can ride their bikes up to just outside the rooms and skip down the tree-root tangled path to the almost deserted beach or picnic by the sea. In the evening, candles in the Asian-inspired dining and lounge areas give the rich red walls a glow and bench seats are piled high with rust, orange, purple and crimson cushions. Outside Balinese lamps cast a warm light into the forest. Arajilla is near enough for a stroll into town, or a gentle cycle to the museum, or down to the glass bottom boats. On our last day we take the glass bottomed boat option. Our window-on-the-water reveals masses of coral and shoals of fluoro-bright fish. We dive in and snorkel around. Immersed in the underwater world of Lord Howe we probably count at least 100 of the 500 species that swim on the world’s southern-most reef. Just one more reason for Lord Howe’s World-heritage listing and definitely the reason we nearly miss our plane home. We tumble on board the Dash-8 with still-wet hair, taking the salt and the sand of Lord Howe home. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| Capella Lodge: ph 02 9918 4355, www.lordhowe.com | |||||
| Arajilla Retreat: ph 02 6563 2002, www.arajilla.com.au | |||||
| For further information on the island contact your travel agent or visit Lord Howe Info; VisitNSW www.lordhoweisland.info, www.visitnsw.com.au | |||||
| QantasLink fly to Lord Howe, ph 13 13 13 | |||||
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