Syd,
I will be accompanying Chris on this trip and would like to thank you
for taking the time to send such useful information
John Barkla
----------
From: :
Sent: Friday, 9 January 1998 3:31
To: Chris Lester
Cc:
Subject: Re: Lord Howe Island
Hi Chris,
You wrote -
>The various authors extolling the virtues of Lord Howe island have
>suggested it is a great place to visit. Hopefully they are correct
as John
>Barkla and I have organised a private trip there in February. The
>literature we collected certainly indicated that it has enormous
potential
>as a bird-watching site, but it is good to have confirmation.
>
>We intend to spend a week on Lord Howe, visiting Ball's Pyramid, and
then a
>week on Norfolk Island. NI seems to offer as much potential as LHI
and much
>of historical interest as well.
One week is a bit short for LHI. (OK for Norfolk.)
LHI has two mountains occupying the southern half of the island -
Gower
(875 m) and Lidgbird (777 m). Lidgbird is a mountaineering job, but
Gower
is just a very hard walk. The top of Gower is a small plateau of
superb
mossy cloud forest where virtually every tree species is a LHI
endemic.
Except for the route up the NE corner the plateau is surrounded by
cliffs.
It would be dangerous to get lost in heavy cloud and there is no
mountain
rescue team on the island so visitors are only allowed up if
accompanied by
a licensed guide. Ropes have been installed to make it easier and
safer
(especially coming down when wet) on the steep sections.
Jack Shick is the licensed guide, and a letter addressed simply 'Jack
Shick, Lord Howe Island, 2898' would find him if you want to ascertain
what
day he expects to go up during your week. (There's no postman on LH:
everyone collects their mail from the PO.) During December his
regular
walk was advertised as Monday, but I encountered him with a party on
a
Thursday when I was on his track in Erskine Valley between the two
mountains. So I suspect his arrangements are pretty flexible. Views
from
the top are superb ... if not hidden in cloud!
If plants interest you, note that Volume 49 of the Flora of Australia
is
devoted to the plants of Norfolk and Lord Howe. The Visitor Centre
(which
you should visit - don't miss their video of the island) should have
a
copy, and you may be able to buy a copy at the island's museum.
You no doubt know that Tropicbirds feed in the morning and by about
noon
most are back near their nesting sites and putting on their fantastic
display of aerobatics. I'm not a seabird person and I don't know how
long
their season lasts. They were going well in December. Malabar is
the
place to see them - an easy half-hour walk from near Ned's Beach,
starting
through a cattle pasture where hundreds of Sooty Terns nest. Could
still
be a few chicks around. Top right corner of the paddock as you face
it
from the stile at the entrance.
Most Tropicbird nests are in inaccessible places on the cliffs, but
this
season one pair obligingly nested in a very accessible spot: under a
Cassinia bush on top of the cliff about 5 metres east of the
Tropicbird
Information Sign which you'll see where the Malabar track reaches the
cliffs. The bush is too thick and too low for photography but one got
a
good close look at one of these beautiful birds. I hope they are
still
there for you.
The Woodhen captive breeding program must surely be one of the most
successful ever of an endangered species recovery, and you're bound to
see
Woodhens. If you're interested in matters historic, you may care to
walk
the short Stevens trail which starts from Lagoon Road a little south
of the
Ned's Beach Road corner. It takes you past the building which was
the
laboratory (I think) for the Woodhen program. I understand it is
being
refurbished and may be used for volunteers from the mainland to help
with
weed control.
Lord Howe Island is administered by the Lord Howe Island Board which
is
doing a superb job in protecting the World Heritage values (if only
the Qld
Govt was doing half as well with the Wet Tropics!!!). Strict limit
on
number of tourists. No clearing of native vegetation without a
permit.
All power and phone lines underground. And so on. Great! But
there's a
tremendous weed problem: the Flora states that there are 459 plant
taxa
listed for the island, of which 105 are endemic but a horrifying 218
are
naturalised exotics. A week is a bit short, but any fit person
staying
much longer should consider doing a little volunteer weeding. (The
Commonwealth does provide funding for weed control but the small
island
population, about 300, means that availability of labour is very
limited.)
You'll need a hire car on Norfolk, but a bicycle will suffice on Lord
Howe.
I wonder if you'll agree with me that one week is about right for
Norfolk,
but Lord Howe needs three ... or more!
Have a wonderful trip.
Syd
H Syd Curtis
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