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World | Australia | Diving Lord Howe Island:
Lord Howe Island overview
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Scuba Diving Lord Howe Island, Australia
Water temperature: |
Water temperatures vary from 17°C (63°F) in winter to 25°C (77°F) in late summer |
Suit: |
5mm - 7mm wetsuit |
Visibility: |
30 - 40 metres (100 - 130 feet) |
Type of diving: |
Volcanic reefs, swim-throughs, tunnels and bommies |
Marine life: |
Galapagos whaler sharks, kingfish, dolphins, bronze whalers, bull rays, mullet, wrasse, parrotfish, emperors, trevally, a unique Lord Howe Island batfish, Spanish Dancers, nudibranchs |
When to go: |
It's cheaper to visit in the winter, though many places are closed and there's usually a lot more rain and wind |
How to get there: |
2 hours by plane from Sydney or Brisbane with flights departing every day from Sydney and on weekends from Brisbane to Lord Howe Island Airport, located in the centre of the island |
As the plane comes into land, the first sight of Lord Howe Island is amazing. It doesn't look big, but it's split in two by the runway with two mountains on the south end - quite an entrance! After landing, we were given the quick island tour; there's only about seven roads and a 25km/h speed limit. After settling into the apartment, we were diving just after lunch.
The island is volcanic so most of the dive sites are craggy and uneven, which makes excellent swim-throughs, tunnels and bommies. The Great Equatorial Current, warm and rich in nutrients mix with the cooler waters of the Tasman Sea, bringing impressively large and abundant fish life to these oceans. The combination of these conditions, coupled with the terrain, makes pretty amazing diving and above water sights. The whole island is World Heritage listed so it's a conservationist's dream. There's heaps of bird life (walkers get some awesome views from Malabar Ridge, Mt. Lidgbird or Mt. Gower) and the BBQ stands are cleaned and restocked every day by the locals - very impressive!
Over the week, we dived some of the island's best dive sites: 10th of April, Roach Island, Malabar Reef, Admiralty Island, Comets Hole and to top it all, on the last day sea conditions allowed us to dive Ball's Pyramid.
It's impossible to get stressed on Lord Howe Island. Even if you arrive stressed, you very soon find yourself sucked into the quiet pace of the island and by the end of the week, you're relaxed and recharged. Impressively, everyone on the Island knows your face and your name. especially if you win the Chicken Run on the golf course on Friday afternoon! (Yep, there's even a 9-hole links course - a good one too!)
Mike Lewis
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