Just in time for the peak summer season, the Lord Howe Island Tourism Association (LHITA) has announced a new boat has joined the raft of operators offering a range of exciting marine-based adventures for visitors to the World Heritage-listed island.
Formerly known as Greenback, Lord Howe local Dave Gardiner has launched a new, expedition-style aluminium boat ‘Reef n Beyond’ that seats up to 20 passengers and, with a new-tech insulated hull, is able to go out in a range of weather and swell while still offering a smooth ride to its passengers. It’s also fast, travelling up to 30 knots and able to reach elusive landmarks like the world’s tallest sea stack, Ball’s Pyramid, in around 35 minutes.
Reef n Beyond joins a raft of experienced boat operators on Lord Howe who together offer guests an incredible experience of the reef, ocean and marine life around the island, home to the world’s southernmost coral reef. Tour operators on Lord Howe share a wealth of knowledge about the environment, its sea birds, corals and fish with their guests.
Boating adventures above and below the surface await with Sea to Summit’s Noctiluca and Chad Wilson’s boat Chameleon for a great day of adrenalin-fuelled deep-sea fishing for kingfish, trevally, wahoo and tuna, as well as around-island cruises and scenic trips to Ball’s Pyramid for fishing and bird watching. Lord Howe’s resident naturalist Ian Hutton often joins Noctiluca owner Jack Shick on special seabirds tours to Balls Pyramid.
Sea Lord Howe’s Lulawai offers an around-island cruise, sunset fishing trip, outer reef fishing expeditions or choose-your-own-adventure days, while Lord Howe Environmental Tours offer coral viewing and snorkelling tours in its glass-bottomed boat, Coral Princess. A two-hour tour explores the coral seascape and introduces visitors to some of the more unusual lagoon inhabitants such as the endemic double-header wrasse, stingrays and turtles. This tour offers an optional snorkelling experience at Erscott’s Hole.
Marine Adventures and Islander Cruises each specialise in encounters with Green Sea turtles, who cruise the sea grass beds to the northern end of the island. Both offer snorkelling and glass-bottom boat tours and guided North Bay nature tours with Lord Howe’s resident naturalist Ian Hutton OAM.
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