Why The Cabin offers a more sustainable and accessible way to experience the World Heritage site
I’ve been thinking about visiting Lord Howe Island for years, bookmarking articles, watching documentaries, and keeping up with its conservation achievements. What kept me from buying a ticket was privilege, not interest. The 400 visitor limit, World Heritage protections and the fact that everything has to be transported have given Lord Howe a reputation for being both pristine and eye-wateringly expensive.
So when I heard about The Cabin, the island’s newest and more accessible accommodation on a two-hectare farm, I knew it was finally time to book.
Following a dirt path past the two-wheeler, fire pit, and outdoor shower, I arrive at the sage-green cabin and am immediately glad I waited. Inside, I find the dining table piled high with produce from the owners’ small farm next door. Bananas and papaya, spinach and zucchini, eggs from their own chickens, local honey, as well as Lord Howe Roasters coffee and peach gin that the owners prepare specially for guests.
The cabin is powered by solar energy and rainwater, and is largely constructed from repurposed island materials. Cooking your own food contributes to the idea of staying light, because it means you can spend less on meals and have more time (and budget) to be out and about.
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“We wanted to create something sustainable without sacrificing comfort,” says co-owner Jessie Owens, a sixth-generation islander, as she shows me around her vegetable gardens. “A place that reflects how we live here, connected to each other and to the land.”
You come to Lord Howe Island to truly connect with the land. In the afternoon, I bike 20 minutes into town along a path lined with kentia palms and curious grouse, whose numbers have increased since the completion of a $15 million rat eradication program in 2019. As we continue, the logic of the island becomes clear. The same restrictions that make Lord Howe feel privileged (limited beds, limited supplies) are also why he feels so alive. Few people understand this better than environmentalist Ian Hutton, whom I came to town to meet.
“Lord Howe Island is a microcosm of the world,” Hutton says, walking along Ned’s Beach, the island’s most well-known stretch of beach, as he paces briskly around dozens of week-old sooty tern chicks. “It’s only 11 kilometers long, so it’s small enough to really make visible both the problems and the solutions to some of the world’s biggest problems.”
In the wider world, issues like new species and climate change can seem too big to grasp, he says as he takes me on a tour of an area of the island that has recently been reclaimed as natural forest. But at Lord Howe, visitors can see these solutions in action, and the scale suddenly becomes manageable. That’s why Hutton spent nearly three decades leading volunteer weeding tours, bringing visitors to the island to help restore fragile ecosystems. He says borders are not abstract here. They are practical, applied and work.
These limitations are why I never saw more than five people sunbathing at a time on any of the island’s 11 beaches. That’s why, when I go snorkeling with Marine Adventures, I can watch giant green turtles lazing on the coral just a meter away without swimming in fear. That’s why, after a nearly vertical climb up Mount Gower, I was able to walk through an extremely rare cloud forest that is home to approximately 85 percent of the island’s endemic plant species.
Later that night, after a celebratory dinner of kingfish soup at The Anchorage, a longtime island favorite, I ran into Hutton again. He invites me for an after-dinner walk on Ned’s Beach. There is a full moon and hundreds of mutton petrels and black-winged petrels soar and circle over the sand; Their wings catch the light as they perform elaborate mating dances.
Lord Howe remains a privileged place, there is no doubt about that. But there’s a sense that this is coming to an end, as wildlife rebounds and accommodations like The Cabin offer a more accessible path. Not only to visit, but also to note that careful borders are still within reach.
DETAIL
TO STAY
Nights at The Cabin range from $450 in low season (June to August) to $750 in peak season (November to April); This includes breakfast items, farm produce, beverages including wine and spirits, and transfers to and from the city. Email questions@thecabin.au; phone +61 447 871 292; To see lordhoweisland.info/accommodation/the-cabin/
The author traveled with permission from Lord Howe Island. To see lordhoweisland.info
Nina Karnikowski is a travel writer focused on sustainability and the author of two books, including Go Lightly: How to Travel Without Hurting the Planet.Connect with: X.
