Hi List, We are visiting Lord Howe Island in early October for six days, staying at the Beachcomber. I am keen to go on a pelagic trip out to Ball’s Pyramid & it would be interesting to circumnavigate the island too. I gather there are 2 operators of proper Pelagic trips; Jack Shick & Ian Hutton on Noctiluca [ 8 metres] & Gary Payten on Wolfe [7.5 metres] but both these boats seem pretty small to head out to sea, especially as we will have our 22 year old autistic son with us [no interest in birds, but does like boats but maybe not all day or too rough]. I was wondering though if anybody has tried some of the other operators of boat trips out to Balls Pyramid? Marine Adventures on Lulawei has a 3.5 hour trip to Balls Pyramid & it looks to be a rather bigger boat. Another company also does trips on Carina [11.5 m]. I realise that these trips wont be targeting birds in particular and no doubt wont stop for closer looks or photos but they might be a more feasible option for us. Any advice on this or any other suggestions for Lord Howe Island would be very welcome! Jenny Stiles, Sydney
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G’day Jenny I stayed at Beachcomber Lodge and went out with Gary last year. Gary gives preference to people staying at his lodge, and if there are limited weather opportunities, it may be a case that you only have the option of going out with the operator who has spare seats. I would take a raincoat if you do go out. I think Gary’s boat might be a bit faster and I think he goes round Lord Howe as well as out to Balls Pyramid as a matter of course. I think the main species you will be looking for on the trip is the grey ternlet (which now rejoices in a couple of alt names). If you are reasonably fit and any sort of bushwalker, you will want to go up Mt Gower, which is one of the best daywalks in Australia. Regards, Laurie. On 29 Jul 2015, at 6:17 pm, Jenny Stiles < jstiles@optusnet.com.au> wrote:
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Hi Jeenny, It’s quite weather dependant. I’ve been out to Balls a couple of times with Jack. The first time the conditions were reasonably good, and with a small group, I think about 7 all up. Ian wasn’t on board, but Jack’s local bird knowledge is awesome. The conditions were still good when we came back to the island, so we did a circumnavigation which was well worth doing. The second time we went out (16 months later) the weather was pretty crap, with strong wind and reasonably sized waves and swell . No other boats seem to go out if the weather is anything less than good, but Jack was happy to give it a go. Ian Hutton was on board for this trip, and his added knowledge was a bonus. That said, a trip with Jack alone doesn’t lack anything. As the weather was quite bad by the time we got back (several people had been throwing up the whole way) we didn’t go around the island, which I think everyone on board was quite happy about! Sorry, I have no experience with the other boats. Regards, Jason. —– Original Message —– Sent: Wednesday, 29 July, 2015 6:17:16 PM Hi List, We are visiting Lord Howe Island in early October for six days, staying at the Beachcomber. I am keen to go on a pelagic trip out to Ball’s Pyramid & it would be interesting to circumnavigate the island too. I gather there are 2 operators of proper Pelagic trips; Jack Shick & Ian Hutton on Noctiluca [ 8 metres] & Gary Payten on Wolfe [7.5 metres] but both these boats seem pretty small to head out to sea, especially as we will have our 22 year old autistic son with us [no interest in birds, but does like boats but maybe not all day or too rough]. I was wondering though if anybody has tried some of the other operators of boat trips out to Balls Pyramid? Marine Adventures on Lulawei has a 3.5 hour trip to Balls Pyramid & it looks to be a rather bigger boat. Another company also does trips on Carina [11.5 m]. I realise that these trips wont be targeting birds in particular and no doubt wont stop for closer looks or photos but they might be a more feasible option for us. Any advice on this or any other suggestions for Lord Howe Island would be very welcome! Jenny Stiles, Sydney
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