Australias Lord Howe Island goes viral for being like Hawaii without the crowds

A tiny island off the coast of NSW described as the “Hawaii of Australia” is being discovered by many Aussies for the first time.

Aussie travellers Lauren MacKenzie and Jack Hindle are the latest content creators to send Lord Howe Island viral on TikTok, prompting many young users to declare they’re packing their bags.

Ms MacKenzie said she had “found the Hawaii of Australia” … “but without the tourists” in a 16 second clip that has been viewed more than half a million times in less than a week.

“Where is this!!!!!!! WE HAVE TO GO TOGETHER,” one of many eager travellers wrote tagging their friends.

“We’re going there when we are older,” another said.

“This is the first place we going to travelling alone,” a third told their mate.

“Time to use those flight credits,” declared a fourth.

Lord Howe Island only allows 400 tourists at a time and is known for its pristine white-sand beaches and hiking trails.

It is about a two hour flight from Sydney, but flights are priced more than $1000 this time of year.

Trina Shepherd, the public relations manager at Lord Howe Island Tourism, told news.com.au that TikTok was a new platform “gaining momentum” for them.

“It’s wonderful to see Australians seeing Lord Howe for the first time and being so amazed at something that is so stunning in their own back yard and within NSW,” she said.

“The care, conservation and respect that is taken by the Lord Howe Island residents is also very impressive to Australians. For this reason Lord Howe gets a lot of repeat visitation.”

She said many visitors over the years had likened the island to Hawaii “due to the landscape of the towering mountains meeting the lagoon”.

But there is something very unique about Lord Howe. You can’t visit without accommodation booked because of how seriously it controls its tourism numbers.

In 1981, a 400 person visitor cap was introduced and still applies to this day.

“This was calculated as the most sustainable number of visitors to support the economy, prevent the environment from over tourism and this number allows for visitors to enjoy a unique experience,” Ms Shepherd explained.

“It also allows locals the space and privacy in their own homeland. This was such a clever implementation as it enables the local economy to thrive and creates exclusivity.”

The Lord Howe Island Board only issues 400 bed licences across the island’s accommodation lodges, so once the 400 beds are full there is no more capacity for visitors to book.

The Board records all incoming and outgoing passengers.

This year TripAdvisor named a family-owned hotel on the island as the best in the country, and the South Pacific.

Pinetrees Lodge took out the title of ‘Top Hotel in Australia’ and ‘Top Hotel in the South Pacific’ in Tripadvisor’s 2023 Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Hotel Awards.

The awards are in their 21st year and name the highest-rated properties, according to guest reviews.

Pinetrees Lodge has been open to guests since about 1895 and is currently owned by Dani Rourke and Luke Hanson, sixth-generation family members of the original owners.

It is not the first time the accommodation has taken out the award.

It most recently won it in 2020 (for the period of January 1 to December 31, 2019), but Ms Rourke and Mr Hanson said the hotel took a hit when the Covid pandemic came along.

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“Pinetrees Lodge is a full-service hotel. We talk to our guests, carry their bags, deliver picnics, light wood-fired barbecues, guide our groups through hiking and swimming adventures, and serve beautiful food four times per day,” the pair said when winning the award in May.

“Trying to limit the contact between guests and staff at Pinetrees went completely against the grain of what we do. We’ll never be a ‘contactless check-in’ kind of place.”

Ms Rourke and Mr Hanson said it was a “genuine relief” to go back to normal operations and start seeing positive reviews again.

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