New member: Seven Peaks Walk by Pinetrees, Lord Howe Island, NSW
The expansion of the Great Walks of Australia collective, beyond the current ten walks that make up the Signature Collection, is an important step in the promotion of Australia as a key global walking destination.
The first walk for NSW and the second in the collective located on a UNESCO World Heritage listed island, Seven Peaks Walk by Pinetrees, Lord Howe Island is a stunning addition and offers an amazing walking experience over 6 nights/5 days based out of Pinetrees Lodge.
Chair of Great Walks of Australia, Geoff Dixon said, “The addition of this walk, a first for NSW, highlights the importance of the collective to tourism in Australia and the impressive walking options we offer as true competitors in this growing adventure tourism space.”
The Seven Peaks Walk takes guests from pristine beaches and exposed coral platforms to the delicate mist forests on the summit of Mt Gower. Along the way guests will see sheltered swimming coves (with swimming and snorkelling opportunities), subtropical palm forests, freshwater creeks, rugged sea cliffs and volcanic peaks. Some sections of the walk, such as the Lower Road on Mt Lidgbird, wind along exposed narrow ledges (protected by ropes) across a 300 vertical metre cliff. Other sections of the walk take guests deep into Jurassic Park style banyan forests with the only rookeries of Providence petrels in the world.
Director of Pinetrees Lodge, Luke Hanson said, “We’ve been guiding guests around Lord Howe Island for 125 years, over six generations, and have come to learn the best combination of effort and reward to delight the most well-travelled international walkers. Our acceptance into Great Walks of Australia is an important step to help Lord Howe gain the recognition it deserves as a truly international walking destination. Pinetrees was recently ranked TripAdvisor’s No.1 Hotel in Australia for 2017, and in combination with our new membership of Great Walks of Australia, we’re confident that we can offer guests a luxury sub-tropical walking experience that compliments the amazing temperate and outback walks in the collection.”