Taken on a Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 EX DC OS lens, focal length 35 mm, ISO 100, 1/500s.
I am the world’s worst meditator. Alas it’s simply a skill that has until now, completely eluded me. It seems ironic that after all of these years, meditation should suddenly come to me. I am sitting on a balcony, on soft cushions framing my buttocks with a landscape of Kentia palm trees and blue water facing me. The weather is a pitch perfect 23 degrees Celsius and a gentle breeze is blowing the branches and leaves of the trees in faint orchestral background. It’s hypnotising and every time the breeze blows, I angle my cheek to receive a caress. I sat there for at least a good ten minutes in silence and couldn’t even contemplate getting up. And I suddenly realise that this is what a meditative state is.
There’s a knock at the door as a member of Capella Lodge’s seamless staff enters carrying a bottle of Petaluma Croser and that’s the only thing that breaks my reverie. We’re in the Catalina room at Capella Lodge on Lord Howe Island. The island is two hours by plane from Sydney and with a total of 300-400 residents including staff, it’s a popular destination for honeymooners. Or first time meditators 
Lord Howe Island, Australia’s first World Heritage listed island, is eleven kms in length and two kms wide. It was created seven million years ago when a large shield volcano erupted from the floor of the Tasman sea and was then forty times larger than its current size. My first impression is that it reminds me of the lush green-ness of Hawaii and in fact, two thirds of the island is covered in forest.
There are no holiday homes on Lord Howe Island and any home owners must live on the island-this is to encourage a vibrant community there. At any one time, they can only have a maximum of 400 visitors to the island. The speed limit on the roads is 25kms per hour and the island has one policeman. There are cars but the preferred mode of transport is bicycle. There is one hospital and one doctor who is on call. There is no mobile phone reception at all on the island and internet is intermittent and slow, which frustrates locals more than holiday makers.
World’s tallest rock-Balls Pyramid
Capella Lodge in the Southern side or “spiritual side” of Lord Howe Island and is situated just above Lover’s Bay near to Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird, the two volcanic mountains that dramatically face the lodge. The luxury lodge is part of the Baillie family property portfolio which also includes its “big sister” property Southern Ocean Lodge. Nine suites make up this private couples only luxury lodge and personalised and accommodating service is what it is also known for along with expansive views and a luxurious suites.
We were picked up at the airport by Libby who along with her gregarious husband Mark, manage Capella Lodge. In a synchronised fashion, she gives us a cheerful mini tour of the island in the car on the way to the lodge while Mark takes care of the bags and they arrive in our suites in time for our arrival.
The first order of the day once you arrive is to relax. There are no distractions apart from the view and when they bring you a welcome tea and some nibblies, all you can do is surrender to island time.
Our suite is a Lagoon Loft which has a lounge area below with a bedroom upstairs, both levels with a balcony to make the most of the view. The bottom floor features a long L shaped lounge, a BOSE music system, a large flat screen television, complimentary soft drinks and a mini bar with a range of gourmet snacks. Teas are by T-bar and there is an extensive range of loose leaf teas that can be provided to suit your taste. A plate of mini lemon meringue tarts awaits and the balcony beckons. And that’s where I got lost for a while…
Upstairs, the mezzanine bedroom with the king sized bed sits in front of stunning water and mountain views. The sheets are silky smooth and the bed temptingly comfortable. There are a range of goose and duck down pillows along with a pillow menu and it is the perfect place to lie down and watch the palms dance or you can plonk yourself down on one of the chairs on the mezzanine balcony and sip the sparkling wine.
The bathroom downstairs is modern and all dark colours in basalt stone. There is a large, modern shower with two shower heads: a monsoon and a massage head but no bath (water is from rainwater tanks). I’m pleased to see that there are their own house body products which we tried at Southern Ocean Lodge. From a vanilla ginger lily shampoo, jojoba conditioner, lime cassis body wash and a soap, hand wash and body lotion, all products are made specially for them and are superb. There are also cotton tips and pads, shower caps and a loofah tucked away in the drawers.
Luxurious bathrobes, low rise pillows, leather slippers and a safe are in the cupboard and the resort is a keyless resort but there is a lock if you want to lock the doors from the inside. Backpacks and bikes are provided as guests are encouraged to explore the island during the day and breakfasts and dinners are included in the tariff. The lodge gets up to 50% of its water from collected rainwater tanks and uses solar power for the hot water systems.
Woodhen
After a bit of time enjoying the room (and tell me, do you just enjoy staying in a hotel room as much as I do?), we go downstairs to the main building to have pre-dinner drinks that start every evening at six pm. On the way, we spot some of their protected Woodhens, who make a lovely little squeaking noise. There’s a family of them at Capella and they are all tagged and are surprisingly tame.
Each evening, “the girls” which is the team of wonderful all female lodge staff that are gentle and intuitive, design a new cocktail. This evening is a hazelnut cocktail with the distinct, rich and sweet aroma of hazelnuts. Each guest is known to the staff and everyone is on a first name basis.
Goat’s cheese, olive and prosciutto
Canapes also feature in the nightly ritual and the fried dumplings are filled with slow cooked beef and a spoonful of goat’s cheese, prosciutto and olive.
Deep fried beef dumplings
Usually, guests can have dinner whenever they please but as it is a Friday night, tonight’s dinner is a degustation whereas the other evenings of the week have a la carte menus. We make our way to our tables and ours faces the stunning view of the headland that seems to have its top permanently shrouded in fog.
House made bread comes to the table and there’s a white roll with black sesame seeds and a brown rye bread. Both are excellent and served with a choice of Lomondo olive oil from Mudgee or butter.
Balmain bug broth, kaffir lime, lemongrass, chilli served with Freycinet Riesling Tasmania
Capella Lodge have their fish caught by local fisherman with almost daily deliveries straight to the lodge. The menu details the provenance of much of their produce. The first course comes out quickly and it’s a shallow dish filled with a rich, salty and strong Balmain bug broth flavoured with kaffir lime, lemongrass and chili as well as tender pieces of balmain bug and mushroom. The flavour is strong and bold and it is perfectly matched with the wine.
Cured kingfish, blood orange, pickled fennel, watercress, chilli oil served with Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, NZ
The king fish is cured two ways, with beetroot and with blood orange. It is served with thin slices of pickled fennel and fronds of watercress. It’s a well balanced dish and the thin slices of chilli at good-at first…I warned Mr NQN just in time for the thinly sliced Jalapeno chillies which are actually from their garden. Our waitress tells us that they started off mild but by now, they’re quite strong and I find myself reaching for the bread to dampen the heat.
Sunset
Ginger and lemongrass sorbet
The ginger and lemongrass sorbet balls are refreshing and sweet and strong in both flavours.
Slow cooked duck breast, raspberries, local rocket, grapes, apple, jus served with Amisfield Pinot Noir, Central Otago, NZ
The slow cooked duck breast came out as three pieces of pink cheeked duck breast with a nice edge of juicy skin around one side. Served with fresh raspberries, sprigs of local rocket, halved grapes and paper thin slices of apple and some raspberry and duck jus, it was a good alternative to duck with cherries. Interestingly, since the boats only bring supplies of food once every two weeks, these picture perfect fresh raspberries were the result of a recent delivery.
Wagyu tenderloin, oxtail tortellini, asparagus, tomato, pecorino served with Henschke Henry Shiraz, Grenache Viognier, Kyneton, SA
The wagyu tenderloin is served medium rare and is tender and sumptuous and comes with two oxtail tortellinis, slender white and green asparagus, sweet tomatoes and pecorino. And while there were plenty of courses, they weren’t too heavy and quite a neat portion size.
Will Studd Brillat Savarin, dried fig, strawberry, rosemary flatbread
A deliciously runny number, the Will Studd Brillat Savarin cheese came with house made rosemary flat bread, a dried fig and half a strawberry.
Doughnut, Belgian chocolate , hazelnut ice cream served with De Bortoli Noble one Botrytis Semillon, Bilbul, NSW
Our dessert was a cinnamon sugar dusted doughnut filled with a centre of Belgian chocolate. To the side was a hazelnut ice cream served on chocolate crumbs. The doughnut was freshly fried and satisfying.
Chocolate and peanut butter truffles
Last and surprisingly, one of the richest offerings were the truffles. These were dark chocolate truffles filled with peanut butter. It’s a perfectly decadent end to the meal. When we get back to our room, turndown has been performed and an essential oil is burning in the oil burner and music is playing.
The next morning, we wake and go to the main building for breakfast. Again, it’s a perfect 23 degree day. Breakfast is served between eight to ten am which ends perhaps a little early for those wanting to have a long sleep in on the weekend. Although, it’s probably a good thing because it allows us time to see the island although I’ve come down with Mr NQN’s throat infection and all I want to do is sleep, a feeling made that much stronger with the comfort of the bed. One thing that means a lot to me is cleanliness and housekeeping at Capella Lodge is excellent and amongst the best I’ve experienced and they clean the rooms thoroughly each day and tidy up everything. Mr NQN stopped by while they were cleaning to pick up his sunglasses and he said to me “they’re even cleaning all the blinds!”
Breakfast consists of a cold buffet selection with poached pears, yogurts, Carman cereals, bircher muesli, friands, breads with three types of Hank’s jams (triple berry, marmalade and apricot-the first two being my favourite), honeydew, rockmelon and blood orange.
On the a la carte menu are about half a dozen hot items and each day there is a drink and hot food choice made up for the day. Today’s selection is a mango smoothie and a poached egg with olives and local tomatoes. Mr NQN goes for that while I choose an omelette.
Local egg omelette with goat’s curd, local rocket and blood orange oil
They arrive and the omelette is soft cooked, just the way I like it, with button mushrooms, goat’s curd, local rocket, caramelised eschallots and blood orange oil.
Toast with poached local egg, tomato, and olives
Mr NQN’s toast is a thick piece of toast with a freshly poached local egg, tomatoes and olive slices. As my throat feels like I’m swallowing razors, I ask for a honey and lemon drink and one of the lovely girls also suggests their extensive range of infusions and teas. We watch as the clouds lift off the headland outside and decide that it’s time to explore the island! Armed with a golf buggy, we set out to see what else this captivating island has to offer. Stay tuned Dear Reader…
So tell me Dear Reader, where did you go for your honeymoon? And for those of you that have yet to go on one, where is your dream honeymoon destination?
NQN and Mr NQN travelled to Lord Howe Island as guests of Destination NSW, Capella Lodge and Lord Howe Island Tourism.
Capella Lodge
Lagoon Road, Lord Howe Island
http://www.lordhowe.com/
Tel: +61 (02) 9918 4355
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42 Comments | Add your own
It’s kind of just the summer warmth here that slays me, Spay Lady.
What a stunning looking island.
Our honeymoon was Cradle Mountain…best honeymoon ever
Spectacular, Lorraine, I believe this is the destination (of ALL your wonderful destinations) that I am most envious of!
The restaurant view in the first few shots reminds me of a view from a restaurant on Lake Como in Italy, it was mesmerizing.
JT and I took a cruise from New York City to Bermuda, 27 years ago. It was in June and it was lovely. We’ve been back to Bermuda since. One of the most civilized Islands in the Caribbean, I would recommend it.
Now I’m going to check out what a Balmain bug is…really hoping it’s not a real bug!
No, I don’t like to stay in the hotel room, why bother travel somewhere to stay in the hotel. I need action, I need to move around and see the place. Which raises the question: what is that brown mass on a tree(?) above the Woodhen?
Lord Howe is even more remote than its neighbour, Norfolk Island, as there is at least mobile reception on Norfolk. Definitely a place for meditating.
Lord Howe is a beautiful island and if you get the opportunity to go, go!
There are some really lovely boat tours around the island, walking tours to the foot of the mountain and flat cycling tracks. It is very peaceful and relaxing.
Also commercial airlines (eg Qantas, UA etc) use Lord Howe as a navigational point on the Trans Pacific so you also get used to telling the time by their flight schedule.
How very blissful – what a wonderful place to pick up a new skill!
How interesting that there is no mobile phone reception and moody internet considering its not that far from Sydney. This is probably intentional. But they have vegemite – I guess priorities
Well, Lorraine, you picked it – we went to Lord Howe Island for our honeymoon! Yep! However it will be twenty five years ago this year. We didn’t stay at Capella Lodge but we remember it well. Lord Howe Island was not a “fancy” place to go at the time but we loved it. You bring back lovely memeories! Thank you!
Wow! Wow! Wow! It’s a shame I am already married as that looks like a perfect honeymoon destination! Is it acceptable to renew your vows and have another honeymoon?
Magnificent! Another luxury lodge to add to the wish list. We had a mini-moon on the east coast of Tassie straight after our wedding, then went to Japan a year later for our proper honeymoon.
That looks like heaven. Pete and I did a self drive foodies tour of France for our Honeymoon and after seeing this think its time for a second honeymoon a little closer to home
It looks divine!!
WOW! Capella Lodge and Lord Howe look incredible. I’m sure you could do nothing but relax here.
For our honeymoon we went to San Fran, Vegas (where we remarried at The Little White Wedding Chapel for fun), New York, LA and Hawaii. Three weeks of fun, food and plenty of shopping. Wish I could go back and do it all again.
What a nice relaxing place to be for sure, what a shame you were feeling ill
We stayed in an apartment on the Gold Coast for our honeymoon. We only had a $500 budget, we were both incredibly ill with the flu and spent $150 on doctors and medicine, were only well enough to go to there beach for 1 day where we got so sunburnt we blistered and we couldn’t go anywhere as we were too young to hire a car. We laugh now, but one day we will just have to have an awesome second honeymoon to make up for it
A cinnamon doughnut filled with chocolate? Oh my! We went to Thailand for our honeymoon and I think I ended up in a meditative state more than a few times!
What a beautiful spot. That bread looks fresh and tasty
Capella certainly looks lovely but it’s a pity you don’t mention it’s also the most expensive option, by far, on the island – in your case (Lagoon Loft) $850 per night, per person. Lord Howe has a brace of more affordable, less exclusive accommodation that’s more in keeping with the every day reality of island life …
Price Conscious, this is a story on Capella Lodge. There is an upcoming story on other options. But it’s always nice to ask rather than accuse no?
Lorraine, you have achieved some incredible photography of that beautiful island. Will be scrolling at leisure again
! I very much like the look of Capella Lodge, both the accommodation and the fresh, modern but not over-the-top food! Obviously such would be at the top end of the market, but then, most places you have had the chance to visit have been, and we have enjoyed travelling and dreaming AND meditating with you 
! Know from personal experience how much some of your European rooms/suites have cost!! Honeymoon – ha! Fools we: trying to fit a lot into a two-week universsity vacation, we had one week with my husband’s relatives at their home in Fiji and the next at Mt Cook [in wintertime!] in New Zealand. Guess who developed horrid colds the second week in the snow 
!
Our honeymoon was at St Regis Bora Bora! Best vacation ever. Lord Howe looks amazing too!
Wow would love to go to Lord Howe, looks like the perfect spot! We went to Thailand for our honeymoon, it was lovely lazing around the pool and beach reading books etc but to be honest I got bored after a while and didn’t want to shop or do touristy things – this looks to be the perfect balance between relaxation and activities : )
oh these pictures look straight from a magazine! what a beautiful place!
I’ve been DYING to stay at Capella, just haven’t been able to convince hubby yet. Maybe this post will help. Sorry to hear you were ill while there. Our honeymoon was on a small island about 2 hours off the mainland of Fiji. Day 2 of the honeymoon we were hit with a Cat 3 cyclone which hung around for 6 days
We were staying in a beach bure with louvre windows which meant all the wind and rain got into the room, being a small island, all the laundry was done off site so we had to sleep in a wet sandy bed for a week and had no dry towels to even use! Needless to say it was a memorable honeymoon, but maybe not in the way I had imagined!!! 
The closest I get to meditating is reading a book– and that’s the perfect spot to lay out with one!
Lorraine thanks for the “taste of Capella.” I’m SO taken with the small Stainless Steel toiletries featured….would it be possible to supply the brand or an email so I can track them down? I want a little piece of the pacific too! Thanks heaps.
What a relaxing atmosphere! You looked like you had a wonderful time (:
Oh this looks just divine Lorraine! How magical…I want to book a trip ASAP! Beautiful review, food looks to die for! Great photo’s!
LORD.HOWE.ISLAND.
The most peaceful and beautiful place on Planet Earth,so many different areas to sit and feel amazed with its virgin beauty it seems untouched never to be exploited
Three time visitor,memories forever
Regards Ted King
Lorraine, these photos are AMAZING. I LOVE the first one. Sounds like bliss!
That looks like a fantastic, intimate, romantic and secluded location- perfect for a Honeymoon.
I’m not sure where we will go- Tahiti? Greek Islands? It’d have to be somewhere exotic and interesting, yet allows plenty of intimate time to relax as newlyweds.
This is so idyllic, it is the whole package by the sounds of it: perfect setting, great ambience, plush surroundings and divine food. Ticks all the boxes for any special holiday I would think.I say it all the time, you visit the most amazing places Lorraine and then do a fantastic job sharing them with all of us.
We went to the Maldives…it is a gorgeous place.
Now I have to add Lord Howe Island to the ever growing list.
Yummy, it all looks so peaceful and delicious, what an amazing place.
Looks like such a lovely relaxing place. My honeymoon was a budget tour in Phuket with a Mandarin speaking guide booked for us by relatives in Malaysia. One problem, I don’t understand Mandarin, neither did my husband. Luckily for us, the accompanying tour guide translated it to Cantonese! Which I also don’t understand but my husband does. So commentary by Thai guide would be, bla bla bla bla bla. Translation from the other guide was bla bla bla. My husband to me, bla! I still consider our trip to New Zealand 3 years later as our real honey moon.
I went to Montreal – in January, no less.
I’ve grown smarter about travel as I’ve grown older…
What a beautiful getaway my friend, looks so beautiful and full of good food
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Have always wanted to go to Lord Howe as seems so beautiful. My old boss use to go every year with his family and said that it’s so relaxing although he did remark that I may not cope with no mobile reception! If we ever go I want to stay at Capella
We honeymooned at our wedding location which was Delamore
Lodge at Waiheke Island in New Zealand.
Gorgeous place, gorgeous food. I especially liked the toiletries
Went to Egypt for the first honeymoon. Mexico for the second—was already there.
I love Lord Howe!! Hopefully I’ll get to go back sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Beautiful story and pictures. I have find memories of lord Howe we had a family holiday there in the mid 1980′s but did not stay in anything as luxurious as Capella lodge. It was a great place for kids to roam and explore without harm.
We went to Lord Howe Island for our Honeymoon in March 1967 and flew in from Rose Bay by Sea Plane. We were just kids, 20 and 21 years of age, and we are still together. Such a beautiful and magical island. We have returned once in 1990 and I think we may have even stayed at Capella at the time. Now having seen this write up we plan to return in 2014 which will mark our 47th Wedding Anniversary. Thanks for reminding us of its place in our family history.
Glorious place – went there in the 1980s and stayed at a very relaxed family run hotel. Not known for my bike riding skills, I cycled out to the airport (flat as a pancake) but well remember the insistence of the man at the bike ride shop ‘Don’t ride down Middlebeach Road’ – apparently death defying hill awaits. Your wonderful photos – wish I could afford to return!
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