Here we go! Voting is closed and we have a winner. It was a close race between the Cook Islands and Lord Howe Island. The leader kept changing and you kept me in suspense until the end but, by a small margin, Lord Howe has lived up to its Lordship title and snatched victory from the Cook Islands. Am I thrilled about this? I just don’t know. The Cook Islands would have been warm, and oh, how I long to be warm. Still, Lord Howe will be interesting and I happen to have a friend who lives on an organic farm there so it will be nice to see her. And I just checked on their visitor’s bureau website and it says, “Lord Howe Island – just paradise” so I truly hope it’s truth in advertising.
So, where is Lord Howe? Well, he’s buried with the rest of his family in Nottinghamshire, England. But the island bearing his name is in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand. It has an area of 5.62 square miles and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most of the island is untouched forest filled with plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. (Perhaps they’ll name a species after me.) Anyway, this will be like no other place I’ve traveled to before.
As usual, I’ll book a flight quickly and head on over to visit the Lord to see what I see. I’m not sure how long I’ll stay as it might be a bit expensive for my normal month-long stay and I’m doubtful that there are house sitting opportunities there. I’ll do my best to find a volunteer activity while there and tell you about the organization. If you’re wondering what happened to the New Zealand volunteer project, well, it’s been difficult to find. They’re not-so-great at returning calls, but I think I might have found one to work with before I leave for Lord Howe. Be sure to follow www.Rebel-With-A-Cause.org to read about it.
To those who voted, a big thank-you for making the decision for me. For all who join me as Virtual Travel Buddies on these trips, thank you for keeping me company by reading and commenting. Let’s travel!