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Happy New Year Everyone! We’ve just arrived back from Lord Howe Island. The island is a World Heritage Area, so the diversity of fauna and flora against the magnificent scenery makes the island spectacular.

Travelling with my three month old, two and a half year old, husband and his family – I hadn’t done much research and wasn’t sure what to expect. It turns out Lord Howe Island is a really easy and fantastic destination when travelling with babies and young children

There are direct QantasLink flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Port Macquarie. Upon our arrival,we were greeted by the sweet sound of birds tweeting, salty smell of sea air and the lush appearance of both palm and pine trees.

Our accommodation was at Pinetrees lodge. With all meals included, it meant everyone could have a really restful (and delicious) holiday. The meals were scrumptious and the children ate well from breakfast until dinner.

Every evening our family watched the sunset from the Boatshed at Pinetrees. There is nothing more beautiful, than watching the sunset over the ocean, while your daughter climbs trees with local children. We were even invited to the local Playgroup, who were celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Playgroup NSW.

Interestingly, the island feels very connected with mainland even though there is no mobile phone service.

It was a refreshing break from the Internet, mobiles and emails. So instead we focused our energy on nature, swimming with 3 adult turtles and 1 baby turtle at Old Settlement Beach. We hand fed fish swimming in the ocean on Ned’s Beach which was truly exciting for my two and a half year old. We took a glass bottom boat tour to North Bay with Turtle Tours and learnt even more about these graceful creatures.

While we were there for the week, we explored the whole island which has sealed paths and a canopy of trees – making it a wonderfully stroller friendly location. My husband hired a bike and trailer exploring all extents of the island with our toddler. It really was a wonderful holiday enjoyed by the whole family and a fantastic finale to 2012.