Lord Howe NSW, is a kiting destination well worth considering. We have about 6 serious kiters who live on Lord Howe and quite a few up and coming and interested in taking up the sport.
Winter at Lord Howe has prevailing southwest winds between 18kts & 35kts. July, August & September offer the best opportunity to take advantage of the many reef breaks both lefts & rights.
The large lagoon has numerous safe, sandy beach launching locations & loads of flat water, particularly just inside the surf breaks. The western side of the Island avails itself to kiting in winds from Northwest & South. The Water Temp is 18c to 20c a steamer should suffice. The lagoon has coral so it is not too cold for too long.
Kite size - depending on rider weight anything from 6m to 10m.
You could expect to be kiting 4 to 6 days per week in August!
You can check out Lord Howe Island on Google Earth to give you a better idea about the destination.
Eating and Drinking - Lord Howe has a couple of Clubs, great restaurants and cafes. Transport home after evening meal is the norm. The Island has a liquor store and great BBQ areas all over the Island.
Transport- Push Bikes available for hire & some hire cars.
Winter is the cheapest time of year. There are plenty of cheap packages around.
Other things to do - Fishing, snorkelling, hiking, paddle boarding, surfing, kayaking. The Island is adventure packed & more scenic than you can imagine. Waters are crystal clear all year. No Camping
Winter Kite Surfing Locations
Interested.
Two things:
1) 15kg Qantaslink weight limit, is that correct? Could be an issue if bringing multiple kites etc.
2) Airstrip. Are there any issues with kiting in the lagoon, and the location of the runway? i.e. are there areas of the lagoon considered offlimits?
Cheers
What is a "cheap package"? I've looked at LHI before but found the accomodation cost to be a deal breaker.
Qantaslink does have a 15kg baggage + hand luggage limit and it could prove a problem if you have too much gear. You can pay excess baggage.
My suggestion would be to Aus post a bit of gear over prior, you can send 20kg of gear for around $20 surface mail. We have a ship that comes every fortnight so it is just a matter of getting the timing right.
As far as the airstrip there are some areas of limits imediately in front of the strip. You can transit this area, but we don't within 1/2 hour of arrival or departing flights
The number of flights is much reduced in winter. There are probably only 4 flights during the week(afternoons) & a couple a day weekends. This area has little impact on kiting activities.
great bit of marketing ,looks like a great setup , how constant is the swell in winter for kiting.Be nice if there was a bit more luggage allowance, surely the island would be good for sup as well ,tourism never hurt anyone in winter , maybe they should up the boat delivery so we can take more gear and make it worth while, holidaying in aussie islands isnt cheap.
OK, bit of a run down on myself and the Island:
My names Christo, I've lived on the Island for >25 yrs, Surfed all my life and been kiting for the past 6-7 yrs (thats me in the Griffin shot). I've been asked by Dave (62Davo), the guy whose organising this, to give you some more information about the place.
Firstly the Qantas bag limit is actually 23Kgs, 'check-in' luggage can only be 15Kgs.
So the way to go is pack your board-bag full of your essential gear, Boards, kites, harness, toiletries, wetties etc. everything that will keep you going for a day or 2 @ 15Kg's. Don't worry about a pump, we have plenty over here. Then wear most of your winter woolies on the plane, take a back pack with about 5Kg's of stuff in it as carry-on and if you need any more gear just bring along another bag up to 8Kg's with you and ask that this bag be put on as excess. You won't get charged as this bag plus your 15Kg bag totals 23Kg's. It just means your not garunteed to get it the same day, it might come on another flight the next day, depending on the weight of your plane. But in 90% of cases, it will travel with you.
Also you can get away with wearing a long-armed springy so this will keep the weight down, if you feel you need a steamer, I've got a few I can lend ya.
If you can fit in 2 kites I'd opt for your strong wind kite and your all-rounder, I mostly use a 9 and a 12 all year. If only 1 kite, bring a 10 or the 12.
That time of year we get big SW - SE swells (June - Oct) although the best time for kiting (cross-off) on the reefs is during the summer months (Nov - May) but the wind is less consistant with a small window of opportunity for the right wind direction. So during winter you'll be kiting On-shore or Cross/On-shore reef waves. We have a fun right thats pretty rippable that I kite alot during the winter (Its not epic but its fun) and a pretty sick reform left reef that fires if the swell gets huge. But if your a surfer, you can surf the back-side of the Island offshore then go kiting later on or before depending on the tides as theres usually plenty of swell around the Island, thats what I'm doing. Try not to come with a crowd though, its a good place to chill, crowded lineups are fustrating and instant crowds are not welcomed on the Island.
If you enjoy a bit of flat water kiting, the water up close to the surf on the lagoon side is like a lake @ mid tide. It can be blowing 30 knts above and theres barely a ripple on the water, the water's so clear you can see the coral reef and fish below you. Plus just head out a bit and you've got heaps of fun ramps to boost-off. Its pretty awesome.
P.S. The names of the breaks on the Wannasurf.com map are wrong but the locations are spot on, plus the've missed a couple.
Feel free to ask anymnore questions. Back to you Dave.
Hi just windering if you can you help me out, My partner want to come kiting for a bout 10 days whats the best time during winter (where looking at July aug) and what the best place to stay at if where just after accomodaition and a feed to get us through.
Cheers
Scott
Hi Scott,
Both months are really good. You would find it hard to better cost wise, the 10 night package on offer between the 6th & 20th of August through Oxley Travel.
The accommodation is Somerset Lodge which is comfortable, self contained and in a good location.
We are just starting to enter the time of year when we get regular SW winds & I can't wait to get into it. A few of the guys have been getting into the stand up paddle boarding lately & having a ball on the reef.
If you head over this way give us a call and we will be happy to show you around.
Regards
Dave
Hi Scott,
Just finished a great session on the reef today a nice 18 to 25kts SW. I just got in and heard there was a price drop on the packages to Lord Howe they are now $1399 7 nights & $1599 10 nights. Hope this helps.
Dave
