A two-hour flight from Sydney takes you across an expanse of blue before a tiny green island appears on the horizon. As the plane descends, Lord Howe Island comes into view in fragments: forested mountains, crescent-shaped beaches, a brilliant lagoon and reefs stretching into the Tasman Sea. It is hard to believe that this remote speck of land is less than two hours from one of Australia's busiest cities.
Yet distance is only part of what makes Lord Howe Island feel removed from the modern world. Visitor numbers are capped at 400 at any given time, there are only a handful of cars, mobile phone coverage is limited and much of the island remains protected from development. The result is a destination where the natural environment is not simply something to look at, but the reason the entire place functions the way it does.