We set off on a calm sea heading clockwise round the island (you can tell who is typing here, I expect that there is a nautical term)
We passed North Beach where turtles gather. North Beach is a difficult place to get to, so if you want to see turtles, then there is another boat trip that goes when the tide is right.
We passed many caves including this, which has an inner cave so that when the waves hit the second cave, there is a 'blow'.
This part of the coast was sheer cliffs and the preserve of the islands breeding seabirds - sooty terns, shearwaters, boobies and the like. We passed Mount Eliza which has easy access from the land but not from the sea.
As we passed mount Eliza, the sea became choppy. We were told that the swell had been much worse the day before, 3.5 metres. John survived and there were even moments when Pat wondered if she might have a problem!
The Admiralty islands are just rocks off Lord Howe Island. When you can see this rock through the arch, you are looking due north.
Ball's Pyramid is a rock about 20km off the coast of Lord Howe island. It is 562m high and difficult to photograph in a choppy sea. It is all that is left of a previous set of eruptions from the same hot spot in the earth's crust that caused Lord Howe. The remnants of the set of eruptions before Ball's Pyramid are completely eroded and below sea level about 40 km away. The water between Lord Howe and Ball's Pyramid is over a kilometre deep so the volcanos that formed them are very large.
We saw many more dramatic views of Lord Howe's two monolithic mountains Mount Gower and Mount Lidgbird which have much more complicated shapes that are visible from the inhabited part of the island.
Boat Harbour is a haven in the middle of all the rocky cliffs where it is was possible for whalers to anchor and find fresh water.
When we rounded Mount Gower, we reached calmer waters again.
There are coral reefs around the island making navigation difficult. These pines were planted as a navigation aid: when they line up, you are in one of three channels through the reef.
After the trip, it was time to start packing before an evening out at a local restaurant.
Pat and John on tour