It was just after some heavy tropical rain that I saw my first Lord Howe Island sunset. I was standing on the dunes of Lagoon Beach, the longest of the island beaches, looking at the sun ready to hide behind the liquid horizon. The remaining rays transformed the calm coral lagoon in front of me into a glossy sheet of silver.

That glittery sunset crowned my first day at Lord Howe Island. I arrived there in the morning after a 1 ½ hour flight from Sydney over 600 km of indigo sea. From the air, the island looks absolutely stunning – a gem floating in a dark and empty ocean.

As far as scenery goes, the island’s east coast is picture perfect. In the shadow of the mystical heights of Mt Gower and Mt Lidgbird, the shallow waters of the crescent lagoon give out a translucent aqua glow broken only by a few scattered boats. When I saw this view from Old Settlement Beach, I thought it couldn’t get better than this. That was until I climbed up to Kim’s Lookout where, from a height of 182 m above sea level, I found myself looking at the island as a bird would, seeing the exquisite panorama in the distance and basking in the open space.

Close up, in the few streets and many resorts of Lord Howe Island, there is a country club ambience. Leisure is a way of life. People either walk or ride bicycles, slow enough to say “hello” to passers by. What cars there are (I kept seeing the same ones) follow the 25 kph speed limit. The golf club, bowling club and regular bingo nights cater for those who want nothing but a tranquil, easy-going vacation. And forget about the distracting shrills of mobile phones – the networks don’t reach the island.

In the cool evenings, the restaurants fill up with patrons eager to taste what the island has to offer. The top-notch Capella Lodge and Arajilla restaurants serve Australian and Pacific cuisine in elegant settings but, to me, nothing beats barbecuing freshly caught fish on the beach.

Fishing trips, and other marine tours, including round-the-island cruises, diving expeditions and glass bottom boat trips to explore the coral reef are an excellent way of seeing the island’s abundant marine environment. The trips are reasonably priced from about $30 and operate subject to weather conditions.

I booked a sunset cruise for my last evening on the island, eager to voyage the lagoon, champagne in hand, and watch the orange sun setting, but the trip was cancelled due to strong winds. Somewhat disappointed at first, I found a bright side: I’ll just have to come back to the island. Soon.