Mount Gower also Big Hill, is the highest mountain on Australia’s subtropical Lord Howe Island in the Tasman Sea. With a height of 875m above sea level, and a relatively flat 27ha summit plateau, it stands at the southern end of Lord Howe, just south of the island’s second highest peak, the 777m high Mount Lidgbird, from which it is separated by the saddle at the head of Erskine Valley.
Ascending Gower entails a popular, guided, strenuous 8-hour return hike, though no special climbing skills are needed. The mountain is covered with rainforest, including cloud forest at the summit, containing many of the island’s endemic plants.