Neds Beach, Lord Howe Island

Fast facts

• Sheltered beach, fronting a marine reserve teeming with underwater life on Lord Howe Island
• Lord Howe Island was World Heritage-listed in 1982 for its rare collection of fauna, flora and marine life
• 700 km north-east of Sydney

Why go there

Like most things about Lord Howe Island, its beaches are in a class of their own. Neds Beach is a marine reserve, and one of our secret treasures. Put on a snorkel and mask, step into the water and look down as coloured wrasse, parrot fish and trevally swarm round your ankles in anticipation of a feed. Every evening these fish are hand fed by one of the locals in an island tradition that dates back over many years - when feeding time arrives, the water boils with sand mullet, salmon and kingfish, racing in to snap up the food.

The island has several beaches on its eastern and western sides, each very different. On the western side, Lagoon Beach is the island’s largest, curving around to embrace the shallow lagoon, which is mottled with the iridescent blue-green swirls of coral.

Further north there’s Old Settlement Beach, a tiny, secluded beach studded with big, sea-sculpted boulders. On the eastern side, south of Neds and close to the airport, Blinkys is the place to go for raging surf, set against a dramatic backdrop of sheer cliffs.

Don’t miss

• Sunrise from Signal Point, when the mountain peaks are wreathed in cloud.
• Scuba diving on the world’s most southerly coral reef.
• The walk through the palm trees from Neds to Malabar Hill.
• The Monday night fish fry at the Milky Way – and fish and chips on the beach.
• The full-day hike to the summit of Mount Gower – jaw-dropping views.
• Watching the migratory seabirds in their native habitat near Ned’s and Malabar Hill.