Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by still here » Fri Jan 30, 2015 12:48 pm

Flew over Flinders in December . Saw really good looking surf set up (mainly long righthander but possibly decent left off the other side of it ) , and unreal beaches and coves and small islands/rock outcrops etc .... fishing must be just too good ! .... put it on the bucket list .

Anyway , Lord Howe is super special . Took board but the middle reefs were not really going .... and its a LONG way out , and hard to get lift out/not keen to stay there while you surf / aussie prices etc. . Mostly they suggest hire a kayak , tow your board behind and sort of anchor it up on the inside of the fringinging reef when you get there , then paddle round and through the pass . I'd read about the water movement outwards on dropping tides , friend saw heaps of bulls and tigers on a shark dive ..... and I'll say it again it's faarkin far way out on your own , ..... well I just skipped that idea .

Surfed Neds beach on my own , sort of OK but nothing special . You can hand feed and stroke 30 kg kingy's and huge trevally in knee deep water there too which is awesome .

There are is one insane surf reef set up much closer to shore , (and another sort of ok distance ) but they're going to need huge swell and perfect direction to get in there ..... but I've seen absolutely magic footage of it looking perfect . Just didnt happen when I was there .

Perfect choice for your anniversary type trip ,awesome snorkelling / diving , good fishing , epic hiking and mountain grind , paradisical vegetation and seriously crazy birdlife , cycle around ,a couple good restaurants actually too . I know the surf gets epic , but you'll need luck to score the infrequent" best wave set up" , and some balls to surf the more consistent outside middles left reef on your own .... or more likely get sloppyish average waves at Ned's .

The place is a slice of heaven though .

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swvic
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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by swvic » Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:39 am

Thanks, sh. All the accounts are keeping me pretty amped. Yesterday I spoke to a guy at work who's been twice. Reckons a 3rd visit is always on his mind. He surfs but hasn't there

Bulls? Them cnuts are the ones. I'd always thought them confined to the coastal regions of larger land masses. Other than their capacity to osmoregulate, I'm not really sure why

Flinders is still on the list for sure. Would love to pick a good time based on the forecast and hit it with a mate or two. Alas, those things are pretty much beyond my means
marcus wrote:and that vicco dude, whatsisname?

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swvic
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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by swvic » Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:11 am

Sloppyish average waves at Ned's was what I got. Met a guy who loaned me a board. Young guy in the water said the point gets very good and holds 6 to 8 ft

The reefs were big enough for the 1st couple of days, but the wind was 30 knots plus. Nobody was surfing. The setup looks pretty good though

Perfect place for the occasion. Even though it was only a few days it felt like a good break. Would love to go back because there's so much to see and do. Loved it
marcus wrote:and that vicco dude, whatsisname?

alakaboo
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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by alakaboo » Mon Mar 02, 2015 2:16 pm

Bull sharks pup in fresh or brackish water so you were right

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swvic
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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by swvic » Mon Mar 02, 2015 3:50 pm

Plenty of sharks in the lagoon. Just Galapagos Whalers. All the locals I spoke with confirmed the abundance of Tigers outside the reefs. It's a wonder they aren't always at Ned's where they feed the Kingys. Also looking for a free feed are trevally, mullet, and a couple of other species I'm not familiar with

The whalers were great to swim with. Unlike black and white tips, they don't get spooked when you get real close and seemed just as inquisitive as I was
marcus wrote:and that vicco dude, whatsisname?

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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by diggerdickson » Mon Mar 09, 2015 11:22 pm

any pics swvic, would love to see some.
no, Im not a surfer, Im just a garbage man".

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chrisb
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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by chrisb » Tue Mar 10, 2015 4:46 pm

When I was there in 1999 a local told me that a kid while feeding the fish at Neds Beach was bitten on the leg by a small whaler shark. He was hospitalised and required skin grafts.

There are certainly sharks at Lord Howe Island but the tourist brochures will never mention that.

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swvic
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Re: Flinders Island is now Lord Howe Island

Post by swvic » Wed Mar 11, 2015 4:35 pm

Heard the story about the kid getting bitten. Apparently the food then was the waste of cleaned fish. They banned it and since reinstatement the food is pellets which they sell to suckers via a bubble-gum vending machine

Haven't done anything with the pics yet, digger, they're still just on mrs swvic's camera. Could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure there's none of the fish unless she took some while I was "surfing" at the other end of the beach
marcus wrote:and that vicco dude, whatsisname?

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