Malabar Landslide is one of three sites Nigel Marsh grouped together – with Sugarloaf and Roach Wall – as dives with 30 m visibility, Galapagos sharks, fusiliers, drummer and rare angelfish. It lies on the north coast beneath Malabar Hill, whose cliffs drop steeply into the sea, and the name suggests a reef formed from rockfall.

The Malabar area is volcanic rock with plateaus, swim-throughs and archways covered in hard corals, anemones and nudibranchs, according to Pro Dive. A landslide site adds jumbled boulders to that picture, creating gaps and overhangs where fish shelter and a rugged profile that attracts schooling fish. Galapagos sharks, fusiliers and drummer are the species Marsh highlights, along with the rare angelfish that Lord Howe is known for – the conspicuous and half-banded angelfish being the usual subtropical specialities.

The dive is a good alternative to the more sheltered Malabar reefs when divers want larger fish, and like the rest of the north coast it is protected from the south-east trades and southerly swell. It closes in northerly weather.

The exact position and depths are not published, so the figures here are taken from the Malabar area generally (10–21 m). It suits Open Water divers in calm conditions. Confirm the details with Dive Lord Howe. Being only about 15 minutes from the lagoon, it can be done as either dive of a morning double.

Lord Howe is reached only by air: QantasLink flies from Sydney daily (about 1 h 50 min), with Brisbane and seasonal Port Macquarie services. Accommodation must be booked before flights (visitor numbers are capped at about 400) and the checked-baggage limit is 14 kg, so most divers hire gear on the island. Dive Lord Howe's shop is at 2 Lagoon Road beside the Lagoon Beach boatsheds; most lodges transfer divers or it is a short bike ride.

Divers board the boat, which is moored in the lagoon, and leave the lagoon through North Passage, then turn east along the island's north coast between North Head and Fishy Point (below Malabar Hill). The run takes 10–15 minutes. The boat anchors on sand beside the reef or picks up a mooring where one is available.

Lord Howe sits in the path of the prevailing south-east to east trades and winter westerly fronts. The north coast between North Head and Fishy Point is protected from the prevailing south-east trades and from southerly and south-westerly swell, so it is one of the most reliable parts of the island and is dived in most weather. It is blown out by northerly and north-easterly winds and by north or north-west groundswell, which makes the caves and gutters surgy and pushes white water onto the cliffs.

The caves should be entered only when the swell is small. Visibility is usually 20–40 m. Diving is possible year-round, but the dive shop's main season runs September–June.

Descend to the boulder field and weave through the rocks at 12–18 m, watching the open water for Galapagos sharks and fusiliers and the boulders for angelfish. Return shallower to the anchor.

Dive Lord Howe (PADI 5-star, 2 Lagoon Road) – morning double boat dives daily in season, afternoon single dives on demand; site chosen on the day by wind and swell. Howea Divers has also advertised dives here.