Malabar Third Reef is another of the named Malabar sites Nigel Marsh logged with Dive Lord Howe. He describes ledges and caves with morays, spiny lobsters, slipper lobsters and nudibranchs – and, memorably, 25 black-blotched stingrays on one dive. That last detail makes it one of the more unusual sites on the north coast.

Black-blotched stingrays are large rays that rest on sand patches near reefs and often gather in groups. At Malabar Third Reef the sand at the base of the reef provides that habitat, while the ledges and caves in the reef itself hold lobsters and morays. The wider Malabar area is volcanic rock with plateaus, swim-throughs and archways covered in plate and table corals, with anemones and nudibranchs throughout, and depths from 10 to 21 m according to Pro Dive.

This is an easy dive for most divers. The north coast is sheltered from the prevailing south-east trades and southerly swell, and the modest depth gives long bottom times. It suits Open Water divers and anyone interested in rays, crustaceans or macro photography. The number of stingrays will vary, but the ledges and caves are reliable.

The exact position and depth are not published, so the figures here are taken from the Malabar area generally. Ask Dive Lord Howe whether it is on the rotation during your visit; with more than 350 sites surveyed around the island, not every named site is dived every week. Like the other Malabar reefs, it is closed by northerly winds and swell.

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 reef and work along the ledges and caves, checking each for lobsters and morays, and scanning the sand at the reef base for black-blotched stingrays. Return along the reef top 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.