Old Settlement Beach, Lord Howe Island

Old Settlement Beach is the site of the original island settlement. Now cows graze the grassy flats behind the beach. The Lagoon road terminates at the east end of the beach where there is a shady picnic area and amenities. The 300 m long beach faces due south out of Hunter Bay with low calcarenite bluffs and rocks forming the east boundary, with basalt boulders and slopes of Dawsons Point rising to 120 m at the western end. The beach is well protected from waves by coral reefs, which extend 1.5 km seaward with waves averaging less than 0.3 m at the beach. The beach consists of a 20 m wide steep sandy high tide beach, fronted by shallow seagrass covered low tide flats, and a few stunted mangroves growing at the western end. In fact you can count on two hands the number of mangroves on the island, all located on the rock flats at the western end of the beach.