Tiger Tales

A Beach of All Reasons

 

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FOR OLD-FASHIONED CHARM

Glenelg, South Australia
Start your old-school outing with a tram ride from Adelaide to the beach, down a burger and a milkshake while perched on the end of the pier, then head to the Beach House for up-to-the-minute takes on vintage fun: dodgem cars, ferris wheels, carousels and water slides.
For more on the Beach House, visit www.thebeachhouse.com.au. For the Adelaide-to-Glenelg tram timetable, visit www.transadelaide.com.au

FOR TREADING LIGHTLY

Ninety Mile Beach, Victoria
This spot in Gippsland lives up to its name with 144km of uninterrupted, squeaky clean sand and picturesque dunes. While some sections offer excellent surf fishing, the National Park area protects more animals per square metre than any other marine habitat in the world.
For more on Ninety Mile Beach, visit www.parkweb.vic.gov.au

TO BE SEEN

Bondi Beach, New South Wales
Bondi Beach, and its retail and restaurant strip, Campbell Parade – both about seven km from the Sydney CBD – is “beautiful people central”. Says Sydney’s pre-eminent gossip columnist, Annette Sharp of the Daily Telegraph’s “Sydney Confidential”: “Film and TV stars and old rockers alike flock to the beach, disrobe and relax under the lenses of at least three paparazzi photographers. The early morning personal-training and boot-camp circuit can attract any number of unfit TV jocks at six AM and by nightfall the glamour set, dripping in fake tans and blonde tips, arrives to dine at the acclaimed restaurants off the promenade.”
For more on Bondi Beach, visit www.bondivillage.com

FOR WHALE WATCHING

Jervis Bay, Australian Capital Territory
When it comes to whale spotting, the east coast of Oz is spoiled. Nowhere is it better though, than at Jervis Bay – where a marine park plays migratory pit stop for humpbacks that travel up and down the coast from around June to mid-November. The sand here is also said to be the whitest in Australia.
For more on Jervis Bay, visit www.jervisbaytourism.com.au

FOR FOODIES

Noosa, Queensland
It’s known as “Melbourne in Shorts” for good reason. This Sunshine Coast charmer is giving Australia’s reigning foodie city a run for its crown. It helps that seemingly half of Melbourne’s chefs have shifted shop to Hastings Street, Noosa’s main drag. “You can throw your oyster shells into the water from Hastings,” says Jim Berardo of Berardo’s and Berardo’s on the Beach. “In Noosa too, there’s a real culture of paddock and ocean to the plate, an emphasis on local produce which means fresh and vibrant food, all eaten with that amazing view over glistening Laguna Bay or Main Beach.”
For more on Noosa, visit www.visitnoosa.com.au. To find out about the Noosa Food and Wine Festival, visit www.celebrationofaustralianfoodandwine. com.au

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FOR FAMILY FUN

Bulcock Beach, QLD
Located near Caloundra, “Bulcock is a calm water beach, with white sand and magnificent views across to Bribie Island and to the Glasshouse Mountains,” says Patricia Barry, secretary of the Ithaca Caloundra City Royal Lifesaving Club. “There’s beautiful turquoise sea and you can swim, fish, go boating, kite-sailing, windsurfing – it’s ideal.” It’s also home to dugongs and dolphins.
For more on Bulcock Beach, visit www.caloundratourism.com.au

FOR FISHING

Boyne Island, QLD
Located on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef, near Tannum Sands, this town is home to barramundi that are the stuff of anglers’ dreams.
For more on Boyne Island, visit www.boynetannum.com.au

FOR FISH AND CHIPS

Kangaroo Island, SA
Voted the world’s best fish-and-chips shop by … well … an Australian newspaper, Fish at Penneshaw on Kangaroo Island is all about that scrumptious beer batter. It’s open during the warmer months, October to April.
For more on Kangaroo Island, visit www.2birds1squid.com

FOR A RIGHT-HAND BREAK

Lennox Head, NSW
At the southern end of Seven Mile Beach in the Ballina shire of northern New South Wales, less than 90 minutes from the Gold Coast, Lennox Head offers access to Lennox Point, considered one of the world’s greatest surf spots. Known reverentially as “the Point”, it’s one of the country’s longest and most challenging breaks.
For more on Lennox Head, visit www.visitnsw.com

FOR NUDISTS

Sunnyside, VIC
If you’re going to get your kit off in public, best to do it legally. Pretty Sunnyside, near Mount Eliza outside Frankston, has been a favourite spot for “naturalists” for decades. The downside of its easy accessibility – there’s a carpark and toilet block adjacent to the dunes – is the occasional presence of “drive-by voyeurs”. But police patrols have been stepped up to protect this otherwise (naked) family-friendly spot.
For more on Sunnyside, visit www.visitvictoria.com

FOR AN EARLY-MORNING JOG

Coolangatta, QLD
Unbelievably, this little spot in the south-east corner of the state remains resistant to the over-the-top glitz and glam of some of its Gold Coast neighbours. Blessed with an amazing stretch of sand, crashing surf and plenty of fit young things from one of Australia’s oldest and most successful competitive surf lifesaving clubs, Coolie is the ideal place to clear the cobwebs after a big night in Surfers Paradise. Or head south to Tweed Heads and you’ll be over the border into NSW.
For more on Coolangatta, visit www.tq.com.au

FOR UNIQUE WILDLIFE

Rottnest Island, Western Australia
“Rotto” is popular with mainlanders who come to this little island, 19km from the Perth suburb of Fremantle, for its white sand beaches and laidback charm. The island’s car-free policy is great for visitors but it also makes for a relaxed local population of quokkas – tame, teacup-sized kangaroo-type critters with adorable little beaver ears and koala-like faces. There are excellent water sport options on the island, too. It welcomes nearly 500,000 visitors per year, most arriving by ferry or air taxi. For more on Rottnest Island, visit www.westernaustralia.com

FOR BRILLIANT TUNES

Byron Bay, NSW
Byron is famous for a lot of things but its music festivals are a must-do. Says Martin Jones, managing editor of Rhythms magazine: “Byron is unique in that it’s not too isolated – it’s about 30 minutes from Gold Coast Airport – it’s expansive enough to handle an influx of tourists, and yet it retains the feel of a small beachside village. There always seems to be another beach or restaurant or hinterland hideaway to discover, even FOR BRILLIANT TUNES when you live here. That’s what keeps Bluesfest fans returning each year, that and all the incredible music.”
For more on Byron Bay, visit www.byron-bay.com. For more on local music festivals, visit www.splendourinthegrass.com and www.bluesfest.com.au

OWEN WRIGHT’S TOP FFOR A RIGHT-HAND BREAKIVE BEACHES FOR SURFING

Boomerang Beach, NSW
“It’s just fun beach breaks, one of those beaches where you get ramps in the air. The sand’s pretty white and the ocean’s some of the clearest water going.”

Aussie Pipe, Black Rock, NSW
“It’s well-known to surfers – the home of the perfect wave.”

Bells Beach, VIC
“I had a heat against Kelly Slater in the Rip Curl Pro and I won. It was a special moment in my career. It was weird. I was like, did that just happen? It gets hit with massive swells and some really harsh weather but when it’s nice and clean it’s just a great wave.”

Lennox Head, NSW
“My favourite spot there would be South Wall, Ballina. South side of the break wall. It’s a really good left. And it’s really good for air.”

Culburra, South Coast, NSW
“It’s the place it all began. When I was growing up my best mate and I would go surfing every day before school.”

BACCHUS AND BUOYS

A beach for wine lovers Dromana, VIC This once humble holiday spot in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula is now well-heeled and is the go-to place for Victorian pinot noir and chardonnay. On the rugged slopes above the beach, more than 20 vintners produce some sensational wines. Cellar doors, restaurants and picnic points abound.

Duncan Buchanan grew up on the peninsula. He’s now chief winemaker at Dromana Estate. “I personally love pinot and chardonnay and it’s great to live and work in an area where they grow incredibly well,” he says. “I live in nearby McCrae, 200m from the beach. I’m a surfer and I go wherever the swell is but usually only 15 minutes away down to Gunnamatta. Plus, I love the country and there’s still this semirural thing down here. I also love live music and Melbourne’s band scene is less than an hour away.”

Apart from his own cellar door, Duncan recommends a “cheeky tipple” at the Dromana Hotel, where his mum worked when he was a kid. “A lot of the pubs on the peninsula have been done up. But the Dromana’s got no airs and graces and you can still get a “parma” (veal parmigiana, a classic Aussie pub meal) at AU$10/ S$12. Plus, you can see the water from the front balcony.” For more on Dromana and Gunnamatta, www.visitvictoria.com and www.dromanaestate.com.au