Where are the best beaches in Australia?
ONLY one Tasmanian beach made the cut and an unknown beach has taken out the top spot in a new list that ranks the cream of the country’s spectacular coastline.
VISITING Australia’s best beach is not quite as simple as throwing the kids in the car and setting off.
The top-ranked spot on Brad Farmer’s list of Australia’s 101 Best Beaches for 2017 is a four-and-a-half hour flight from Perth in the Indian Ocean.
The newly christened “Cossies Beach” on Cocos Keeling Island is closer to Indonesia than Australia but in 1984 the inhabitants voted to become part of the land down under.
Named in honour of Australia’s Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Mr Farmer said Cossies was “as near to perfect as a beach can be”.
The founder of Ocean Care Day and the Surfriders Foundation, Mr Farmer spent five months researching Australia’s 11,761 beaches to compile his list with the help of Sydney University coastal studies expert Professor Andrew Short.
He said the key criteria for making the list was the location had to possess “authentic and compelling attributes” along with a beach one would recommend to a friend.
“Beaches are the number one attraction for international visitors to Australia and the pride of every Australian,” said Mr Farmer.
“With Australia’s tourism industry growing three times faster than the Australian economy, all beaches play a vital role.”
Others to make the top 10, were Nudey Beach on Fitzroy Island off Cairns in Far North Queensland, Moonee Beach on the Coffs Coast of New South Wales, Turquoise Bay in Western Australia and the more familiar Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast.
Maslin Beach in Adelaide, Dolly Beach on Christmas Island, Shelly Beach in NSW, Boat Harbour Beach in Tasmania and Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road in Victoria also ranked highly.
Sydney scored two mentions in the top 20 with Garie Beach and Camp Cove, and popular tourist sites like Surfers Paradise, Mooloolaba, Broadbeach and Noosa Main Beach did not make the list at all.
Tourism Australia managing director John O’Sullivan said the extensive coastline served up a multitude of options when it came to nominating the best beaches.
“We know that 70 per cent of our international visitors enjoy an aquatic or coastal experience as part of their trip to Australia,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“In fact, as part of our latest global campaign push we are telling the world why “There’s nothing like Australia” for the breadth, depth and quality of aquatic and coastal experiences our country has to offer and 101 Best Beaches is another way for us to share these in a very authentic and compelling way.”
Cocos Keeling Island marketing manager Rik Soderlund said the 600 island inhabitants were blown away by their inclusion on the list, given they were rarely even considered part of Australia.
“It’s the first time we’ve really had the spotlight on us,” said Mr Soderlund.
“Having said that, we knew we were in with a good chance because when Brad visited, he literally had goosebumps when he first stepped foot on Cossies Beach.”
Despite the attention, Mr Soderlund said he was not concerned about Cocos being overrun by tourists and losing its pristine appeal.
“The word’s going to be out there and our secret little gem will be in the national spotlight but we just don’t have the capacity for a lot of tourists,” he said.
MORE TOP AUSSIE BEACHES:
Originally published as Where are the best beaches in Australia?
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