QUEENSLAND’S SECRET BEACHES

FROM WHITEHAVEN BEACH with its seven-kilometre strip of squeaky silica sand, so fine you can use it to polish your jewellery, to Snapper Rocks’ pro-surfer training ground, and Fraser Island’s infamous beach highway where 4WDs cruise the line between waves and dunes at 80 kilometres an hour, Queensland’s famous favourites are as well known in Biarritz as they are in Bendigo. But if you prefer throwing down your towel where the only footprints to be found are your own, there are plenty of beaches that fly under the radar but are just as swoon-worthy. From the NSW border to the pointy tip of Australia, we’ve uncovered our favourite lesser-known beauties.

PLAN B NEAR A-BAY: WINCH COVE, SUNSHINE COAST

WINCH COVE (pictured left) , just short of ‘A-Bay’ (see below), is a gem among the many sparklers that Noosa National Park boasts. While surfers come for the challenging