Top ten Australian Beaches

Getaway takes a look at the best of Australia's beaches!

Number One is straight off the cover of a Queensland tourist brochure - Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island.
For a cruisey way to get there, take a day's yacht trip from the mainland town of Shute Harbour.

Cable Beach near Broome in WA comes second and it's the kind of beach where people spend a lot of time.
The crocodile farm is a short crawl away and if you make your way to the rocks at Cabel's southern end, you'll find dinosaur footprints in them. It's around $130 for a resort room next to the sand or $13 at the local backpackers.

Four Mile Beach near Port Douglas in Queensland washes up in third place.
And it's safe swimming all year round because part of it's netted between November and May to keep out the stingers.

Number four is Eastern Beach on Fraser Island.
But you might have to dodge the traffic, because it's officially classified as a road.
So if you don't have your own four-wheel drive, hire one from the mainland and ferry it across.

Number five, the beaches of Byron Bay in northern NSW.
You'll find 50km stretches of sand as well as small secluded bays and, if you're lucky, you'll share the waves with the dolphins.

Number six is Shell Beach, which runs for more than 100km along the coast near Monkey Mia in WA.
And 10m down, the shells are so tightly packed they can be carved into building blocks.

Wineglass Bay on Tasmania's Freycinet Peninsula is at number seven and it isn't easy to reach by land.
So, if you don't fancy the hour-long walk, take a boat and see some of the peninsula on the way.

Stay in Tassie for number eight and the friendly beaches.
It's national park, so if you want to drive to the campsite, you'll need a permit for the car.

At nine, Sorrento, south of Melbourne, the rich and fashionable pay about $500 a night for place like this, while the rest of us can pitch a tent by the sand.

Four hours south of Sydney, Pebbly Beach may be 10th, but you can't beat it for animal magnetism. Roos and local bird life can't resist the free feed and with no electricity on the campsite, you'll really get back to nature.

Cool Beach of the World Special thank you to Source from: ninemsn and WORLD TRAVEL