An Australian professor has just completed what to many people would be the dream academic assignment – to find the best beach in the whole of Australia.
The Guardian newspaper reports that Andrew Short has spent an incredible 17 years visiting some 11,011 beaches around the country’s 16,000-mile coastline – and eventually plumping for Vivonne Bay, on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of South Australia.
Professor Short, who is described as a “keen surfer”, chose the beach because of its consistent surf and mild currents.
The research had more serious side – Short had now compiled a directory for Surf Life Savers Australia, grading each beach according to the power of its waves, the strength of its currents and the incidence of underwater rocks.
The vast majority of the beaches he visited are unknown to the public; less than half were accessible by car, and around half of those could only be reached using a four-wheel drive vehicle.
The Guardian reports that of those beaches that received a “10 out of 10” danger rating, only one has a name – Termination Beach, on Queensland’s Cape Catastrophe.
Short reportedly said that despite the 17 years of hardship, he was “not yet jaded with beach life”, adding: “It has been a pleasure the whole way through”.
It’s tough at the top …
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad
