Mallacoota  Victoria

If abalone tops your seafood favourites, then Mallacoota is your kind of town. This seaside resort and fishing town on Mallacoota inlet on the Gippsland coast is famed throughout the land for the quality of its fish and its abalone are a specialty. Backed by the 86,000ha Croajingolong National Park, which shares 100km of pristine coastline, Mallacoota also offers scenic bushwalks and a chance to do a spell of bird-watching. The park, in fact, is famous for its spring bloom of wildflowers, especially its 70-plus species of native orchids. And if you fancy just sitting back and enjoying the singular scenery, you can hop aboard one of the chartered cruisers that ply the lake and rivers.

Just offshore, Gabo Island and its indispensable lighthouse invariably play vital navigational roles during the annual, Sydney to Hobart bluewater sailing classic. The peak at nearby Genoa provides magnificent views while spectacular surfing beaches adorn the area. Twenty-four kilometres to the north lies Genoa, the last Princes Highway town in Victoria before you cross the border into NSW.