Don't tell anyone about Cape Peterson!

It’s less than two hours from Melbourne, mostly on freeway or divided highway, and yet can be described as being “off the beaten track”. Despite being named in 1801 and coal being discovered here in 1826 (nine years before the founding of Melbourne), this spot maintains an air of appealing isolation.

Its beaches are quiet and tranquil – you never have to fight for a patch of clean sand, even in the busiest holiday seasons. There are three beaches within a few minutes walk of one another. The protected bay beach comes complete with a “Royal” life saving club and a kiddies swimming pool blasted into the rocks in a bygone age. The first surf beach is overlooked by a surf life saving club, while the second is windswept with a swell coming in from Bass Strait at 90 degrees to that of the first surf beach, to maximise the chance of good surf whatever the weather.

You can marvel at the profusion of life in the rock pools uncovered at low tide as you walk between the beaches, and at high tide you can enjoy majestic views from one of several cliff-top nature walks. Located beside a marine park, this spot is less than an hour from Victoria’s premier national park, Wilson’s Promontory.

A cliff-top scenic drive, complete with an off-shore rock stack, hidden beaches and fantastic views, links my secret unheard-of holiday spot to the up-market bars, cafés and boutique stores of Inverloch and the quiet fishing and boating on Anderson’s Inlet.

If academic pursuits are more to your liking, there’s a dinosaur dig not far away and plenty of history including one of Victoria’s earliest coal mines at nearby Wonthaggi.

Facilities include two general stores, a tavern, a caravan park, tennis courts and numerous permanent and holiday properties to buy or rent, as well as a bus service. Restaurants, supermarkets, banking, additional sporting facilities, a major provincial shopping centre and medical facilities including a hospital are only ten minutes away.

My secret spot is surrounded by well-known holiday locations such as Philip Island, Inverloch, Venus Bay and Wilson’s Promontory but is rarely mentioned as one of Victoria’s top holiday spots. Despite such attractions the tag “off the beaten track” is indeed accurate. I’ve even seen a satellite navigation system showing the car going across paddocks when the driver took the ten minute drive on the sealed road which runs straight from Wonthaggi – one of Victoria’s major regional cities – to my secret unheard-of Australian holiday spot . . . Cape Paterson.