Ten Aussie beaches that are brilliant without getting wet

Australia's longest beach runs 194km from Cape Jaffa to the Mouth of the Murray River, mainly along South Australia's Younghusband Peninsula. You can drive along it, but you might be better off taking a cruise from Goolwa, walking over the peninsula's dunes, then using your feet to dig for pipis. There are so many pipis – or Coorong cockles – here that they are commercially harvested. See spiritofthecoorong.com.au

Mon Repos Beach, Queensland

14km north-east of Bundaberg, Mon Repos is one of the world's most important nesting sites for loggerhead turtles. Come between November and March, and special ranger-guided tours take you on to the sand to watch the turtle circle of life. Early in the season, mother turtles haul themselves up the beach to give birth. Later on, hundreds of tiny hatchlings fight through the sand and scuttle into the sea. See parks.des.qld.gov.au

Monkey Mia Beach, Western Australia

Dugong-spotting cruises leave from the beach at Monkey Mia, but the main reason to visit this Shark Bay beach is the dolphin-feeding. Over the years, wild dolphins have grown to trust humans here, and they come up to the beach for a strictly-regulated feed. Get lucky, and you'll be chosen to hand the fish over to the eager dolphin in the shallows. See parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au

St Kilda Beach, Melbourne

No-one's going to pretend St Kilda Beach is the prettiest in the world. But there's so much going on around it, that looks don't matter all that much. The rides and rollercoasters are the obvious alternative entertainment to going in the sea, but you've also got playgrounds, parklands, gardens, sea baths and restaurants competing for attention. Then, in the evening, there's the chance to watch St Kilda's penguin colony waddle to shore along the breakwater.

Palm Beach, Sydney

The northernmost beach in Sydney provides possibly the most beautiful beach walk in Australia. The beach gets quieter and quieter as you follow it along to the Barrenjoey Lighthouse at the top of the Barrenjoey Peninsula. Palmy also has the bonus of celeb-spotting – it doubles as Summer Bay in Home and Away and the cast are frequently spotted filming here.

Stockton Beach, New South Wales

32km long and backed by dunes that wouldn't look out of place in the Sahara, Stockton Beach is the extremely sandy bottom end to the Port Stephens region. It is also a quad biker's dream, with all-terrain vehicles merrily bobbing up and down the dunes. Sand Dune Adventures broadens the scope somewhat with a tour that combines quad-biking, Aboriginal culture and whizzing down the dunes on sandboards. See sandduneadventures.com.au

Cable Beach, Broome

Broome's most famous beach is another one that you can drive all over, but there's another way to get around – camels. Broome Camel Safaris is among several operators offering camel riding jaunts along Cable Beach.

The enormous Kimberley tides also make Cable Beach a bit different. If the tide is out when the sun is setting, the twinkling red-orange reflections in the pools of the tidal flats looks fantastic. See broomecamelsafaris.com.au

North Beach, Wollongong

North Beach is a pretty good beach by anyone's standards. But it depends how you get there. North Beach is one of several beaches around Australia – there are others in Mission Beach, Queensland, and Jurien Bay, Western Australia – that doubles as a skydive drop zone. In this case, Skydive Australia will chuck you out of a plane from up to 15,000ft, then bring you to earth on the sand. See skydive.com.au

Disclosure: David Whitley has been a guest of Tourism Australia and the state tourism boards

See also: The 10 places you need to visit before international tourists come back

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