Pine Point

Strung along the coast road between Ardrossan and Port Vincent, Pine Point is easy to drive past — and that would be a mistake if there are crabs about. The shallow, warm flats in front of the settlement are classic blue swimmer country, and on a summer low tide you'll see families out with rakes and buckets doing the time-honoured Yorke crab shuffle.

Like nearly every settlement on this coast, Pine Point began as a working port, shipping wool, grain and timber from its little jetty in the ketch days. The trade is long gone, but the town has settled comfortably into its second life as a holiday spot: a safe, gently shelving beach for kids, good whiting and snapper grounds offshore, and a boat ramp with launch permits available from the caravan park on Main Coast Road.

It's the kind of place where the day's big decisions are tide-driven. For a longer outing, the jetties at Port Vincent and Ardrossan are each about ten minutes away.