Point Danger, Torquay

Point Danger is the low limestone headland that splits Torquay in two. On one side, the sheltered water of Front Beach and Cosy Corner. On the other, Torquay Surf Beach and the open coast running off towards Jan Juc and Bells. You'll end up here sooner or later, even if it's only to look.

There's a lookout on top, Torquay's war memorial, a rock platform that comes out at low tide, and a small marine sanctuary around the reef. The Joseph H. Scammell struck that reef in 1891. What you can see now are the anchors on shore, covered in the shipwreck anchors guide. It's an easy hour or two with kids, a good spot for a snorkel on a calm summer day, and a lovely place to stand at sunset and look back along the coast.

From Holyday House in north Torquay it's 5 to 10 minutes in the car. Or walk it: the Surf Coast Walk follows the foreshore from Whites Beach, past Yellow Bluff, all the way to the headland. It's a bit over 4 km and flat the whole way.

The water around the headland is a marine sanctuary, protected since 2002. Parks Victoria and the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority put it at about 21.7 hectares, running from the high-water mark around Point Danger out roughly 600 m east and 400 m south. Most of it is less than 7 m deep, but it still cops the open-ocean swell and currents.

It's small, but there's a lot going on. The intertidal limestone platform has 26 species of marine plants, including Neptune's necklace (the little brown beads you'll see everywhere), and more than 44 kinds of invertebrates, mostly living under rocks. Around 96 species of sea slug have been recorded here, many of them found only in this part of the world.

On a calm day with not much swell, the reef here is a good snorkel. Expect kelp, reef fish, sea slugs and invertebrates. Parks Victoria lists weedy seadragons and dolphins among the common sightings, and eagle rays often cruise over the sand. Summer usually brings the calmest seas.

The catch is the swell. The sanctuary is exposed to southerly and south-westerly swell, and conditions can change quickly. Look at it from the lookout first. If there's whitewater breaking over the reef, it's not a snorkel day. Parks Victoria also warns about strong currents and undertow, so go with a buddy, wear a wetsuit (the water's cold most of the year), and stay close to shore. Diving is for trained, experienced divers only.

A few safety basics: stay back from the cliff edges and away from their base, keep an eye out for big unexpected waves on the platform, and keep little ones within arm's reach on the rocks. Our family holiday guide has more easy days out.