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ONE of Australia's best beaches may also be one of South Australia's best-kept secrets.
Vivonne Bay - on Kangaroo Island's south coast, 50km from Kingscote - has been named as one of the best beaches in the nation by the foremost expert in beaches in Australia, Andy Short.
Professor Short, who is an associate professor and director of the Marine Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, has spent the past 12 years studying and detailing more than 10,000 beaches in the nation.
"My subjectivity is having seen every single beach," he said. "So I've seen every beach and, based on the criteria I use I would rate Vivonne Bay."
The criteria Professor Short uses includes the beach being remote but accessible, having limited or no development on the foreshore, a range of coastal scenery and good surf conditions.
"At Vivonne Bay, the western end is a little sheltered port with quite low waves, whereas the surf gets bigger as you get up the beach (east)," he said.
"While there is limited development at Vivonne Bay, it is set back and is behind the dune so it is invisible from the beach.
"I think it has got very nice white sand and clean water which gives it a beautiful clear look when you look down on the beach. "That's what appeals to me but it won't appeal to everybody."
Kangaroo Island Council Mayor Jackie Kelly said Vivonne Bay was just one of the island's beautiful beaches. "We are full of beautiful beaches and there is no doubt Vivonne Bay has a beautiful beach," Mrs Kelly said. "Tourism-wise, we do tend to promote the coastline but there is more emphasis on the flora and fauna. But the coastline is one of our greatest assets."