Things to Do in Mallacoota with Kids: Boats, Rock Pools and Gabo

Mallacoota Hireboats is family-run and has been going since 2012. Grant Cockburn hires out kayaks, SUPs and pedal boats as well as power boats. Short hires: single kayaks from $30, and pedal boats at $10 a half hour. A double kayak is $70 for a half day (4 hours). No boat licence is needed for the kayaks, SUPs or pedal boats.

Hireboats is at 10 Buckland Drive, with the jetty at M38 Coulls Inlet, open seven days, 7:30am to 6pm. Phone 0474 818 058.

Out on the water, the inlet has white-bellied sea eagles, pelicans, black swans, cormorants and azure kingfishers. For an early start, Double Creek Arm is a sheltered arm of the inlet, good for a sunrise paddle among overhanging trees and birdlife. Stingrays are common over the inlet's sand flats, so look where you're walking when you get in and out in the shallows. Our kayaking guide has more places to paddle.

If the whole family wants to go out together, Mallacoota Barbie Boats hires barbie boats that are stable and suit families and groups of all ages. You don't need a licence to drive one, and they have to stay inside the inlet. Hire comes with life jackets, a 15-minute safety briefing and an inlet map, and fishing gear is available on request. A half day (4 hours) is $250. Enquiries go through scallywagsmallacoota.com.au/barbieboats, and our barbie boat guide has the details.

Kids can fish off the jetties and the Main Wharf, in sheltered water with no boat needed. The Main Wharf is at the northern end of Buckland Drive, with a public boat ramp and fish-cleaning tables. Mallacoota Hireboats hires fishing rods at $10 a day, and tackle and bait can be found at the Caltex & BP service station as well as IGA.

Flathead fire in the warmer months, roughly November to April, and bream are caught year-round. A Victorian Recreational Fishing Licence is needed for fresh and saltwater fishing, and you can buy one online. Under-18s are among the exemptions, so the kids don't need one. Our Mallacoota fishing guide covers the rest.

Quarry Beach is about 10 minutes' drive south of town. It's known for colourful rock formations and rock pools, and the rock pools are best explored, and snorkelled, at low tide on a calm day. Pack masks and shoes with grip for the rocks.

A sea cave at the northern end of Secret Beach can only be reached safely at low tide. Secret Beach is about 7 km south of town along Betka Road, then a short walk and stairs down to the sand. It isn't patrolled, and swimming there can be dangerous because of rough waves and rips, so treat it as one for exploring. Check the tide times the night before. Our Secret Beach and Quarry Beach guide has more.

The Double Creek Nature Walk is an easy 1 km loop through warm temperate rainforest, about 8 km from Mallacoota, with a picnic ground. Lyrebirds are common, and koalas are possible. Dogs aren't allowed on the walk.

Genoa Falls is just off the Princes Highway about 4 km west of Genoa. It's a short walk with stairs, about 800 m return, to small falls spilling over wide rock shelves. Water dragons are often seen there in warm weather. The rocks can be slippery, and there are no toilets or picnic tables, so bring what you need. See our Genoa Falls guide and our Mallacoota walks guide.

On Gabo you see the lighthouse, sometimes little penguins, and fur seals on nearby Little Gabo. The lighthouse, built 1858 to 1862, is 47 m of local pink granite and the second-tallest lighthouse in Australia. Lighthouse tours climb the tower's 196 steps.

You reach Gabo by boat or light plane, weather permitting, and you have to book. Mallacoota Lake Adventures runs Gabo Island tours for groups of 3 to 4 at $250 a head; they take about 4 hours and depend on the weather. Wilderness Coast Charters also runs Gabo trips: phone 0417 398 068. We can pass on contact details for the Gabo Island boat operators. Our Gabo Island guide covers the trip.

At Betka Beach, the Betka River meets the sea. When the river mouth is closed, the lagoon is shallow and still, and the ocean side has surf, rocks and currents. Before anyone swims in the surf, check beachsafe.org.au, which lists each Mallacoota beach with its hazard rating and live patrol information. Our swimming guide covers the other beaches.

Mallacoota has a public library at the Foreshore Caravan Park office. The Mallacoota RSL Bunker Museum is on Airport Road, inside a WWII operations bunker built in 1942 as an RAAF Advanced Operations Base. Its displays cover coastal defence, ships attacked off the south-east coast in WWII, and the 29 aircraft types that used the airfield. It opens Tuesdays 9:30am to 12pm and Sundays 1 to 3pm, so check ahead. For more ideas, see things to do in Mallacoota.