A spiritedly named bay

To prepare for this 'Prom,' you're better off buying a good pair of hiking shoes than booking a limo. 'The Prom' is a local nickname for Wilsons Promontory National Park, which covers 125,000 acres in the southernmost part of Australia's mainland. The ocean-washed mirror in our photo is Whisky Bay, one of many tucked-away beaches on the peninsula, located about 10 miles from South Point (the park's aptly named southern extremity). Reachable by a short yet rugged ramble, the beach is bound by wave-sculpted boulders that frame expansive views of the Bass Strait. The small islands visible from here are part of a protected area for seabirds, and the waters in between make up a large marine reserve.