While many Australians flock to the coast as seachangers, they end up as cave-dwellers just as they were in the crowded, polluted, crime-ridden cities they left behind.

Data from the 1996 national Census reveals the fastest-growing parts of the nation are located on the coast, a few hours' drive from our capital cities. Meanwhile a study by Morgan and Banks found that 66 per cent of males aged 45 and over were likely to become SeaChangers, leaving the city to escape the daily routine of city life.