From the country’s prettiest ocean pools, set like gems into sandstone rock shelves, to the copper tones of the Kimberley on the frayed edges of WA, our coastline inspires endless awe.
This article is part of our 100 Australian Wonders series. Throughout the series, we explore our nation’s wonders across culture, nature, food, islands and many more. We hope it inspires your own exploration of Australia’s many wonders.
1. Kimberley Coast, WA
Travelling with: Fleur Bainger
A cruise taking in the Kimberley’s cinnamon-red cliffs, crocodile-dotted rivers and diamond-scatter of islands remains one of life’s great trips.
The combination of incomprehensible age, beauty and wonder on water is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime experience, especially when reaching name-drop destinations like Horizontal Falls, the rising-from-the-ocean Montgomery Reef and the 80-metre-plummet of King George Falls.
It’s not the only way to reach the Kimberley’s extremities, of course. With the Broome to Cape Leveque Road now fully sealed, remote coastal escapes can be accessed via 4WD and in some cases, 2WD.
Aboriginal-owned Mercedes Cove Exclusive Coastal Retreat, which maxes out at 18 guests, beckons with clifftop safari tents.
Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm’s new safari tent circle is hotel-standard and lures with Aboriginal-led tours of the tidal flats and otherwise-inaccessible islands.
The red sands of the Kimberley contrast with the cerulean seas at Broome’s Roebuck Bay. (Image: Tourism Western Australia/From Miles Away)
2. Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk, NSW
Travelling with: Carla Grossetti
The Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk spaghettis six kilometres along the cliffs, bays and beaches of Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The path that follows the scalloped shoreline provides a spectacle that changes with the many moods of the sea and sky and is one that residents of the city are justifiably proud of. In fact, it’s considered one of Sydney’s greatest assets.
Take a plunge at Bondi Icebergs. (Image: Destination NSW/Daniel Tran)
Bondi was named after Boondi, the Aboriginal word meaning ‘the noise made by sea waves’. And it’s those crashing waves that continue to capture the imagination of locals and tourists who drift along the winding boulevard from Bondi beholding the bird’s-eye view.
Follow the path from Bondi to Coogee in Sydney. (Image: Destination NSW/Lawrence Furzey)
3. Australia’s waves
Travelling with: Celeste Mitchell
We all know Australia has a reputation for its pretty stellar surf breaks. Surf culture is ingrained in everything from our cafes to the local lingo, and breaks such as Bells, Snapper and Kalbarri offer more than just a place to catch a few sets.
Surf Snapper Rocks at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Sean Scott)
Which is why, over the last 30 years, 21 National Surfing Reserves have been declared in Australia as places of ‘intrinsic environmental, heritage, sporting and cultural value to our nation’. It’s as much about protecting these sandy spots of worship as it is about the community around them. It’s also empowering for those who love and use our beaches to have a say in how they’re managed.
4. Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, SA
Travelling with: Imogen Eveson
One of Australia’s most extraordinary wildlife encounters lies in wait on the wild southern coast of the country’s third largest island. A Kangaroo Island trip is incomplete without padding your way down through the sand dunes to Seal Bay, home to Australia’s third-largest colony of Australian sea lions.
Pups play in the sand and surf, bulls fight for supremacy and mothers rest with their young. Seal Bay has been a protected area since 1954 and the population of this endangered species numbers 1000 here.
The rugged shoreline of Seal Bay has been a protected area since 1954. (Image: Kangaroo Island Tourism Alliance)
Head to the visitor centre to follow a guide to the heart of the colony on the beach (from a safe and respectful distance) while learning about the unique breeding cycle of these magnificent wild creatures and the site’s ongoing research programs. You can also observe the action from the self-guided and wheelchair-accessible boardwalk that winds through the dunes.
A visit to Seal Bay with a guide from Southern Ocean Lodge is also a highlight of a stay at the newly relaunched luxury accommodation that puts guests in the wild heart of this wild island.
See a resident sea lion at Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island. (Image: Imogen Eveson)
5. Ocean pools of NSW
Travelling with: Imogen Eveson
NSW’s coastline has its own architectural vernacular etched into surf-hammered rock all up and down its saw-toothed length.
Newcastle’s heritage-listed Bogey Hole is the state’s oldest ocean pool, originally built by convicts in 1819 for the personal use of Major James Morisset. Unemployment relief and funding for public works programs during the Depression resulted in a subsequent boom of ocean-pool-building in the 1920s and ’30s, as coast-dwellers embraced these safe spaces for saltwater swimming, with some 100 constructed since.
Over time, these pools have become part of the landscape – each shape and size idiosyncratic to its location, from Yamba to Forster, Bondi, Wollongong, Bermagui and Eden.
A liminal space straddling the manmade and natural that speaks not only to a part of Australia’s history but reflects the social and cultural landscape of the country at leisure.
Take a refreshing dip at Aslings Beach Rock Pool in Eden. (Image: Destination NSW/ Dee Kramer)
6. Cod Hole Dive Site, Qld
Travelling with: Carla Grossetti
Potato cods are members of Australia’s ‘Great Eight’ shortlist, which includes iconic species of the southern Great Barrier Reef. Named after the large, round potato-shaped markings on their body, these giant spuds of the sea are actually members of the grouper family.
And the best place to see them is at the world-renowned Cod Hole Dive Site, some 96 kilometres north of Cairns. The Cod Hole is part of a string of long, narrow ribbon reefs that necklace the waters of the Coral Sea and is most accessible from Lizard Island in Tropical North Queensland.
Challenge yourself to enter the water at night, where the inky darkness ups the underwater thrills. Or join a five-night adventure with Mike Ball Dive Expeditions.
Dive beneath the surface to explore the world-renowned Cod Hole Dive Site. (Image: Tourism and Events Queensland/ Tom Park)
7. Cable Beach, WA
Travelling with: Fleur Bainger
Broome’s 22-kilometre-long stretch of pale, blonde sand is synonymous with camel trains throwing shadows at day’s end.
But it’s so much more than that. Flat as a tack and lapped by water the hue of Chris Hemsworth’s eyes, Cable Beach harbours the imprints of dinosaur footprints in its rocks, hosts light-strung, long-table dinners in balmy air and grants citrus-hued sunsets that linger in the memory like a lost love. It represents escape, freedom and happiness; children delight in pearls of sand deposited by beach crabs darting between burrows, while adults relax in beach chairs with their 4WDs parked on the sand.
Above the dunes, Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa grants the closest access to the iconic beach – arrive early for seats at its Sunset Bar.
Further back, the newly opened, Aboriginal co-owned Spinifex Brewing Co. adds another lure, with its native produce-infused, low-alcohol craft brews, Indigenous botanical food forest and family-friendly vibes.
Ride a camel on the pristine Cable Beach. (Image: Tourism Western Australia)
8. Esperance from the air, WA
Travelling with: Celeste Mitchell
There’s beauty in isolation. In the untouched, lurid blue coastline of Kepa Kurl/Esperance, where you can play I-spy with dozens of white-sand beaches just an hour after take-off with Fly Esperance.
Experience Esperance from the air.
This coastal wonderland, almost an eight-hour drive from Perth, takes on an altogether more mesmerising form from the air as you fly over the peaks of Cape Le Grand National Park and the mostly uninhabited islands of the Recherche Archipelago.
Get acquainted with the emerald and sapphire swirls from above then drive along the sands to Lucky Bay. If you spot a kangaroo, you’ve got yourself the Esperance trifecta.
Esperance’s emerald and sapphire swirls are stunning from above.
9. Orcas of Bremer Bay, WA
Travelling with: Carla Grossetti
Budding marine biologists can sign up for a marine expedition to Bremer Bay for a bucket-list encounter to see killer whales in the wild. Bremer Bay Canyon is 70 clicks offshore from the township of Bremer Bay and it’s where the largest pod of orcas in the southern hemisphere gathers each year.
While the prime time for spotting orcas in Bremer Bay is from late January through to April, it’s likely you’ll encounter other marine species such as sperm whales, giant squid, sharks and shoals of tuna, too.
Hit the water with Naturaliste Charters, part of the diverse Australian Wildlife Journeys portfolio.
Spot orcas in Bremer Bay. (Image: Tourism Australia)
10. wukalina Walk, Tas
Travelling with: Megan Arkinstall
Learn about larapuna/Bay of Fires from the perspective of the palawa on the four-day palawa-owned-and-led wukalina Walk.
Amble through the living cultural landscape of lutruwita/Tasmania’s north-east coast, which unfolds as a triptych of colour comprising turquoise waters, white sand and boulders blanketed with orange lichen.
Hike through the bushlands and beaches on the wukalina Walk. (Image: Tourism Tasmania/ Tayla Gentle)
Sample coastal bush tucker and learn about palawa cultural practices, sometimes from Elders who may join you.
Spend evenings cosied around a fire pit at krakani lumi (resting place) and kick back at a restored lighthouse keeper’s cottage on your final night.
Stay for the night in a restored lighthouse keeper’s cottage. (Image: Tourism Tasmania)
