Emerald waves gently lap on deserted pristine beaches. Traditional songs echo across ancient landscapes. Humpback whales cavort in brilliant blue seas. Underwater jewels beckon beneath a platform leading into the beyond.
Feature by Julie Hosking
Magic happens when tour operators take us into their beautiful backyards via livestream – to beam the dream that is their corner of Western Australia. Why not make it real? Watch in wonder, then make a date to live the dream, one divine destination at a time.
Go over (and under) the sea
Glittering turquoise waters stretch forever, enveloping you in the sea of tranquility that is Geographe Bay as the train trundles toward the horizon. Dolphins frolic in the distance and manta rays dance in the shallows. Once a working port, the 1.841km Busselton Jetty is the Southern Hemisphere’s longest timber-piled jetty. Jutting out from the Busselton(Undalup) foreshore, the charming gateway to the celebrated Margaret River Wine Region, this heritage-listed beauty dates to 1865 but also boasts a host of modern treasures. When the solar ‘express’ reaches the end, Busselton Jetty’s Amy Gough encourages you to head beneath the surface. The Underwater Observatory, one of only six in the world, takes you down eight metres into a vibrant coral cornucopia of marine life – all without getting wet. You can also swim or snorkel with a giant mermaid, octopus and seahorse, three of 13 incredible sculptures forming a new underwater trail creating its own artificial reef. Magic.
Feel the ancient spirits
The rhythm of tapping kali (boomerang) rings out across Reddell Beach(Jabarragun), as painted Pintirri dancers stamp and turn on the sand. There are songs about spears, the birds, the stars. Songs that come from dreams and are passed from generation to generation. Songs forged in the connection to an ancient place, where Yawuru and Karajarri people come together to keep their culture alive. Yawuru and Karajarri man Johani Mahmid, of Mabu Buru Broome Aboriginal Tours, invites you to the Wakaj experience, on the shores of Broome (Rubibi), where pristine sands separate ochre rocks from emerald seas. Meaning “the coming together of family”, Wakaj grounds you in the spectacular Kimberley, one of the world’s last great wilderness areas and home to 60,000 years of culture. Immerse yourself in the music and stories, gather around the billy for tea and traditional damper, and feel your spirit come alive.
Have a whale of a time
You’re floating in a sea of blue, the intensity of colour reflected in the vast skies over Exmouth Gulf, pods of humpback whales fanning out from the catamaran. It’s birthing season in the World-Heritage listed Ningaloo Marine Park, where mothers come to calve in warmer waters, and another dreamy day at the ‘office’ for Ningaloo Discovery’s Sarah Ellis. But any time of year is a good time to visit the incredible Ningaloo (Nyinggulu), home to the world’s largest fringing reef, just a short swim from shore in many places and an underwater wonderland bursting with colourful coral and magnificent marine life. Relax by one of the sheltered coves or head out to sea for sunset, watching for mother and baby humpbacks, mesmerising manta rays and the curious looking dugong. And from March to August, one of the dreamiest experiences of all – swimming with the world’s biggest fish, the gentle whale shark.
Take a grand adventure
Startling white sand squeaks underfoot as you wade into crystal-clear turquoise waters, barely a soul to disturb the serenity. Twilight Beach is just one of the sheltered bays along the jaw-dropping coast off Esperance (Kepa Kurl) through Cape Le Grand National Park on the Recerche Archipelego. Named Kepa Kurl by the local Noongar people for its boomerang like shape, it is grand in every sense of the word. Jaimen Hudson, who runs Esperance Island Cruises and Esperance Coastal Tours, leads visitors along the 20km coastal track and out onto the water. Sunbath with kangaroos on Lucky Bay, jump off Twilight Rock, see the residents who give Dolphin Cove its name and follow the path of Australia’s only recorded pirate, Black Jack Anderson. He ruled the roost from Middle Island, one of 115 dotting the dreamy landscape, and home to the striking Rainbow lakes of Esperance. No wonder Jaimen reckons this is the place dreams are made of.
Published January 2024.