Western Australia is a dreamscape of insane proportions, where the elements have shaped breath taking backdrops over millions of years, each moving to its own mysterious rhythm.


Feature by: Julie Hosking


Here, nature takes centre stage, delivering one spellbinding performance after another – from glittering staircases to the sky, luminous pink lakes and whopping inland waves. As part of our Dreamlike Journeys series, we explore some of the natural phenomena that bewitch and beguile.


Powerful rush

Tidal forces crash through twin chasms with unrelenting power, creating a remarkable vision – waterfalls flowing sideways. David Attenborough called the Horizontal Falls one of the world’s greatest natural wonders. For the Dambeemangaddee people, this is Garaan-ngaddim, a sacred place sculpted by the writhing Woonguud, a spiritual snake. Fly over the swirling waters in the Buccaneer Archipelago and feel the current of unrelenting energy.


Aerial view of the Horizontal Falls (Garaan-ngaddim), Talbot Bay


Shimmering staircase

As the full moon rises over exposed tidal flats, a golden staircase takes shape, rippling towards the pale orb. The celestial illusion only appears when conditions are just right; nature beats to its own magical drum. Time a visit between March and November and you might just catch the Staircase to the Moon along secluded spots from the Pilbara to the shores of Roebuck Bay in Broome (Rubibi).


Staircase to the Moon viewed from Town Beach in Broome - Photo credit: Australia's North West


Golden break

Ride an extraordinary wave more than 350km from the ocean. Carved from granite over billions of years, Wave Rock (Katter Kich) looks like a surfer’s dream captured mid motion, frozen for all time. Painted in stripes of honey, charcoal and copper, the 110-metre formation is best seen at dawn or dusk when light dances off the rippled surface. Come spring, colourful wildflowers dot the Wheatbelt, adding to the natural allure.


Blue haven

Deep in the rich red beauty of Karijini National Park, an iridescent patch of blue lures all who enter. Encircled by ancient rocks beaten into shape over billions of years, the Hamersley Gorge spa pool is the jewel in a stunning crown. Slip into the icy-cool, sapphire water and feel time slip away. As the colour shifts from dawn to dusk, the call of this spectacular Country holds firm.


Hamersley Gorge, Karijini National Park - Photo credit: @CJMaddock


Shell shock

The shore shimmers white in the midday sun, stretching more than 100km along turquoise waters off UNESCO World Heritage-listed Shark Bay (Gutharraguda). But all is not as it seems in Malgana Country. Rather than sand, the coastline is lined with billions of tiny white shells that crunch softly underfoot. At sunset, they blush a pale pink, reflecting the vast skies in mesmerising fashion. A walk along Shell Beach is unforgettable.

Marine marvel

The world seems to shift beneath your feet as the tide recedes and a coral reef appears in a cascade of wonder. Water cascades from exposed terraces, silver threads alive with movement. Turtles glide through sudden shallows, fish flicker across the textured surface. Off the Kimberley coast in the North West, the huge tidal changes of Montgomery Reef, the world’s largest inshore reef, transform the marine world and all who witness the phenomenon.

Colourful canvas

Soft strawberry pink hues morph into luscious lavender and the odd shock of deep magenta, as if a landscape painter is playing with their palette. Visitors to Hutt Lagoon, on Nanda Country, come expecting a show but the vibrancy of this sacred spot still takes their breath away. Whether up close and personal on land or seen from the air, the dreamy canvas fed by the gleaming Indian Ocean enraptures one and all.


Hutt Lagoon, near Port Gregory on Australia's Coral Coast


Window to the world

Take a journey back 400 million years to the rust-red heart of Kalbarri National Park. Through Nature’s Window, a wind-sculpted arch of tumblagooda sandstone, the Murchison River flows like liquid ochre, framed by ancient bands of colour. Step onto the floating Kalbarri Skywalk to soak in the splendour of Nanda Country, where eagles soar over striking gorges, wallabies nestle in scrub, and wildflowers burst through nooks and crannies.


Kalbarri Skywalk


Luminous seas

Along the soft white sands of Bunbury’s Back Beach, nature casts another spell. When the tides are just right, bioluminescent plankton light up the ocean, creating an electric-blue landscape. Luminous waves lap the shore, drawing you closer to the water’s edge, stars glittering above as if in silent sequence. If you’re lucky, you may experience a similar phenomenon in Lancelin, north of Perth (Boorloo). Nature never performs on demand. 

Ancient wonders

They rise from the shallows of crystal-clear Hamelin Pool, patterned surfaces only hinting at their unbelievable history. The stromatolites of Shark Bay (Gutharraguda) are some of Earth’s oldest organisms, giving a rare glimpse into how life evolved three billion years ago. The striking formations grow slowly in the saline water, each layer a record of time forgotten, their origins fascinating scientists and explorers the world over.


Published in February 2026.