Australia
Esperance
Kangaroos doze on powder-white sand lapped by water so turquoise it looks artificially lit.
A kangaroo lies on powder-white sand, its body silhouetted against water so turquoise it looks temperature-controlled. It does not move when you approach. Why would it? Lucky Bay belongs to the kangaroos. You are the visitor.
Esperance sits on Western Australia's south coast, where the Great Southern Ocean meets beaches that regularly feature in 'world's best' lists. Lucky Bay's kangaroos — eastern grey roos that lie on the white sand as if posing for tourism campaigns — have become one of Australia's most shared images. The Great Ocean Drive connects ten bays along a single coastal road, each a different shade of turquoise. Offshore, the 105 islands of the Recherche Archipelago hold Australian sea lion colonies, little penguin rookeries, and granite coves accessible only by boat. Cape Le Grand National Park frames the entire coastline in bushland where wildflowers explode across the heath in spring.
Couple
Ten bays, each more turquoise than the last, with kangaroos on the white sand — Esperance is a coastal road trip for two.
Family
Kangaroos on the beach, safe swimming in sheltered bays, and coastal walks with wildflowers — Esperance gives families the Australian dream.
Friends
Beach-hopping, island boat trips, and camping in Cape Le Grand — the coast here is long enough to give a group of friends a bay each.
- Kangaroos lounge on Lucky Bay's powder-white sand — turquoise water behind them, not a soul around.
- The Great Ocean Drive connects ten bays, each a different shade of blue, along a single coastal road.
- Recherche Archipelago's 105 islands sit offshore — fur seal colonies, penguin rookeries, and empty granite coves.
- The night sky here is ink-dark — Southern Ocean horizons with zero light interference.
Taylor Street Quarters — modern Australian dining in a heritage building, with Southern Ocean seafood on every plate.
Fish and chips at Lucky Bay where the kangaroos will absolutely try to share.
Jericoacoara
Brazil
Windswept dunes where the sun melts into the sea from a natural stone arch.
St Ives
England
Light so luminous it lured a century of painters to this harbour of turquoise shallows.
Tulpar-Köl
Kyrgyzstan
Alpine pools at 3,500 metres that mirror a 7,000-metre peak at dawn like shattered glass.
Philae Temple
Egypt
A temple rescued from rising waters, reassembled stone by stone on an island in the Nile.
Strahan
Australia
Cruise the Gordon River past Huon pines that were saplings when Rome was still a republic.
Maria Island
Australia
A car-free island where Tasmanian devils roam free and convict ruins crumble into wildflower meadows.
Dampier Peninsula
Australia
Red pindan dirt meets turquoise sea at Aboriginal communities where the country is still the boss.
Sydney
Australia
Ferries carve blue water between surf beaches and opera sails as cockatoos screech overhead.