The Best Things to Do Outside in Australia

Turquoise water meeting white sand at the edge of nowhere, Wharton Beach sits in the Duke of Orleans Bay area of Western Australia's southern coast, remote enough that even on a flawless summer day you may have the whole stretch to yourself. Dolphins work the break while surfers do the same. It ranked third on the World's 50 Best Beaches list in 2026, which should tell you something about the drive.

A drift snorkel off a desert beach where the current does the work, carrying you along the Ningaloo Reef while fish go about their day around you. Turquoise Bay sits inside Cape Range National Park with no development in sight, scrubland meeting white sand meeting that genuinely improbable water color. Ranked fifteenth on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, it draws fewer visitors than the name deserves, which is the whole point of coming this far.