South Africa has no lack of gorgeous beaches, many of them with long stretches of powdery, white sand and 46 with blue flag status. However, extraordinary beaches holding their own appeal can be found all over the planet. Here are nine of them.
1. Glass Beach – Fort Bragg, California
The beautiful Glass Beach has an unfortunate history, as the coloured glass that covers the beach is a result of dumping in the area that came to an end in 1967. Since then, the beach has been cleaned up and all that remains are pretty bits of glass and pottery that have been smoothed down by wave action. The beach was also incorporated into MacKerricher State Park. You can also visit the Sea Glass Museum just south of Fort Bragg for free to see examples of glass found on the beach and read historical accounts of sea glass.
2. Serai Beach – Serai Island, Indonesia
This striking and unusual-looking beach has pink sand due to the fine pieces of red coral that have mixed with the grains. Serai Beach on Serai Island is not as well known for its pink sand as Pantai Merah on the nearby Komodo Island (home to the infamous Komodo dragon), but is also well worth a visit. Both of the islands form part of Komodo National Park.
3. Popcorn Bay – Canary Islands, Spain
Strangley-shaped white pebbles that look like popcorn or little bits of cauliflower give this beach in the Canary islands its strong character. The beach is situated in a bay on the island of Fuerteventura, part of the Spanish archipelago.
4. Ocotal Beach, Costa Rica
Black sand beaches are not entirely uncommon and can be found in Hawaii, Iceland and Greece among other countries. They do offer a refreshing break from snowy white beaches however, and this clean and quiet beach on the northern Pacific coast of Costa Rica is known for its fantastic snorkelling.
5. Giant’s Causeway, Ireland
The Giant’s Causeway is made up of about 40,000 tightly-packed hexagonal basalt columns and is one of the UNESCO natural wonders of the world. It is quite remarkable to think this coastline was formed by volcanic action, and it’s no surprise that it’s Northern Ireland’s most popular tourist attraction.
6. Papakōlea Beach – Big Island, Hawaii
It’s the mineral olivine that gives this beach sand, which is made up largely of volcanic ash, its colour. Olivine is a common mineral component of lava that forms in a crystal as magma cools.
Papakōlea beach is situated 5km east of Ka Lae (known as South Point) on Hawaii Island.
7. Diamond Beach, Jökulsárlón Beach – Iceland
Diamond beach is a strip of black sand between the Atlantic Ocean and a glacial plain where large pieces of ice from the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon on the South Coast of Iceland wash from the lagoon onto the shore.
8. Red Beach, Panjin, China
This beach in Panjin, Liaoning is red not due to the colour of the sand, but rather a red seaweed known as sueda.
9. Gulpiyuri Beach, Spain
Gulpiyuri Beach is a sinkhole situated 100m from the Cantabrian Sea, and when the tide is low, the entire beach is left with no water.
Feature image: taraalgamar Instagram
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