Lucky Bay is a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

located at on the

south coast of Western Australia The south coast of Western Australia comprises the Western Australian coastline from Cape Leeuwin to Eucla. This is a distance of approximately , fronting the Great Australian Bight and the Southern Ocean. Components The Bureau of Meteorology ...

, in the

Cape Le Grand National Park Cape Le Grand National Park is a national park in Western Australia, south-east of Perth and east of Esperance. The park covers an area of The area is an ancient landscape which has been above sea level for well over 200 million years and ...

. Located southeast of Esperance, the bay is a tourist spot known for its bright white sands and

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone for millennia due to its hue. The robi ...

-coloured waters. In May 2023, Lucky Bay was voted as the best beach in the world in a study based on the votes of over 750 travel professionals.

History

Matthew Flinders Captain (Royal Navy), Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer, navigator and cartographer who led the first littoral zone, inshore circumnavigate, circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then ...

had sailed into the hazardous

Archipelago of the Recherche The Archipelago of the Recherche, known locally as the Bay of Isles, is a group of 105 islands, and over 1200 "obstacles to shipping", off the south coast of Western Australia. The islands stretch from east to west and to off-shore encomp ...

, and he found his ship surrounded by islands and rocks with nightfall coming on. He named this area "Lucky Bay" when his vessel

HMS Investigator Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Investigator''. Another was planned, but renamed before being launched. The name ''Investigator'' passed on to the Royal Indian Navy and after India's Independence, to its successor the Indian ...

took refuge after a summer storm. Recounting the adventure, he wrote the following:

Geography

In 2017 it was scientifically tested as having the whitest sand in Australia, possibly the world, knocking

Hyams Beach Hyams Beach is a seaside village in the City of Shoalhaven, New South Wales, Australia, on the shores of Jervis Bay. The village, 180 km south of Sydney, is bordered by two beaches, Chinaman's Beach to the north and Seaman's Beach (sometimes ...

NSW New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

off its perch. Lucky Bay was ahead of Hellfire Bay and

Tallebudgera Creek Tallebudgera Creek is a Stream, creek in South East Queensland, Australia. Its drainage basin, catchment lies within the City of Gold Coast, Gold Coast Local government in Queensland, local government area and covers an area of . The river is app ...

Beach in Queensland, with Hyams Beach coming at fifth place. The test was conducted by

soil science Soil science is the study of soil as a natural resource on the surface of the Earth including soil formation, soil classification, classification and Soil survey, mapping; Soil physics, physical, Soil chemistry, chemical, Soil biology, biologica ...

consultant Noel Schoknecht. Samples were amassed from the top 10cm in the "active zone" between the water and the sand dunes. Schoknecht said the whitest sands are usually made up of fine grains of milky or frosted

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

and a lack of adulteration.Lucky Bay crowned Australia’s whitest beach
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Tourism

The beach is known for its pure white sand and clear tranquil waters bay. It is ideal for swimming,

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming face down on or through a body of water while breathing the ambient air through a shaped tube called a snorkel, usually with swimming goggles or a ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

, surfing, launching small boats and also for

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

and

whale watching Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and dolphins (cetaceans) in their natural habitat. Whale watching is mostly a recreational activity (cf. birdwatching), but it can also serve scientific and/or educational purposes.Hoyt, E. ...

. Nearby there are

solar power Solar power, also known as solar electricity, is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Solar panels use the photovoltaic effect to c ...

ed showers and

public toilets A public toilet, restroom, bathroom or washroom is a room or small building with toilets (or urinals) and sinks for use by the general public. The facilities are available to customers, travelers, employees of a business, school pupils or pris ...

. Kangaroos may be present in the beach area.

Gallery

File:Lucky Bay 2 WA.JPG File:Recherchearchipelago2.jpg File:Lucky Bay 3 WA.JPG File:Lucky Bay beach.jpg File:Panorama_Cape_Le_Grande.jpg

References

{{reflist Bays of Western Australia Sandboarding locations South coast of Western Australia Beaches of Western Australia Tourist attractions in Western Australia

History

Geography

Tourism

Gallery

See also

References