Silica Beach

There are potentially 10,000 beaches on the 1,000 islands that make up the Kimberley’s Buccaneer Archipelago, but one trumps all the rest. Located on remote Hidden Island, Silica Beach is a rarity in these parts, revered for its turquoise sea and ivory sand. This is surely the whitest, squeakiest sand you’ll ever come across. A stroll here feels like you’re walking on icing sugar, leading some to call this the Kimberley’s Whitehaven after the world-famous Whitsundays’ beach. Other beaches in the Kimberley have yellow sand, but the water catchment behind Silica Beach is made up of very rare, almost pure silica quartzite with no other minerals to colour the sand. Silica is visited by privately owned yachts and commercial cruise operators who come to explore the 150m-long beach and to wade in the crystalline waters. A rocky outcrop provides an ideal croc-watching lookout and deep water makes it possible to moor quite close to the beach, allowing vessels to make a quick stopover while exploring the archipelago.