Coral Sea Beaches

The sea off Queensland and out to Vanuatu and New Caledonia, and the one where reef determines everything. The Great Barrier Reef runs some two thousand kilometres along its western edge, breaking the swell before it reaches the mainland and the inner islands; the beaches behind it are calm in a way that Australia's other coasts are not. It also produces the two constraints that govern visits: marine stingers between roughly November and May, when full-body suits are ordinary rather than cautious, and a cyclone season over the same months. New Caledonia's lagoon at the sea's eastern edge is the largest enclosed lagoon in the world. Practically: stinger suits are supplied as routine on the Queensland coast from November to May, saltwater crocodiles inhabit the estuaries north of Gladstone year-round, and reef boats run to a schedule that weather cancels. The reef has suffered repeated mass bleaching events since 2016 and the Marine Park Authority publishes condition reports that are worth reading before booking a trip sold on colour.

They spread across four beach worlds, the largest group being two grand ocean strands. Together they account for 135 km of shore. · computed from the 5 records below