Sometimes you come across a road that makes you understand why people fall in love with driving. This stretch of coastline in Western Australia captured from above shows exactly what I mean. That ribbon of asphalt cutting between pristine white sand and impossibly turquoise water, with absolutely nothing else in sight for miles. It’s the kind of drive that makes you want to rent a car just to experience the solitude and the views.
I took this shot during a road trip along the Coral Coast, flying my drone at sunrise when the light was soft and the colors were at their most intense. From ground level, you’re aware that you’re driving next to beautiful water, but from above you can see the full scope of how isolated and pristine this stretch really is. Not another car in sight, just endless coastline stretching in both directions.
This is what road trips used to be about before GPS and smartphones made everything predictable. Getting lost on purpose, following roads that looked interesting on a map, stumbling across views that no amount of internet research could have prepared you for. The Western Australian coast is full of these moments where you round a corner and suddenly you’re looking at scenery that belongs in a travel magazine.
What struck me most about driving this section was the complete silence when I stopped to take photos. No traffic, no buildings, no human sounds at all. Just wind and waves and the occasional bird. It’s rare to find that level of quiet anywhere in the world these days, let alone somewhere so visually stunning. You could pull over anywhere along this road and have a private beach experience.
The technical challenge of capturing this aerial perspective was getting the drone positioned to show both the road and the water in a way that conveyed the scale. Too high and you lose the detail of the waves and sand patterns. Too low and you can’t see how the road relates to the coastline. This angle seemed to capture both the intimacy of being down there driving and the vastness of the landscape.
I kept thinking about how different this experience is from coastal driving in more populated areas. No guardrails, no other cars to worry about, no development visible anywhere. Just you and this perfectly maintained road cutting through what feels like untouched wilderness. It’s driving as meditation, where the only goal is to pay attention to what’s around you.
The color palette in this region is unreal. That particular shade of turquoise only happens in certain combinations of water depth, sand color, and light conditions. I’ve seen similar blues in the Caribbean and the Maldives, but there’s something about the Australian coast that makes the colors seem more intense, maybe because of the contrast with the red earth that’s just inland from these beaches.
This photo represents everything I love about travel photography. It’s not just documenting a beautiful place, it’s capturing a feeling. The freedom of an open road, the excitement of discovering somewhere new, the peace that comes from being completely alone in a stunning landscape. Some drives stay with you forever, and this stretch of Australian coastline is definitely one of those.
The memory that sticks with me most isn’t actually the visual beauty, though that was incredible. It’s the moment I turned off the engine and stepped out into that complete silence, with nothing but pristine nature stretching to the horizon in every direction. That’s the kind of moment that makes all the planning and travel time worthwhile.
