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5 Strangely Colored Beaches


Unless you're lucky enough to have visited some of the unique
shorelines   below you'll probably be used to seeing - at best - golden beaches on
your  travels. In fact a lot of people believe golden sands to be the only
option when it comes to beaches. To prove otherwise, and to show off a
few  of the world's most uniquely coloured stretches of sand, we present the
following selection....

Punalu'u Beach

 

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Punalu'u Beach is the most visited of the few black sand beaches on

Hawaii's Big Island and the stunningly black sand is actually volcanic

rock, deposited as lava and subsequently cooled when met by the ocean.

Apparently to take any of the sand home would result in you being
cursed   by a volcano goddess by the name of Pele.


Papakolea Beach

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One of only 2 green sand beaches in the world, the truly magnificent
sight  of Papakolea Beach can be experienced by travelling to Hawaii's Ka'u
district. Again, the unique colour of its sand can be attributed to
volcanic activity - specifically, the green hue belongs to the
abundance  of olivine crystals which have been produced as a result of a nearby
cinder cone erupting and eroding.

See the beach on Google Maps.


Hyams Beach

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You may need to wear your shades when visiting Hyams Beach in New South
Wales, Australia, but not just due to the sun. It's not surprising
after   looking at photos but this sublime stretch of beach is home to the
whitest  sand in the world, an honour awarded by the Guinness Book of Records.


Pfeiffer Beach
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The hills surrounding Pfeiffer Beach in Big Sur, California, are rich
in  Manganese Garnet. A result of this being washed down onto the beach is
the colour scheme you can see above - the entire stretch of sand has become
a  shifting, pink and purple canvas. Although it's probably inedible, I
can't help picturing a bowl of Raspberry Ripple ice-cream every time I see
it. 



Kaihalulu

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You won't find many beaches elsewhere in the world with sand as red as

this one. Kaihalulu, or Red Sand Beach, is situated on the island of
Maui  and can thank the neighbouring cindercone hill for its intensely deep
red  appearance.