"Take a look. Go on. What do you think that island is made of?" asked my guide Dirk Laifoo, handing me a pair of binoculars and gesturing northward. I took them and squinted at a jagged mass of dark brown bobbing on the open sea. My mouth fell open.
"It's... metal," I said slowly, then peered closer. "Are they baskets or something?" This small island, scorched by the sun and cast adrift in one of the most remote stretches of water in northern Australia, looked like something left behind from a Mad Max film.
"They're the baskets that people used to hold pearl shells in," Dirk nodded. "The workers at the pearl farm piled them up here for decades, and eventually they became an island of their own. Ecologically, it's quite healthy now." I looked through the binoculars again and saw that bright corals clung to the darkest baskets at the bottom. Moving my eyes upwards, I spied tiny terns with fierce beaks perched atop the pile. It would not be the last occasion during my time in the Torres Strait Islands that my jaw was left hanging.
This clutch of some 274 tropical isles languishes between the northern tip of Australia's Cape York and Papua New Guinea, and just 17 of them are inhabited. Across these you'll find distinct cultures, languages and histories, yet the area is little explored by tourists, who only tend to venture as far north as Queensland's glitzy Great Barrier Reef or the lush Daintree rainforest. The Strait is a more rugged prospect. It is a place where seawater pumps through the veins of islanders and the practices of navigating by the stars, reading the tides or fishing for trochus shells and bêche-de-mer (sea cucumber) still thrive.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2022 / January 2023 من Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 2022 / January 2023 من Wanderlust Travel Magazine.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Vermont, USA
The Wanderlust team relocated to New England for part of this issue, as we explored a lush state filled with outdoor escapes, historic towns... and lashings of maple syrup
Unique North America
See a side to the USA and Canada beyond the big cities and discover incredible stories and special wildlife with our pick of the trips
The call of the Rockies
From historic ski lodges to rustic backcountry cabins and a mock-Scottish castle, we pick the stays in Canada's Rocky Mountains that make the most of their setting
A new dawn for the Garifuna community
When the Garifuna people settled in Belize, they had to carry their traditions and culture with them; now a new trail is inviting visitors to explore this heritage through local communities
On the edge of history
In south-west Colorado lies the largest archaeological preserve in the USA, a series of vast cliff dwellings whose residents 'vanished' overnight. But was the answer to their disappearance in plain sight?
Tigers burning bright
As India celebrates 50 years of its Project Tiger conservation scheme, we visit the reserves of Madhya Pradesh to see how its success has impacted a tiger population that once looked in danger of disappearing
SEASON'S GREETINGS
From fiery fall foliage to art fairs and harvest festivals, opens up a wealth of across the USA and Canada autumn experiences
Waking a sleeping GIANT
A slow drive along the North Wales Way, from the English border to Anglesey, reveals not only a land of incredible local food and castles, but a region that is slowly reimagining itself
The rebirth of old JEDDAH
As efforts to restore Al-Balad, Jeddah's historical district, take hold, we get an exclusive peek at how art and culture are taking centre stage
Star-studded escapes
Wilderness, history and wildlife combine at some of Britain's most iconic stargazing sites, as more and more travellers are looking to the heavens
