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All Australia Torndirrup The Gap and Natural Bridge

The Gap and Natural Bridge

Wild seas have created two spectacular formations just a stone's throw away from each other.

Torndirrup, Australia

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Gemfyre
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Natural Bridge   Kwokka3 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Natural Bridge   Kwokka3 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Looking out of the Gap towards Green Island   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
Waves crash at the Gap   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
The Gap   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
Looking into the Gap   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
Natural Bridge   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
Waves crash into the space beneath the bridge   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
Bald Head   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
Jimmy Newhill’s Harbour   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
The beach near the Natural Bridge - no good for swimming   Gemfyre / Atlas Obscura User
View Below from Gap Lookout Platform   MarkTimeTravel / Atlas Obscura User
Granite Outcrop Under Which Sits the Natural Bridge   MarkTimeTravel / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The southern coast of Western Australia is battered by wild seas, over millions of years the pounding of the waves has broken up the granite coastline and created spectacular formations like the Gap and Natural Bridge in Torndirrup National Park.

As the name suggests, the Gap is a gap in the granite cliffs. On days with high swells, the water rushes into the narrow chasm and can sometimes reach over the top, spraying nearby observers. Recently a new viewing platform was installed, allowing people to look directly down into the chasm.

The Natural Bridge is a short walk away.  There the ocean rushes beneath a solid-looking arch of granite, splashing against the cliff walls.  On sunny days rainbows form in the spray - the area is known as the Rainbow Coast.

The national park is also home to the picturesque Jimmy Newhill's Harbour, Salmon Holes, and Bald Head. The coastline is spectacular but also deadly with king waves and high swells sweeping many careless people off the rocks, often to their deaths.

Related Tags

Rock Formations National Parks Bridges

Know Before You Go

The Gap and Natural Bridge are a short drive from the center of the town of Albany. There is a fee to enter the national park. Heed the warning signs. Do NOT walk out onto the Natural Bridge. King waves and swells have swept many people off the rocks, often resulting in death.

Community Contributors

Added By

Gemfyre

Edited By

MarkTimeTravel, Michelle Cassidy

  • MarkTimeTravel
  • Michelle Cassidy

Published

April 28, 2023

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  • https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/park/torndirrup
The Gap and Natural Bridge
The Gap Rd
Torndirrup, 6330
Australia
-35.118565, 117.891731
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