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If you're looking for Maine, United States, at its most untamed, this is it. Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument stretches across about 354 square kilometres of the raw North Woods—where quiet ponds mirror the sky and dense forests seem to swallow sound.

Don't expect crowds or convenience. This is a place where dirt roads rattle your car and cell service disappears quickly. But that's the point. Step out beside a still pond or drift along the East Branch of the Penobscot River, and the wilderness feels immediate, almost personal.

Established in 2016, the monument protects a landscape shaped by logging and is now being slowly reclaimed by nature. Spruce and birch forests shelter moose, black bears and elusive Canada lynx, while remote waters hold wild brook trout. Look west and you may glimpse Mount Katahdin rising beyond the trees. Stay after sunset and the sky takes over—this is an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, where stars burn bright above the forest.

Victoria, a southeastern state of Australia, extends along more than 1,600 kilometres of coastline shaped by the Southern Ocean. From above, its beaches appear as sweeping bands of pale sand edged by turquoise waters and rugged cliffs. This dynamic interaction of land and sea defines much of the region's appeal. The famous Great Ocean Road traces roughly 240 kilometres of this shoreline, winding past popular surf spots, forested headlands and seaside towns.

One of its most striking sights is the Twelve Apostles, towering limestone stacks formed over millions of years by wind and waves. Nearby stretches feature powerful surf breaks like Bells Beach and quieter coves where coastal vegetation meets open sand. Beyond the shore, farmland and national parks provide contrast, supporting wildlife and scenic trails.

Victoria's capital, Melbourne, sits on Port Phillip Bay, anchoring a state known for both cultural energy and natural variety, from alpine peaks to untamed coastlines.

Imagine a city built by animals, glowing in the sunlight and bustling with life beneath the waves. That is a coral reef. Coral reefs cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, yet they support roughly 25% of all marine life. What looks like colourful rocks are actually colonies of tiny animals called coral polyps. Together, they build vast limestone structures that can last for thousands of years. Stretching about 2,300 kilometres along Australia's coast, the Great Barrier Reef is the largest living structure on Earth.

Pictured here is Raja Ampat, an Indonesian archipelago where white sand beaches meet clear turquoise waters and limestone islands. Beneath the surface, its reefs harbour more than 75% of known coral species alongside manta rays, reef sharks and countless tropical fish. Some corals glow thanks to fluorescent proteins that act like natural sunscreen, while parrotfish help create sandy beaches by grinding coral into fine sand. Together, these thriving ecosystems protect coastlines and inspire wonder worldwide.

In France, Port de Saint-Goustan sits just below Auray's upper town, where a small inlet meets the Gulf of Morbihan estuary. The harbour lies at the confluence of the Auray and Loc'h rivers, creating its sheltered, storybook setting. In the 13th century, the Dukes of Brittany built a bridge, a port and a castle here; the fortress has vanished, but cobbled quays, narrow lanes and timber-framed houses still line the water. From Place de la République, Rue du Château passes art studios and galleries down to the waterfront; ramps along the Loc'h, built on old fortifications, open views across the port. Cross the four-arched stone bridge to Place Saint-Sauveur, then climb toward Saint-Gildas Church, where the town rises above the harbour. The quay also marks a transatlantic moment: Benjamin Franklin arrived here in 1776, and a dock now bears his name. Today, cafés and small boats fill the scene, while nearby Auray hosts a well-known weekly market and lively summer events.

At Boneyard Beach within Hunting Island State Park, South Carolina, United States, the first thing you notice is the trees. Then comes the question: why are bleached trunks and exposed roots scattered across the sand like a scene paused midway through collapse? Since the 1980s, Hunting Island has experienced major beach erosion, with some of the highest rates along the US East Coast—reaching up to 9 metres per year in certain areas.

On the island's southern end, Boneyard Beach shows this process clearly: weathered driftwood and the remains of live oaks and palmettos line the shore. Once part of a maritime forest, these trees gradually lost ground as coastal erosion and storms shifted the shoreline. What remains is part geology lesson, part outdoor gallery. More than 200 bird species have been recorded here; bottlenose dolphins are often seen offshore, and loggerhead sea turtles nest on nearby beaches. At low tide, the widest stretch opens to explore, and no two visits look exactly the same.

Isola Bella in Taormina, Sicily, surprises at first glance: a tiny jewel immersed in the blue of the Ionian Sea, connected to the coast by a thin strip of sand that appears and disappears with the tides.

This "Isula Bedda", as the Sicilians call it, contains in just one hectare an extraordinary variety of Mediterranean plants and seabeds rich in life, now protected as a WWF Nature Reserve, which has been managing its protection since 1998 and houses a naturalistic museum dedicated to local flora and fauna.

Its history spans the centuries, from the ancient populations of the Sicans and the Sicels up to the nineteenth century. Walking here means breathing a rare balance between nature and memory, similar to that of other Italian pearls such as the Island of San Pietro in Sardinia. Isola Bella is not just a landscape: it is an invitation to observe the Mediterranean in its most authentic and fragile form.