Blurs

On a remote stretch of coastline in Far North Queensland, visitors once encountered something that seemed almost impossible. Pick up one of the dark stones scattered across the beach, throw it against another suitable rock — and instead of the dull clunk expected from two pieces of stone, it can rebound with surprising energy. Under the right conditions, the pebble can bounce repeatedly. It sounds like folklore. But the Bouncing Stones of Thornton Beach are real. And their strange behaviour has a geological explanation. A Strange Beach in the Daintree Thornton Beach lies within the Daintree region of Far North Queensland, where tropical rainforest comes almost to the coast. The beach itself is not particularly famous for swimming. Its unusual attraction is the collection of dark, rounded stones associated with the Bouncing Stones site. The phenomenon has been known for decades. It even appeared on a Leyland Brothers television programme in the 1970s, helping to turn the obscure geologi...