Top Western Australian beaches that inspire crime writer Sara Foster

Perth-based crime writer Sara Foster immerses herself in the nature of Western Australia’s remote southwest to help her set her scenes.

“I’ve always been drawn to stories about crime and retribution,” says British-born author Sara Foster. “I love the adrenaline rush of twists and turns, the way the reader is invited to take part in solving mysteries.”

Sara has written nine psychological suspense thrillers including her latest, the just-released When She was Gone, which is set in a fictional town in Western Australia.

She says immersion in nature is part of her creative process.

“I love working with contrasting landscapes and exploring the complex feelings these different spaces evoke within us,” she says.

“Everywhere I've been tends to find its way into my fiction sooner or later.”

Here, Sara reveals some of the top Western Australian locations that have inspired her. 

Perth-based author Sara Foster draws inspiration from Western Australia's landscapes.

Meelup Beach

Meelup Beach is between Eagle Bay and Dunsborough, with crystal-clear turquoise waters surrounded by bushland. At the right time of day it can feel almost like a private slice of paradise in the middle of the wilderness.

My favourite thing to do there is to snorkel by the rocks at the southern end. I’m aware of all I can’t see: all the creatures, the dropped belongings – so many stories hiding just out of sight.

Meelup Beach, Dunsborough. Picture: Salty Wings/Tourism Western Australia

Yeagarup Sand Dunes

I love empty landscapes that fool you to begin with until you realise they’re anything but barren. The landlocked Yeagarup Sand Dunes in the D’Entrecasteaux National Park are home to a variety of animals, many impacted by four-wheel-drive enthusiasts. These dunes are encroaching on the forest, swallowing it, a testament to the slow yet steadfast flow of the natural world, and a reminder of the impermanence of all things. My crime-writer mind is always imagining the nightmare of running into the wrong person out here – it’s totally exposed, with nowhere to run or hide.

Yeagarup Sand Dunes, Pemberton. Picture: Frances Andrijich

Yallingup Beach

Yallingup Beach near Margaret River is a peaceful spot with stunning sunsets where people are absorbed by the water, the walk or the view – some of the simplest, self-sustaining pleasures of life. It’s the kind of meditative, unhurried place that opens up space in my busy mind, and I often find myself solving plot problems here, or discovering new ideas for stories.

Yallingup Beach near Margaret River. Picture: Tourism Western Australia

Tuart Forest National Park

Possum spotting on the night-walk trail in Busselton’s Tuart Forest National Park is like entering another world: pitch-black and disorientating. Eyesight becomes a secondary sense as my body becomes more alert. The red-light torch can only illuminate a small section of path or forest, leaving us cloaked in darkness. Past visits have provided valuable insight into the intense experiences of my characters, who have sometimes needed to flee from danger through such unfamiliar bushland in the dead of night.

Tuart Forest National Park. Picture: Margaret Wells/WA Parks and Wildlife Service

Sara Foster’s travel highs and lows

Eye sore

My kids picked up conjunctivitis in Bali. They had the mild version, but my husband and I got the full swollen crusty-eyed experience. When leaving, the customs officer insisted we take off our sunglasses, did a double take, and then found the whole thing hilarious.

Deep dive

I spent 10 days in the Galápagos in 2007. We did an early-morning dive hoping to see hammerhead sharks. In the last two minutes, two scalloped hammerhead sharks appeared from behind rocks to cruise right in front of us. That’s imprinted on my memory for life.

Originally published as Top Western Australian beaches that inspire crime writer Sara Foster