Western Australia Tourist Information - Ningaloo Reef
The Ningaloo Reef is Western Australia's largest and most accessible Coral Reef. It extends for approximately 260 kilometres from Point Murat on the tip of the North West Cape to Amherst Point, just south of Coral Bay. Unlike the Great Barrier Reef and other reefs off the north coast of Australia, Ningaloo Reef is not separated from the coast by a wide expanse of coastal water, thus making its accessibility one of it's great attractions.
Ningaloo Marine Park is about 1200 kilometres north of Perth. The park stretches for some 300 kilometres, from Bundegi Reef in Exmouth Gulf around North-West Cape to Amherst Point, south to Red Bluff. The park extends about three nautical miles out to sea.
Travelling time:
Visitors planning to drive from Perth should allow two days. Large numbers of kangaroos after sunset make driving hazardous.
Access:
Commercial aircraft fly to Learmonth Airport, which is 37 kilometres south of Exmouth and coaches operate to both Exmouth and Coral Bay. Access along the shore of the park is by four-wheel-drive in some areas.
Facilities:
The park lies offshore from the resort towns of Exmouth and Coral Bay, which are fully serviced. Contact Exmouth Tourist Bureau (08) 9949 1176 for bookings and additional information. Fishing tackle, diving instruction and compressed air are available from both towns and diving gear is available for hire. Milyering Visitor Centre is situated in Cape Range National Park, just adjacent to the marine park. There are concrete boat ramps at Bundegi (just north of Exmouth), Tantabiddi Creek and Coral Bay. Small vessels can be launched from the beach at several other locations.
Best Season:
If you want to see whale sharks you need to visit between April and early July. SCUBA diving is good all year round. Water temperatures range from the low 20s to the low 30s (°C). The area has pleasant dry temperatures, often reaching the mid-40°C in summer, with occasional southerly winds. While summer cyclones do occur in the Pilbara region, they are infrequent in the Ningaloo area.
What to see and do:
Boating, coral viewing, snorkelling, diving, fishing (outside sanctuary areas), and swimming are also popular. The coral gardens of Coral Bay are an easy snorkel from the shore, and you can also view the coral gardens of Coral Bay by glass-bottomed boat. Vessels take people whale watching from Exmouth and Coral Bay, mainly from August to October. Diving and fishing charters are available in the marine park.
* Coral Bay foreshore
This dive or snorkel begins directly from the foreshore of Coral Bay and is up to six metres deep at high tide. This is an excellent dive for novice snorkellers, but experienced divers will enjoy it as well. A large variety of coral and fish life can be seen, with the coral beginning only metres from the foreshore. Take great care, as there is considerable boat traffic. A map and further information is available in Dive & Snorkel Sites in Western Australia (see Bookshop).
* Turquoise Bay
The bay lies 65 kilometres south of Exmouth, this is an excellent dive site for the family because of its ease in most conditions, the rich diversity of coral, fish and other marine life close to shore and the exceptional beauty of Turquoise Bay itself. Not far from shore, there are several large coral bombies as well as numerous smaller coral colonies, particularly brain coral and the slow-growing massive coral. See Dive & Snorkel Sites in Western Australia (see Bookshop).
* Pilgramunna Ledges
Here, snorkellers can discover a surprising diversity of marine life, some beautiful coral formations, multitudes of colourful reef fish and occasional oceanic fish species, as well as rays, sharks and diverse invertebrates. All this is within only 10 metres of the shore. See Dive & Snorkel Sites in Western Australia (see Bookshop).
Whales, dolphins, dugongs, manta rays, huge cod or sharks can be seen in abundance at the 300-kilometre-long Ningaloo Reef. The reef offers world class diving through to family snorkelling in sheltered lagoons crammed with coral gardens. Ningaloo is the largest fringing coral reef in Australia. It is the only large reef in the world found so close to a continental land mass; about 100 metres offshore at its nearest point and less than seven kilometres at its furthest. Ningaloo Marine Park was created in 1987 and extended in 2004 covers approximately 264,000 ha. The Muiron Islands Marine Management Area was created in 2004 and covers an area of 26,769 ha.
Clownfish bathing in anemone tentacles, attractive lionfish or predatory moray eels are just some of hundreds of species of colourful tropical fish that can be seen. The coral reef fish of Ningaloo are among the most colourful and beautifully patterned of all living creatures. Even the novice snorkeller can swim in the shallows and witness an amazing variety of fish life. They live in and around more than 180 species of coral, ranging from the cabbage corals, brain corals, lavender corals, delicate colourful branching corals, which form gardens in the shallow lagoons.
From mid-March to mid-May each year visitors from all around the world converge on Ningaloo for the experience of a lifetime—diving with the awesome whale shark, the world's biggest species of fish. Ningaloo Reef is the only easily accessible place in the world where these giants appear in large numbers at predictable times of the year. Whale sharks reach more than 12 metres long and weigh more than eleven tonnes. You do not even have to be a scuba diver to swim with these massive animals, as they swim close to the surface.
Exmouth or Coral Bay are also perfect places to view the mass coral spawning, a three day event that begins a week or so after the full moon during March and April. Each night, many species of coral simultaneously release millions of bright pink egg and sperm bundles, which float to the surface of the water, creating a floating slick of coral spawn.
In some places, just a few kicks bring you to a reef with its 500 species of fish and 220 species of colourful corals. Brightly coloured fish swim close to the beaches in the shallow waters of the protection lagoon, and there are no poisonous jelly fish!
Aerial view of Ningaloo Marine Park Migrations of giant whale sharks and humpbacks attract those who love marine animals to Ningaloo. Divers and plain snorkellers come to swim with the whale sharks March to June, and June to October its humpback whale watching time. In addition green and loggerhead turtles come onto the beaches to lay their eggs in the summer. Dugongs, dolphins and mantas are also often seen.
The great diversity of tropical fish and coral offer a spectacle of colour and variety equal to any other major coral reef in the world. The emerald green lagoons are a snorkellers paradise and at Coral Bay the underwater gardens can be viewed through a glass-bottom boat.
Whale shark with divers on Ningaloo Marine ParkThe northern shoreline of the Marine Park borders on the Cape Range National Park. In this area campsites, some with basic facilities such as toilets and picnic tables, are provided. A camping fee applies and is collected by the National Park Rangers.
South of the National Park the coastal land is covered by privately controlled pastoral leases. By arrangement with the pastoralistes these have been designated as bush camping sites. A small camping fee may apply in these areas to help cover maintenance costs.
Scuba diver with potato cod, on Ningaloo Marine Par Launching ramps are available at the town beach in Exmouth, Bundegi and Tantabiddi Creek. Hand launching of small craft is possible at other places on the coast and moderately sized boats can be launched from the beach at Coral Bay.
The reef offers some superb opportunities for diving and photography. Plans for the Park include the development of 'dive trails' which will guide divers to some of the more fascinating parts of the reef. Several historic shipwrecks have been found in this area, and at least four others are known to exist. The Western Australian Maritime museum is responsible for these. Look, but don't touch!
Whales on Ningaloo Marine Park Fishing in the Ningaloo Reef Lagoon, and in waters outside the reef, is a major attraction to holiday-makers. Species caught include Sweetlip, Spangled Emperor, Trevally, Spanish Mackerel, Wahoo, Tuna, Marlin and Sailfish.
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