We almost love Ningaloo Reef a bit more than the amazing Great Barrier Reef, for various reasons:
- It is a fringing reef which means it is accessible from the beach and you don’t need a boat to get to see it. Unlike most coral reefs which are located well offshore, the Ningaloo Reef runs within very close proximity to the shoreline. In most places along the reef’s 300km length, coral gardens brimming with brightly coloured tropical fish lie footsteps from the beach. This makes the Ningaloo Reef Australia’s easiest access coral reef experience.
- There are a lot less people around because it is a lot less known and geographically remote.
- In its remote location, wildlife encounters are mind-blowing. The reef is one of a few locations worldwide where huge but completely harmless whale sharks regularly congregate in numbers, allowing visitors to swim with these largest fish in the ocean. The whale sharks usually arrive in early March and hang around Exmouth until August.
Manta rays are another huge but harmless inhabitant of the Ningaloo Reef, particularly at Coral Bay which is home to a resident population of mantas. This allows visitors the year-round opportunity to swim with these playful creatures. The Ningaloo Coast is also home to a large population of marine turtles. Six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle have been recorded along the Ningaloo Reef. The reef forms a feeding ground and habitat for these turtles, while the beaches of Ningaloo are critically important turtle nesting sites. Humpback whales are annual visitors to reef, migrating from their Antarctic feeding grounds to winter in the warm waters of the Ningaloo. During this time, as many as 30,000 humpback whales visit Ningaloo Reef during the June-November period. Humpbacks can be sighted from the shore, or for an up close and personal perspective, jump aboard a whale watching tour from either Exmouth or Coral Bay. For an even more intimate encounter, tours to swim with humpback whales are available from both Exmouth and Coral Bay from August-November. - There is a drift-snorkel which lets you experience the underwater world effortlessly and for free. The north-flowing current that sweeps snorkellers across Turquoise Bay reveals stunning underwater scenes, like blue-spotted stingrays, reef sharks, coral, and much-admired anemone fish darting in and out of their soft, sticky homes.
The World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef is the longest fringing coral reef in the world. Stretching from Exmouth in the north, right along the western shore of North West Cape and past Coral Bay, Ningaloo Reef is 300 kilometres of unspoiled underwater paradise.