Ningaloo Marine Park

Western Australia

Ningaloo Marine Park One of the world’s largest reefs, Ningaloo Reef is not only easily accessible - in parts, simply by stepping off the shoreline – but also somewhere you can experience swimming with the world’s largest fish, the whale shark.

Ningaloo is home to the world's largest fringing reef and can be reached by just a short swim in many places. Nowhere else on the planet can you access a large coral reef so easily. What's more, it's made the UNESCO World Heritage list for its incredible biodiversity and the 'bucket list' as one of the few places in the world where you can swim with the largest fish in the ocean, the gentle whale shark. For your Ningaloo escape, head for Coral Bay or Exmouth. Flights from Perth get you to nearby Learmonth airport in 2.5 hours. Alternatively, you can make the 2-day drive from Perth or join an extended tour. Reaching nearly 20 kilometres seaward and covering 5,000 square kilometres of ocean, Ningaloo Reef brings you face-to-fin with some 500 species of fish, graceful manta rays and turtles, as you glide over 300 varieties of coral. Or, if you'd prefer to stay dry, glass-bottom boat tours offer a window to this underwater wonderland. For real adventure-lovers, nothing compares to the exhilaration of swimming with the world's largest fish - the whale shark - which visits Ningaloo between late March and mid-July and can grow up to 16 metres long. Between June and November, Ningaloo welcomes another mammoth visitor, as humpback whales make their annual migration. Whale watching tours operate from Coral Bay and Exmouth, but if you miss the boat, you might catch the turtle nesting and hatching season when tours run from late January to February. For a different perspective, explore the rugged red canyons of Cape Range National Park in a four-wheel-drive or on foot. Take a guided walk up Mandu Mandu gorge, stopping to spot native wildlife, and be sure to stop at Vlaming Head Lighthouse on the way back to take in a Ningaloo sunset. To add to the adventure, go camping or 'glamping' in Cape Range National Park. Alternatively, make Coral Bay or Exmouth your base - both offer options to cater for all budgets, from backpackers, caravan parks and chalets to motels, lodges and resorts. From March to August the Ningaloo Reef plays host to the world's largest aggregation of the world's biggest fish; the majestic whale shark tours to swim with whale sharks are available out of both Exmouth and Coral Bay, as well as many other eco-adventure tours, to view a huge variety of marine wildlife including sea turtles, humpback whales, orcas (killer whales) dugong, manta rays, reef sharks and much more!

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Things to do

Dive with a whale shark

Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel is a small dive and snorkel tour operator located in the beautiful beach town of Coral Bay at the doorstep of the world heritage listed Ningaloo Reef. This is a small, family-run business that maintains the highest level of professionalism and utmost care for the environment and the beautiful coral reef. They are an advanced ecotourism certified company that upholds the "no-touch" protocol when it comes to all in-water activities. Ningaloo Reef Dive & Snorkel offer scuba diving and snorkelling tours out to the Ningaloo Reef as well as snorkelling opportunities with Manta rays, Whale sharks and Humpback whales (in season). Also offering PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) scuba diving courses from Open Water Dive Course up to Divemaster Course.

Ningaloo Ecology Cruises Glass Bottom Boat

Just imagine - crystal clear waters, myriad of colourful fish, turtles, stingrays. Join Alek, Ningaloo Ecology Cruises' passionate skipper and guide, for one of the most memorable experiences Exmouth has to offer: a Glass Bottom Boat Tour aboard their two glass bottom boats: 'Reefviewer' and Ningaloo Coral Explorer II on the magnificent World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Reef - and you won't have to imagine. See it for yourself through their large glass panels which provide an unobstructed view of the spectacular marine life only inches below your toes. Exmouth's Ningaloo Ecology Cruises Glass Bottom Boat tours is a multi-award-winning family owned and operated business operating daily reef viewing, coral viewing and snorkelling adventure trips in the Heart of the Ningaloo Reef - the Tantabiddi Sanctuary Zone and way beyond! On selected tours, they offer free courtesy bus transfers to Ningaloo Reef enriching experience with stops at the Mildura Shipwreck and the historical Vlamingh Lighthouse lookout. The glass-bottom boat tours provide an excellent and affordable low-cost marine interaction alternative to whale shark tours.

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