Guide to Ningaloo Reef

Exploring the reef with a guide means you’ll learn more and experience it safely. Slide off your kayak or step off the beach, snorkelling through coral gardens meeting turtles, Nemo fish, and maybe baby reef sharks and rays.

Between about March and July each year, Ningaloo reef is perhaps the best place in the world to see whale sharks. Jump from a boat into the blue to come face to face with these harmless giants as they effortlessly glide by. 

Board a glass bottom boat to see the reef without getting wet. Vessels are designed for ease of embarkation and are suitable for children, with safety equipment provided. Some tours have snorkelling options, and all include commentary.

For a Ningaloo experience like no other, treat yourself to a stay at Sal Salis, an eco-luxe safari camp beside the reef and inside the national park. Enjoy gourmet dining, guided reef tours, gorge hikes and full nature immersion during your visit. 

Between July and October annually, some 40,000 humpback whales migrate past Ningaloo on their way south. Several licensed operators offer swims with them, and being underwater with these curious, magnificent animals is unforgettable. 

Cape Range National Park holds land treasures, too. Drive up to Charles Knife Canyon for the views and the dramatic gullies. On the opposite side of the Cape, try the Mandu Mandu gorge hike, looking out for shy rock wallabies along the way.

There’s no better way to appreciate the colours and majesty of Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range’s canyons than from the air. See red dirt meeting white sands and the turquoise lagoon. You may spot turtles, manta rays, whales and dugongs. 

The hamlet of Coral Bay is famous for manta rays, with tours all year. Follow your guide off the boat, peering down as the harmless and gentle mantas materialise into view, flying underwater and cavorting to impress each other. 

Fly fishing is not just for freshwaters, and there’s nowhere better to try marine fly-fishing than Ningaloo Reef. Catch a bone fish or permit in the calm waters of Exmouth Gulf, or head out to sea in pursuit of mighty sail fish. 

Join a one-hour boat trip up Yardie Creek and into the gorge system. Learn about local European and Indigenous history, see ospreys and egrets, and spot black-footed rock wallabies that cling to sheer cliffs.