OUTBACK & REEF
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Aerial view of Ningaloo's turquoise lagoon and reef beside a pale sandy coastline, with a small boat on the water

Western Australia · Gateway LEA

22.70° S, 113.67° E

Ningaloo when the whale sharks come in.

When to go

NINGALOO

Ningaloo and the Coral Coast

Ningaloo is a fringing reef: in places you can walk off the beach and swim over coral within a few strokes. Between April and July the whale sharks arrive, and spotter planes guide small boats to them. We stay in a beach camp in Cape Range National Park and keep the afternoons for snorkelling at Turquoise Bay.

Right season
Apr to Jul
Nights we'd give it
4 to 6
Fly into
Learmonth (Exmouth) (LEA)
From Sydney, approx.
5h 20 in the air · 3,840 km

Learmonth airport is about 35 minutes from Exmouth. Flights to Perth take about two hours.

Month by month

When to go

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  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec
  • The right season
  • Good
  • Possible, with trade-offs
  • Out of season
  • This month

Apr to Jul

Whale shark season. The right season, and we book the boats months ahead.

Jul to Oct

Humpback whales on their migration; swim-with tours in some years. Manta rays all year.

Nov to Mar

Hot, with cyclone risk from December. Turtles nest on the beaches in summer.

A spotted whale shark gliding through sunlit blue water off Exmouth
Aerial of a white sand point and shallow clear water over reef at Coral Bay
Red sandstone cliffs and white beach meeting blue water in Francois Peron National Park, Shark Bay

What we'd do

What we'd do

  • Swimming with whale sharks

    A day on a licensed boat with a spotter plane, in season.

  • Turquoise Bay drift

    Snorkel off the beach and let the current carry you over the reef.

  • Cape Range gorges

    Yardie Creek by boat; black-footed rock wallabies on the walls.

  • Manta rays at Coral Bay

    Year-round, a short boat trip south.

  • Shark Bay

    Add three nights: stromatolites, dugongs and the Monkey Mia dolphins.

  • Turtle nesting

    November to March, guided by the turtle monitoring programme.

Aerial view of Ningaloo's turquoise lagoon and reef beside a pale sandy coastline, with a small boat on the water
A spotted whale shark gliding through sunlit blue water off Exmouth
Aerial of a white sand point and shallow clear water over reef at Coral Bay
Red sandstone cliffs and white beach meeting blue water in Francois Peron National Park, Shark Bay

Whose Country

Whose Country

Baiyungu, Thalanyji and Yinigudura peoples (Ningaloo and Cape Range); Malgana people (Shark Bay, Gathaagudu)

The Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area includes land returned to Traditional Owners and is jointly managed.

Aboriginal-owned and -led operators we'd book

  • Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural AdventuresKayak and bush tucker tours in Shark BayAboriginal-owned

Ownership details are being confirmed with each operator.

Visiting respectfully

Some Cape Range caves and middens are cultural sites. Keep to the marked trails.

Country, region by region

Where to stay

Stays in Ningaloo

All stays

The kind of place we book here. Your proposal names each property.

Red sandstone cliffs and white beach meeting blue water in Francois Peron National Park, Shark Bay

Ningaloo · Beach camp

A camp in the coastal dunes

Tents in the dunes of Cape Range, reef a few steps away.

Photo: the area, not the property · Price on enquiry

Sample journeys

Journeys through Ningaloo

All journeys
Aerial view of Ningaloo's turquoise lagoon and reef beside a pale sandy coastline, with a small boat on the water

12 to 16 nights · April to September

The west, unhurried

Wine country, the whale sharks and the Kimberley, all in Western Australia.

  1. 3 nightsMargaret RiverDrive from Perth. Karri forest, cellar doors, the cape.
  2. 4 nightsNingalooFly to Learmonth. Whale sharks in season, Turquoise Bay drift.
  3. 2 nightsBroomeCable Beach at dusk, a Yawuru-guided morning.
  4. 4 nightsThe KimberleyFly to a station. Purnululu from the air, then on foot.

Western Australia alone is three and a half times the size of Texas, give or take. Every leg here is a flight.

Margaret River · Ningaloo · The Kimberley

Ask about this journey

Questions

Before you go

When exactly is whale shark season?

Usually from about March or April to July, sometimes into August. It varies by year; we confirm when we book.

Do we need to be strong swimmers?

Comfortable ones. You'll swim in open water with a snorkel; the crew helps.

Is there a park fee?

Cape Range National Park has a park pass. We include it.

Next region MARGARET RIVER Sugarloaf Rock silhouetted against an orange sunset sky, with waves washing over the granite shore near Cape Naturaliste
Late-afternoon light turns a line of red sandstone ranges deep orange behind a lone dark-leaved desert tree and golden spinifex near Kings Canyon

Start with the month

Tell us when.
We'll tell you where.

Begin an enquiry

Get in touch

outbackandreef@tourground.com Plan your journey

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Sydney time
Work Club, Barrack Place, 151 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia