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Ningaloo Reef is a large expanse of fringing coral reef on the Gascoyne coast stretching from Red Bluff north of Carnarvon around the North West Cape and southward on the eastern side of the Cape to finish close to Exmouth. It is a popular destination for both national and international visitors.
Ningaloo Reef is one of only a few places in the world where whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, appear regularly in any numbers, in near-shore waters where they are easily accessible to observers. The mass spawning of over 200 species of coral in March and April each year is part of a chain of biological events that heralds the arrival of the whale shark to Ningaloo Reef. The whale sharks swim and feed in the waters around the reef for a further four months before disappearing from the area for another year around June and July.
The coral reef fish of Ningaloo are among the most colourful and beautifully patterned of all living creatures. Even the novice snorkeler can swim in the shallows and witness an amazing variety of fish life. They live in and around hundreds of species of coral, ranging from the cabbage coral, brain corals, and lavender corals, to delicate colourful branching corals, which form gardens in the shallow lagoons. Green turtles have extensive rookeries inside the reef, dugong feed on sea grasses within the lagoons and humpback whales migrate close to the coast.
The reef is within a State Marine Park which caters for multiple uses including fishing. Visitors are requested to be aware of and respect zonings and throughout the park.