Bill’s Bay, Coral Bay
Tantabiddi
Mangrove Bay
Turquoise Bay
Exmouth Gulf
Swim with whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef
Snorkel the drift at Turquoise Bay
Fly over Mitchell Falls by helicopter
Dive with reef sharks and manta rays at Ningaloo
Fish for Spanish mackerel in the Exmouth Gulf
Cape Range National Park
Exmouth
Broome
Mitchell Falls
Ningaloo Marine Park
For Ningaloo Reef, the whale shark season runs mid-March through October, with the coral spawning that draws the sharks each year triggering the season in March and peak encounters typically April to July. For the Kimberley coast further north, the cruising season runs roughly April to September, the dry season, avoiding both the November to April cyclone risk and the extreme heat and humidity of the wet season.
Learmonth Airport (LEA), about 37 kilometres south of Exmouth, is the gateway for Ningaloo Reef charters, with direct flights from Perth. For the Kimberley coast, Broome International Airport (BME) serves as the main gateway, also connected to Perth and other state capitals, with charters typically starting or finishing at Broome given the roughly 1,000-kilometre distance separating the two regions.
Around Ningaloo, Bill’s Bay at Coral Bay and Tantabiddi near Exmouth both offer sheltered holding with the reef just offshore. Further north on the Kimberley coast, deep, mangrove-lined inlets such as those feeding Camden Sound provide calm overnight shelter despite tides that can run to 10 metres, though the two cruising grounds sit far enough apart that most itineraries focus on one or the other rather than combining both in a single trip.
A Ningaloo-focused charter of five to seven days allows time to swim with whale sharks, dive the reef and explore Cape Range National Park’s gorges. A proper Kimberley expedition needs closer to ten to fourteen days, given the distances between anchorages and the time required to explore tidal features such as Montgomery Reef and the region’s waterfalls at a comfortable pace, rather than rushing between them.
Around Ningaloo, swimming and snorkelling directly off the reef is normal and considered safe. Along the Kimberley coast further north, however, saltwater crocodiles inhabit rivers, mangrove creeks and even open coastal waters, so swimming is generally avoided outside a handful of designated safe pools, and tenders keep a careful distance from the banks. Crews brief guests on this distinction at the start of any Kimberley itinerary, since the two cruising grounds require quite different habits ashore.
