Reached Coral Bay early this morning and pleased to see that it lives up to the hype in the tourist brochures. It’s an idyllic beach resort with a stunning bay and Ningaloo Reef is within snorkeling distance from shore.
View from our campervan
There are 2 campsites and one motel, each with their own café/bar plus a few shops. Everything centres around diving / snorkeling / off-road ATV tours for the backpackers.
View from our campervanThere are 2 campsites and one motel, each with their own café/bar plus a few shops. Everything centres around diving / snorkeling / off-road ATV tours for the backpackers.
Ningaloo Reef has Manta Rays and turtles all year round, whale sharks March- June then the Humpback whales June-Nov. We signed up with Ningaloo Reef Divers to do a Manta Ray snorkel and 3 reef dives over the next 2 days. They provide all the equipment and two wetsuits each ‘cos it’s bloody freezing!
Ningaloo Reef Divers have a great system for their ‘animal interactions’. A spotter plane radios the boat and directs the skipper to the feeding rays. The snorkellers get dropped off nearby and take it in turns to watch them feeding. The water is full of plankton (the reason the mantas are here) so the guide in the water raises his arm when he can see them so you can follow. They were absolutely amazing – 4 metres across and barrel-rolling to feed. They didn’t seem bothered by us at all and perhaps our frantic finning even helped concentrate the plankton for them as they stayed very close and made repeated passes. Vis was only about 3 metres so apologies for the crap photos.
Ningaloo Reef Divers have a great system for their ‘animal interactions’. A spotter plane radios the boat and directs the skipper to the feeding rays. The snorkellers get dropped off nearby and take it in turns to watch them feeding. The water is full of plankton (the reason the mantas are here) so the guide in the water raises his arm when he can see them so you can follow. They were absolutely amazing – 4 metres across and barrel-rolling to feed. They didn’t seem bothered by us at all and perhaps our frantic finning even helped concentrate the plankton for them as they stayed very close and made repeated passes. Vis was only about 3 metres so apologies for the crap photos.
