Up early and just down the road to Coral Bay for a “wildlife tour” on Ningaloo Reef. We were a month or so late to swim with the whale sharks but luckily there are huge manta rays here pretty much all the time. Coral Bay seemed (to me) like a ski town next to the water, very touristy and manufactured but the vibe was ok.
We got out on the water in a huge tour boat meant for 30 people but only 10 people on the tour today so was very personalised. First snorkel we saw some of the best coral ever and heaps of fish. The skipper had to wait a bit for the tide to come in (so we could clear the very shallow reef) and the tour guide girls made us coffee while we waited.
Next was the manta ray swim which is one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. We found a fairly big female ray cruising around the sand bottom in about 5m of water and all hopped in to swim behind and dive down next to her. Amazing to watch how graceful she was, flying along with minimal effort and curling up one wing when she turned. We were struggling to keep up with our flippers on!
With the manta ray swim over we headed out to sea to find some whales to look at. Didn’t take long to find quite a few different humpbacks as there were spouts and splashes all over the sea in pretty much every direction! Aside from the whales we saw dolphins, turtles and all sorts of birds with heaps of info from the boat staff and skipper.
After lunch (and the obligatory rest period) we went in for the last snorkel. This was seriously the best snorkeling I’ve ever done in a spot they call the maze. You probably more huge fish on the Great Barrier Reef but more than enough here and the coral is mind blowing. Cabbage coral quickly became our favourite type of coral and it was great swimming down, around and through all these outcrops and overhangs.
A massive day of marine wildlife behind us, we trucked a little bit south then turned off the highway to stay on a station right next to the beach. It blows me away that someone can own a huge property that includes Ningaloo Reef as a boundary!
