Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, Australia

The World Heritage Listed Ningaloo Reef has gained an impressive reputation as one of Earth’s last ocean paradises. Take a dive with hundreds of tropical fish, colourful coral and the world’s biggest fish, the whale shark. It’s one of the largest fringing reefs in the world and unlike many others, you can get to it just by stepping off the beach. The Ningaloo marine park stretches 260 kilometres and it reaches nearly 20 kilometres seaward, encompassing a massive 5,000 square kilometres of ocean with 500 species of tropical fish and 220 species of coral in all.

Activities

• Swimming with a whale shark. These docile creatures visit the reef each year between April and June.
• Slip on a snorkel or diving gear and swim with graceful manta rays, see dolphins and schools of brightly coloured fish in the clearest turquoise water imaginable.
• Rare turtle species hatch here in late January and February. Watch this amazing natural phenomenon on special guided, eco-interactive trails.
• Go four wheel driving to Cape Range National Park to see amazing red rock canyons and gorges.

Websites

• Tourism Western Australia
• Marine Park Authority
• Sal Salis safari camp

Image Acknowledgements

• Whale shark with snorkeller
• Aerial photo
• Coral & fish