Ningaloo Reef

Ningaloo Reef is a fringing coral reef located off the west coast of Australia, approximately 1200 km north of Perth. The reef is 280 km long.

Ningaloo Reef is best known for its seasonal feeding concentrations of the whale shark, and swimming with this massive fish is a once and a lifetime experience.

The whale shark is a slow filter feeding shark that is the largest living fish species and  is found in tropical and warm oceans and lives in the open sea. The species is believed to have originated about 60 million years ago.

Although most famed for its whale sharks which feed there during March and April, the reef is also rich in coral and other marine life.

During the winter months, the Ningaloo reef is part of the migratory routes for dolphins, dugongs, manta rays and humpback whales. The beaches of the reef are an important breeding ground of the loggerhead, green and hawksbill turtles. They also depend on the reef for nesting and food.

The Ningaloo Reef supports an abundance of fish (500 species), corals (300 species), molluscs (600 species) and many other marine invertebrate. The reef is less than half a kilometre offshore in some areas, such as Coral Bay.