5 Night Ningaloo Reef Ningaloo Escape from Coral Bay

Day 1 - As the tour departs at 4pm, you can fly into Learmonth on the day of your tour departure and there is plenty of time to get to Coral Bay and have a look around before joining us on board. The journey begins as we set sail in protected waters, winding our way through spectacular dense coral formations that surround Coral Bay. Enjoy a late afternoon snorkel or scuba dive before enjoying a magical sunset over the Indian Ocean as the vessel sails to its overnight anchorage. All of Sail Ningaloo’s tours cater for both snorkellers and scuba divers, from the not so confident, to experienced skill levels. You can expect to be offered 2 to 3 snorkelling activities per day depending on the time of year and scuba diving is offered on average 1 of those times, depending on the conditions of the day and sites visited. Being a shallow fringing reef, you can see & experience the best Ningaloo has to offer in shallow protected coral lagoons in any weather.

Day 2 - Following breakfast, enjoy a morning snorkel or scuba dive such as Pandora’s Garden, a beautiful coral garden exhibiting stunning plate coral formations and home to numerous marine turtles. After morning tea, we sail northwards via Batemans Bay, home to a resident population of coastal Manta Rays that frequent the inner reef to mate, give birth and feed. Enjoy a discussion on Manta Ray biology and behavior along the Ningaloo Reef with your guide, whilst we search for these graceful rays to snorkel with. Enjoy a freshly prepared buffet lunch before we navigate along the breath-taking Stanley Pools and explore the edge of the contrasting waters where the sand has been shaped by the waters movement to form distinct pools of deep blue water. We seek out dugongs, dolphins and humpback whales (seasonal, June – October) as we travel to our afternoon snorkeling and diving destinations on the way into Chabjuwardoo Bay for our overnight anchorage.

Day 3 - Sailing north towards Point Cloates, your crew and expert guides will select the best snorkel & scuba diving sites based on the conditions. Sites we visit over the next couple of days are only visited by Shore Thing and have been personally named by the Sail Ningaloo crew. We sail past the resting site of The Stefano, and Jane’s Bay, where survivors of this shipwreck made it to shore, an incredible tale of survival with assistance from the Aboriginal inhabitants of the North-West cape. This afternoon step ashore at Point Cloates and relish in the tranquility of watching the sun set over the Indian Ocean, with a birds eye view from the top of the sand dunes. Return to Shore Thing for a sumptuous 2-course dinner and review your photos, or the images the crew has collected over the day, of the various species of reef fish and corals. Learn and discuss the unique behaviors of the marine creatures you have observed.

Day 4 - After a hearty breakfast, your crew and guides will select the best snorkel & scuba diving sites around the Point Cloates area based on the conditions. Some of our favorites include Cloates Corner, The Clam Graveyard, The Benan Shipwreck and Central Station, seeing hundreds of species of colourful reef fish and a good chance to see reef sharks and turtles cruising by, as well as a huge variety of smaller critters, including spectacular nudibranchs & octopus. We sail into Norwegian Bay, passing the ruins of the historic whaling station, abandoned in the 1950’s. Learn about life in the whaling days on this remote stretch of coastline, where Humpback Whales migrate along the coast in their thousands. Have the opportunity to snorkel the Fin Shipwreck, an old whaling chaser that was wrecked during a cyclone in 1923 & now lies in shallow water inside the reef lagoon, a haven for reef fish & other marine life.

Day 5 - Enjoy a leisurely morning kayak or SUP along the secluded coastline, keeping an eye out for large rays resting and turtles feeding in the shallow waters. Experience another thrilling snorkel or scuba dive in the Point Cloates area before we wind our way back towards Point Maud for our afternoon anchorage. Passing North Reef, we keep an eye out for Manta Rays before snorkelling North Reef Nursery, a nursery area for schools of sweetlips and snapper and a great opportunity to find reef sharks and rays resting in small coral caves. Snorkel along sandy underwater pathways fringed by hard coral outcrops rising to the waters surface. Relax on the deck as the day winds down, enjoying your last night on Shore Thing with your crew and fellow guests as you reminisce your favourite memories of the past few days..

Day 6 - After breakfast enjoy a last snorkel or scuba dive at one of our favourites including The Ridge, The Stag Forest, or the fascinating Asho’s Gap, a cleaning station for grey reef sharks. Watch as the sharks swim up to a large cabbage coral and hold themselves in the currents with their mouths open, whilst small cleaner fish dart in and out of their mouths and gills. Return to Coral Bay at 11:30am with the option to catch the afternoon flight departing Learmonth airport, or relax in Coral Bay or Exmouth for extra nights so you can experience more of what this truly magical destination offers.