An ancient green sea turtle raised its head, making eye contact with an observer through a snorkeling mask. This moment of shared curiosity marked the start of an exciting snorkeling session right by the shoreline, Australia’s lesser-known yet stunning coral ecosystem. Unlike the distant Great Barrier Reef, Ningaloo is a fringing reef that hugs the coast for 260 kilometers along the dry, windy edge of Western Australia, with its coral gardens just meters from the sand. This close proximity makes it accessible.
The Ningaloo Reef, like its bigger counterpart, has UNESCO World Heritage status, but it faces modern human-made challenges. Many travelers head to this remote area, 1,200 kilometers north of Perth, for the thrill of swimming with large creatures like whale sharks, humpback whales, and manta rays from specialized tour boats that operate outside the protected lagoon. However, a more personal and slower adventure awaited: a multi-day sea kayaking and camping trip within the lagoon, exploring channels that most tourists never see.
The reef’s remarkable closeness to land makes this kind of trip possible, a situation supported by clean environmental factors. Dr. Damian Thomson, an experimental scientist with CSIRO, explains that minimal freshwater runoff results in low sediment and nutrient levels in the lagoon, contributing to the clear water just off the shore. Running parallel to the reef is the Cape Range, an ancient coral reef changed by erosion into stunning canyons and hidden caves, home to unique aquatic species like the blind gudgeon fish. Both the reef and the range are UNESCO-listed, and the nearby Exmouth Gulf is set to become a marine park.
Neri Grieves, a senior guide and manager at Exmouth Adventure Co., promotes expedition kayaking as the best way to connect with the reef. “Being right at water level, wildlife interactions are on a more personal scale,” she said. This slow, water-level journey lets participants fully engage with the environment, watching turtles surface for air next to the kayak or rays glide beneath them, creating a meditative and deeply connected experience.
After the first snorkel, the expedition group packed kayaks with supplies and paddled into the blue lagoon. The gentle action of paddling became a rhythmic, calming exercise, broken by thrilling moments like navigating the choppy waters of the Mandu Mandu channel. As they moved along, the empty coastline stretched out—sandy beaches or low, water-sculpted limestone ridges, free from visible signs of humans or noise. The reef, however, was alive with various sounds: oystercatchers calling, fish splashing, and stones rolling in the waves.
Ningaloo’s vibrant life was everywhere: cowtail rays, numerous sea turtles, and an osprey battling with a wriggling fish. Beach landings revealed treasures, like the leathery remnants of a newly hatched turtle nest, a moving reminder of life’s cycle on the shore. Beyond the reef’s edge, humpback whales jumped and dolphins played, while closer in, a rare juvenile shovel-nosed ray hunted.
The journey featured drift snorkeling, allowing participants to “fly over” a real aquarium alive with unusual parrotfish, angelfish, and bright blue demoiselles. However, the coral captured the deepest interest. Historically strong, Ningaloo recently endured an extraordinary marine heatwave from late 2024 to May 2025, leading to significant bleaching. Thomson mentioned that this event, with temperatures three to four degrees above average, caused 60% to 90% of hard corals to bleach. The projected final mortality rate is around 60%, and recovery usually takes five to ten years. Unfortunately, the increasing frequency of underwater heatwaves threatens this recovery. Despite this setback, the reef remains a mix of thriving boulder corals and abundant fish life that make use of the skeletal remains.
Even in its damaged state, the reef continued to produce wonders, like a large octopus with unusually protruding eyes that changed texture and color to blend in with its surroundings as it moved closer in curiosity. Each day of paddling ended with camping in the dunes behind deserted beaches, offering a stunning display of stars under a clear, remote desert sky. The trip concluded at the famous Turquoise Bay, where the presence of other amazed tourists felt oddly intrusive after days of solitude, and the simplicity and freedom of the journey shifted perceptions, as guide Grieves pointed out, turning the observer into a part of nature. This deep, stripped-back feeling underscores the need to cherish and fiercely protect this extraordinary place.
