IN SEASON
Exmouth, When the Giants Arrive
When winter rolls around on the Ningaloo Coast, the water becomes a playground for the megafauna who stop in on their annual migration.
WORDS Celeste Mitchell
There are places in Australia that reward distance with wonder, and then there is Exmouth.
Perched at the tip of the Northwest Cape in Western Australia, this small town asks for a commitment from the traveller who wants to reach it. What it gives back is extraordinary: whale sharks casually swimming by, manta rays gliding through the shallows, and coral gardens that beckon just a few fin kicks from shore.
NATURE IN ALL ITS GLORY
The Ningaloo Coast, comprising the 300 km long Ningaloo Reef (Nyinggulu) and Cape Range National Park, was inscribed as a single UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, a rare meeting of rugged, arid terrestrial landscape and vibrant marine ecosystem. Here, nature sets the agenda. When Category 4 Cyclone Narelle made landfall near Exmouth in March 2026, it delivered the kind of force that reshapes coastlines and tests communities. But Exmouth, like the reef it guards, is built for resilience.
Learmonth Airport reopened, the Northwest Coastal Highway returned to service, and by mid-April, tour operators were welcoming visitors again. “It’s been really positive to see marine life thriving, with whale shark swims happening daily, along with manta rays and other key species,” says Australia’s Coral Coast Marketing & Tourism Development Manager, Kelly Leonard.
While tourism operators have been working tirelessly behind the scenes, the message from the region is clear: come. There is no better way to support a cyclone-affected community than through tourism, and there is nowhere more worthy of a visit. “We’re encouraging travellers to plan and book early where possible,” says Leonard.
SWIMMIMG WITH GIANTS
Every year, the world’s largest known fish makes its way to the waters off Exmouth, following a feast that begins with the annual coral spawning in March. Ningaloo Reef’s remarkable ecosystem does the rest — upwellings of nutrient-rich water from the continental shelf draw plankton toward the surface, and whale sharks follow in their hundreds. Each morning, a small group of spotter planes fans out across the translucent water searching for the slow dark shapes moving below. Exmouth Dive and Whaleshark Ningaloo charters its own aircraft, giving guests a direct line between the skies and the sea.
Then the call comes, the boat moves, and you are in the water alongside gentle giants carrying a constellation of spots on their skin.
While it might sound intimidating, and the excitement of slipping into the water to snorkel out beside them certainly gets the heart racing, whale sharks are gentle, calm, slow-moving, and entirely undisturbed by snorkellers swimming alongside them. Suspended beside one in the blue silence of the Indian Ocean, what you feel is not fear, but awe.
In the shoulder seasons, humpback whales and manta rays make guest appearances too, with dedicated whale tours giving lucky travellers the chance at a wildlife trifecta, or more.
THE LUXURY OF DISTANCE
On land, as in the water, there’s something deeply moving about this slice of the world. Tucked into the coastal dunes, about 50 minutes’ drive from Exmouth, is where barefoot luxury reaches its peak.
Sal Salis is the only accommodation inside Cape Range National Park, with sixteen safari-style wilderness tents designed to blend with the landscape. There are no roads visible from the deck, no buildings on the horizon just the Indian Ocean and the reef. The tents sit on raised platforms to protect surrounding flora, the camp runs entirely on solar power, and there is no Wi-Fi, television, or mobile coverage. What might sound like ‘switching off’ feels, within hours, like switching on.
Guided snorkelling and kayak excursions lead guests along the Ningaloo coastline, with all equipment included. After whale shark tours, or days spent exploring Yardie Gorge or snorkelling straight from the beach, guests return to a chef-prepared dinner, and a sky dense with stars.
Out here, the further you are from everything else, the closer you feel to what really matters.
THE DETAILS
TOUR Exmouth Dive and Whalesharks Ningaloo is widely regarded as one of the best ways to experience the megafauna that movealong this coastline between March andOctober. Every tour includes an expert guide on board, and they’ll collect you from your accommodation and drop you back when the day is done. Whaleshark Tours run daily from March to the end of July with a swim guarantee, while Whaleshark Eco Tours operate through the shoulder season to October, offering the chance to see whale sharks, humpback whales and manta rays.