Dive report - Muiron Islands Sunday 25 September 2009

A beautiful day in Exmouth took us out diving to the Muiron Islands again.  All along the way we saw humpback whales jumping and playing and having a grand old time being whales.  During our dives and on our snorkel we could hear them singing away - that is just one of the coolest sounds underwater.

We dived Cod Spot to start our day and it was hopping - it was so busy that we didn't even mind the slight drop in water temperature! All of the usual Ningaloo reef fish, turtles, stingrays, eels and crabs were abundant but this site really put on a show with special creatures today. Olive sea snakes were lazing on the surface, sniffing for morsels and curiously eyeing the divers. White tip reef sharks circled the site endlessly in big looping, lazy circles. We had two different sights vie for the "best of day" - a gorgeous manta ray taking its sweet time, checking us out, meandering along the reef and a humongous Queensland Grouper! The Queensland Grouper was an easy 3m and looked to be as big around as our bus. LOVE IT!
WATER TEMP: 20C
VISIBILITY: 8m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: moderate
DEPTH: 17m

Whalebone never disappoints but it had a lot to live up to today. We think all of the fish knew that they'd better put on a special show for us because they were out in force, just blanketing the reef in shimmery colours. The soft corals were also showy as most of them had their little tentacles out feeding in moderate surge and light current. Pinks, reds, oranges, bright yellows...soft corals are always beautiful but there's something entrancing about watching them when they have their tentacles extended. Small damsels and anthias darted in and out, most of the time their bright colours clashing dramatically with the colours of the corals they were dancing in front of - no camouflage for them today! The swim-throughs were jam packed with small glassfish and more medium sized cods than we've seen in a while. Every crevice held something cool today.
WATER TEMP: 20C
VISIBILITY: 7-8m
CURRENT: very light
SURGE: moderate
DEPTH: 14m

Dive report - Muiron Islands Wednesday 23 September 2009

Exmouth has been unusually windy with a big swell and it has limited our diving over the past few weeks, but happily we've been able to head out to the Muiron Islands every few days for some great diving and snorkeling.

Today we started at Keyhole for some awesome soft corals, tons of fish, a few turtles and a couple of huge sting rays. The sailfin catfish appear to have had more babies recently as there were 5 or 6 separate balls of rolling babies tucked up next to ledges. A big fat moray eel was having a dentist appointment - amazing how wide they can open their mouths! Beautiful parrotfish loudly crunched coral but they couldn't come close to competing with the humpback whales singing for volume!
WATER TEMP: 21C
VISIBILITY: 8m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: moderate
DEPTH: 12m

We headed around to the East Side of South Muiron Island for some snorkelling and our second dive. East Side Bommies are always interesting and today was no exception. Most of the site is very shallow, but everything - including big guys - seem to come in and hang out. Today we had a group of four huge barracuda slowly circling the site, stacked one on top of each other. There's been an explosion of humbugs with 100s of the pretty black & white fish darting in and out of the safety of the staghorn coral in perfect synchronization.
WATER TEMP: 21C
VISIBILITY: 8m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: moderate
DEPTH: 10m

Dive report - Muiron Islands Sunday 20 September 2009

It was a little rough and windy today as we set out for our full day tour to the Muiron Islands but it was totally worth it once we got underwater!  Cod Spot was first up and there were fish everywhere!  The cod were in two phases - lazing on the sand and darting furiously through the mid-sized schools of baitfish that decorating almost every coral outcrop.  The humpback whales were singing up a storm and we could hear them so loud and clear that it sounded like they were right next to us.  All of the usual reef suspects were plentiful and active: eels, sharks, rays, turtles, parrotfish, angelfish, butterflyfish, trevally and more.  Our best sighting today was the enormous manta ray that swam right over our heads!  It was gorgeous and completely blocked out the sun as it glided over us.  Magnificent!
WATER TEMP: 21C
VISIBILITY: 6-8m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: moderate
DEPTH: 17m

Whalebone had a special visitor today - one of the biggest potato cod ever! He was so cool, coming right up to the divers with his big fat lips and googly eyes. The visibility was a little poorer here and it muted some of the fabulous colours on this site, but there was still enough vibrancy coming through to make it pretty. Lots and lots of small damsels, fusiliers and anthias darted in and out of the coral while large silver trevally and barracuda patrolled very close to the ledges. It was a really engaging dive being able to get so close to everything.
WATER TEMP: 21C
VISIBILITY: 5-7m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: strong
DEPTH: 14m

We saw plenty of humpback whales on our trips out and back, but most of them were simply sunning themselves or swimming slowly along, doing big blows every third breath or so. Very peaceful day!

Trip report - Sunset Humpback Cruise Thursday 17 September 2009

Exmouth Gulf was gorgeous this afternoon and early evening as we cruised out of the marina to look for humpback whales.  We had barely cleared the heads when we saw our first whales cavorting off in the distance.  As we drove closer to them, we also got to see several whales lazily swimming along near the surface, the spray from their exhaled breath hanging in the still air.

We spent a while with a few different mellow whales, watched several different calves breach repeatedly and observed a couple of small groups of whales circling each other & doing mini-spy hops. Then we started a leisurely cuise back towards the marina. Not long into our return journey we had a big manta ray feeding at the surface so we stopped to watch it swim in a straight line one way, then gracefully flip over and swim back along the same line.

Right after the manta ray we were joined by two humpback whales who seemed curious about us. They came right to the boat, swam under us, swam around us, spy hopped, slapped their pectoral fins on the water, spy hopped some more, took big loud breaths not 5m from the boat and generally kept us glued in place for about half an hour! They caused us to stay out a little longer than we expected but what a fantastic way to end the tour!

Diver Bites NEWS: Grey Nurse Shark rescue

Score one for the good guys!  Local Sydney divers Mark & Tatiana went the extra mile to help one of Australia's endangered sharks have a chance at survival.  The Grey Nurse Shark - Carcharias taurus - is the first shark to receive protection from the Australian Government and the species is listed as Critically Endangered.  This species is also known as the Raggytooth in South Africa and Sandtiger in the U.S.


Julian Rocks in Byron Bay, New South Wales, is an extremely popular spot for divers to encounter the Grey Nurses.  We do get Grey Nurse Sharks here on the Ningaloo Reef at some sites, at some times of the year, but they are not as numerous or as reliable as at The Rocks.


Head on over to ScubaBoard to check out the story and some photos - here's the direct link -> Grey Nurse Rescue  I don't think you have to be a member to see the link, but it's free to join anyway :)

Big kudos to Mark, Tatiana, the team from Sea World and those in government who actually pushed the paperwork through to get this done!  Well done, All!

Dive report - Lighthouse Bay Thursday 17 September 2009

Yay!  A short window of low winds and swell saw us sneak out for two fabulous Exmouth dives today. We trekked into Lighthouse Bay and checked Blizzard Ridge first. Much better visibility than the other day and just as much action.  Moray eels must have heard that we were talking about them as they were everywhere in all sizes. All of the usual schooling fish, sea snakes, snapper, cod, white tip reef sharks were out and about, too. It felt like every lionfish that's ever lived on Blizzard Ridge was back for a reunion today - and many of them were out hunting, too. Awesome dive, too much to list!
WATER TEMP: 22C
VISIBILITY: 10m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: mild
DEPTH: 14m

Gulliver's was up next and WOW the action! White tip reef sharks all over the sandy areas, big snapper and rankin cod mid-water being very curious about the divers, stingrays galore including a giant bull ray. The giant clams had their mantles way out today and the electric blues and purples shone in the distance like neon signs in Vegas - it was surreal. So many schooling sea perch it made us dizzy. Cleaning stations were rockin' with many spotted sweetlips, more rankin cod and even some large angelfish. Fabulous!
WATER TEMP: 22C
VISIBILITY: 10m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: mild
DEPTH: 14m

NEWS: Welcome our newest diver!

This little cutie scampered into the dive centre this morning and we're looking for its human

Its just the sweetest, softest, snuggliest little kitten ever & those blue eyes - awwwww! Please spread the word and if you know someone in Exmouth who's missing one, please have them get in touch with us!

Dive report - Lighthouse Bay Tuesday 15 September 2009

Exmouth was a little breezy and choppy today but we pushed through it and had two great dives in Lighthouse Bay. Blizzard Ridge was insane with action! As descended, big spangled emperor challenged us all the way down the line coming right up to our masks and nipping at our hands. Naughty fish! Olive sea snakes are at it again, mating everywhere we looked. White tip reef sharks, a huge roughback stingray, tons of schooling fish and nudibranchs made every inch of space interesting to look at. We also had juvenile batfish, lionfish and cleaning action. Extremely active dive.
WATER TEMP: 23C
VISIBILITY: 3-5m
CURRENT: mild
SURGE: moderate
DEPTH: 14m

Labyrinth was just as busy, but without the renegade snapper on the line! Two chunky estuarine cod were just hanging out at the bottom of the mooring line when we arrived and didn't seem inclined to move. They were still there when we returned, swaying gently on the sand. We had an extra member in our dive group once we got to the main site - an enormously fat olive sea snake followed us for virtually the entire dive. He wasn't aggressive at all, though he was a little intimidating for those who haven't dived with one before! We had numerous turtles all along the site, colourful nudibranchs waving in the surge and tumbling balls of sailfin catfish under every ledge. So much happening!
WATER TEMP: 23C
VISIBILITY: 3-5m
CURRENT: mild
SURGE: mild
DEPTH: 14m


We also watched a group of about 8 bull humpbacks harassing a single female humpback whale. It was quite the spectacle!

Critter of the day: Moray Eels

Moray eels are found on every dive site we have here on the Ningaloo Reef. Most of the time you will see just their heads, or even just their noses, sticking out a hole or ledge to clue you in that there is some cool critter lurking. Often, as you get closer, the eels will actually come out farther to check you out a little bit better!

Most eels have extremely sharp teeth (and poor eyesight) so waving fingers in front of them is not a good idea, though they are not considered "dangerous" as unprovoked attacks are virtually unheard of. An eel bite can be very nasty and is prone to infection; I've seen infection set in over a matter of hours and the diver had to can the rest of his planned dives!

All of the eels we encounter are quite happy to let you get in nice and close so you can see all of their teethies or so you can get a really nice photo. The exception is our humongous giant morays - they're simply scary with their sheer size and have no fear! You just need to learn to be calm, respect the eel's space and not accidentally get too close.

Exmouth gets a great variety of eels on our Ningaloo Reef sites. Not only do we get a diverse selection of gorgeously patterned eels, we get bright yellow dwarf morays, almost pure white morays and other bright colours, too. Most of the eels we encounter are alone but sometimes you will find two or three snuggled in a crevice.


Gymnothorax melatremus - Dwarf morays tend to be some of the shyest we come across and if your shadow falls across one or it feels you in the water it will often retract deep into its hole. It's unlikely it will pop its head back out during the duration of your dive, so its important to give them a little more space.

These pretty guys have several common names: Leopard spotted, Tesselated eel, Giraffe moray or Black-blotched - Gymnothorax favagineus

Some eels are no bigger around than your finger while others can grow so large you wonder if you could actually even get your arms around them! It's often hard to tell how long an eel is as they usually prefer to keep most of their bodies hidden but we know we get eels that can be up to 3m! Usually the fatter they are, the longer they are.

Often there are bonus creatures hanging out in the same hole with eels: crabs, shrimps, nudibranch and small fish. Eels also seem to be a dirty lot - cleaner wrasse and a variety of cleaner shrimps seem to be constantly working hard. Sometimes the shrimp are almost bigger than the morays!



Snowflake or Starry eels (Echinda nebulosa) are a pretty rare sight here on the Ningaloo Reef so it's always exciting when someone reports seeing one. They differ from our other eels not only by their beautiful markings, but also by their blunt teeth which are perfect for eating their favourite food - crustaceans (they will also eat fish, of course).

Chances are very good that you will be able to observe several different species of moray eels when you dive with us at Exmouth Diving Centre. Remember to talk with your guides if you are particularly interested in them and they will do their best to find more eels and hopefully a cleaning station or two for you!

Dive report - Muiron Islands 9 September 2009

What better way to spend 09 09 09 than underwater out at the Muiron Islands?!  The morning started off with a fresh breeze that dropped to almost nothing as the day went on - it was a stunner!

We cruised, watching humpbacks play along our route, to Cod Spot for the first dive of the day and it was teeming with big fish. There were lots of white tip reef sharks, masses of schooling fusiliers and very large jacks spinning around the main bommie. An enormous roughback stingray ignored us as he lazed in the sand. Unusually big semi-circular angelfish seemed to be everywhere, but if you looked carefully you could also see quite a few tiny juveniles dancing in and out of crevices.
WATER TEMP: 22-23C
VISIBILITY: 10-15m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none to mild
DEPTH: 16m

Dive two was at Key Hole and again there were numerous white tip reef sharks all over the site. The coolest sight today had to be the schooling barracuda - streaks of silver with big menacing jaws just circling and circling endlessly. It was awesome. A group of 150+ convict surgeons flashed their yellow selves over and over the reef, first tumbling over the top and then cascading down the side of a ledge. They move so fast it's amazing they don't bump into each other! This site also had lots of small critters: nudibranchs, sailfin catfish, little coral crabs, moray eels no bigger around than an index finger. One of those great dives!
WATER TEMP: 22-25C
VISIBILITY: 10-12m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 12m

We enjoyed a huge lunch and a big snorkel through Turtle Bay. It was very active with turtles, rays, sharks, parrotfish, small cod and tons of sparkly small reef fish in all colours of the rainbow. Extremely pretty today.

NEWS: Dead humpback whale in Exmouth Gulf

A few days ago an adult humpback whale was found floundering just off the inter-tidal zone in the Bundegi Sanctuary in Exmouth Gulf.  The whale was clearly in distress and not doing very well so it came as no surprise when yesterday's news of its death reached us.

The humpback has ended up right up in the shallows that are dry during low tides. DEC has decided to leave the whale carcass there for nature to dispose of over time.

Already the predators are making their presence felt and all people are advised not to enter the water near the whale. Several 2.5m+ tiger sharks, along with a variety of other species of shark, have been seen feeding. Sharks can feed in extremely shallow water so everyone needs to be aware that approaching the whale when there is any water at all is potentially dangerous. You can see some of the damage already done to the whale by predators (down the side and underneath) along with the blistered skin from being stranded in the sun (along the top)

DEC has closed the moorings in Bundegi Sanctuary for the next six weeks. This will not effect our diving plans as we do not usually access the area for diving at this time of year. All of our diving sites in Lighthouse Bay, VLF Bay, the Muiron Islands and further south along the coast are still accessible and not considered to have any increased risk.

Dive report - Muiron Islands Monday 31 August 2009

Sunday was too windy to head out on our usual tour, so we postponed until Monday and what a good choice!  It was a gorgeous trip at the Muiron Islands here in Exmouth!  Humpback whales were cavorting all along our path both in the morning and in the afternoon with several spyhopping very close to the boat. We had glassy conditions for the return voyage and the clear conditions really showed off the amazing colours of the Nor'West Cape.

The dives were also fantastic with very pretty blue water, tons of activity and pretty good visibility. Our first dive site was Fraggle Rock - one of our favourites - and boy were things hopping! The soft corals had their polyps out, white tip reef sharks cruised around & around and a good sized school of large batfish floated on their sides over the sand as they got cleaned. All of our usual reef fish like butterflyfish and angelfish were out in force as were nudibranchs. It was outstanding for colour today.
WATER TEMP: 22C
VISIBILITY: 10-15m
CURRENT: mild
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 14m

Dive two was at Key Hole and it vied for the brightest colours of the day, too! On this site we had balling catfish and sailfin catfish everywhere. They just blanketed the lower ridges. A nice school of barracuda hung motionless but seemed to follow us along the site - it was a little disconcerting, but very cool! The swim throughs were magnificent: filled with cod and baitfish, brightly coloured with sea fans and darting reef fish, illuminated with the most beautiful streaming sunlight. The whole dive was simply stunning.
WATER TEMP: 22C
VISIBILITY: 12-15m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 12m

After some lunch we headed to Dinner Plates for some more snorkelling action where multiple turtles, blue spotted rays, small sharks and millions of fusiliers showed off for us.