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Woohoo! Gorgeous day here in Exmouth & the Ningaloo Reef. We headed out to the Muiron Islands for some diving & snorkelling and it was beautiful.
Our first dive was at the Cod Sanctuary. Rankin cod, flutemouth, schools of trevally, unicornfish, parrotfish and wobbegong sharks kept us smiling through the whole dive. We also enjoyed a ton of colourful, small stuff: six different kinds of nudibranchs, waving featherstars, a free swimming flatworm that didn't show any interest in landing anywhere.
WATER TEMP: 24C
VISIBILITY: 10-12m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 18m
Dive two was at Keyhole and the soft corals were amazing. There were tons of fish here, too. Schools of baitfish & big eyes screened the reef, silvery schools of barracuda hung over the sand. Pairs & small groups of black & white moorish idols & bannerfish flitted over the top of the reef. A huge cobia snoozed in the sand, presumably waiting for something huge to come along.
WATER TEMP: 24C
VISIBILITY: 8-12m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 12m
We all snorkelled at Turtle Bay and though the turtles were less abundant than usual (only three today!), there were so many small reef sharks, stars & stripes pufferfish, blue-spotted rays, bright green damsels, orange anemonefish and other eye-catching fishes it was still awesome!
We're gearing up for the 2010 Whale Shark Season so thought now would be a great time to revisit some of the basic information you will need to start making your holiday plans!
The whale shark season here on the Ningaloo Reef usually begins in the third or fourth week of March with the peak of the season running from late April through June. We typically see the end of the season in the third week of July.
Easter and April school holidays are the busiest time of year here on the Ningaloo Reef and it is important to prebook your tours and accommodation as far in advance as you can. Accommodation is already heavily booked and many room types are no longer available so if you are considering a visit from 2 - 18 April this year, we highly recommend that you make your bookings ASAP! Public holidays, long weekends and July school holidays are also extremely busy.
We offer Whale Shark Adventures every day of the season and everyone from 6 upwards is welcome! You do not need to be a certified diver to enjoy the whale sharks as all interaction with the whale sharks is done on snorkel here on the Ningaloo Reef.
Certified divers can also choose to do a single scuba dive on the Ningaloo Reef during our Whale Shark Adventures. We usually plan to do this dive first thing in the morning and complete it before the planes are in the air to begin their spotting duties. While the divers are down, our snorkellers can hop in and check out the reef, too! If we have been seeing whale sharks very early in the day, we may move this reef dive to later in the tour as we head back to the mooring. Our entire day is dictated by the whale sharks as our goal is to spend as much time as possible with them!
You can find out more information or make your booking now by ringing us on 08 9949 1201 or dropping us an email. We look forward to taking you out for an awesome experience with the mighty whale sharks of the Ningaloo Reef!
If you aren't an Exmouth Diving Centre Facebook Fan yet, hop on over there and sign up coz we have a HOT special on for the next few days and you've gotta be an EDCFBF to get in on it!
Sunshine & blue skies, a gentle breeze and gorgeous temperatures made for a perfect Sunday of diving and snorkelling at the Muiron Islands here on the Ningaloo Reef.
We started at Whalebone and the swim-throughs were fantastic: filled with fish, sunbeams streaming down, bright orange coral cods hanging out on ledges, big rankin cod waiting at the exits. Sweetlips and emperors hung out under big ledges while longfin bannerfish, moorish idols, green parrotfish, 6 banded angelfish and blue-spot butterflyfish decorated the top of the reef. Fish, fish and more fish today!
WATER TEMP: 24C
VISIBILITY: 10m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 12m
JL80 was next up and it was great! Again, fish were even more abundant than usual. There were quite a few bright yellow boxfish, big school of spangled emperor, a huge potato cod, good sized coral trout and solid walls of brick-red soldierfish. Thousands of tiny baitfish pressed close the reef helping to hide reluctant moray eels, hermit crabs and cleaner shrimp. We saw at least six different species of nudibrachs: two neon red Nembrotha kubaryana were having a bit of feast, too.
WATER TEMP: 24C
VISIBILITY: 10m
CURRENT: none
SURGE: none
DEPTH: 10m
