Ningaloo Reef stretches more than 260 kilometres along the Western Australian coast, from Bundegi north of Exmouth down to Red Bluff south of Coral Bay. It is the world's longest fringing reef on a continental coast — meaning the coral grows directly off the shore rather than in a barrier offshore — which is why you can wade straight off the beach into a working reef ecosystem. The whole system was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2011.
Coral Bay sits on one of the most accessible stretches of the reef. The lagoon between the shore and the outer reef is shallow, calm and protected, and the variety of life within wading distance is remarkable: green and loggerhead turtles, manta rays, reef sharks, parrotfish, clownfish, octopus and a wide range of hard and soft corals. Outside the lagoon, dive operators run trips to the steeper reef walls, while the headline boat trips chase whale sharks (autumn and early winter) and humpback whales (late winter and spring) further offshore.