Tips for Ningaloo Reef diving

[mattia_v]

Hi guys,

We will be in Exmouth and Coral Bay for a total of a week in late June, to wrap up our 2 month travels in New Zealand and bits of Australia. The whale sharks are an obvious draw, but we're getting confused as to what the best dive operator might be, and what sites are the 'must sees'; I'm not too impressed by the operator websites, and the minimal info I'm finding on what 2-dive packages at pretty stiff prices get you. Any tips or hints on what sites to ask for, what operators to use or avoid would be very welcome!

Navy Pier appears to be closed following hurricane damage, which was the only site I managed to find some info on. I also get the impression based on most websites that a lot of the 'dive' operators are only interested in selling snorkel tours for the whale shark tourists, which is frustrating when looking for info on diving (e.g. Ningaloo Blue Dive does not seem to offer any diving...) we were hoping to do a whale shark tour and probably 4 dives (2 per day), either from Exmouth or Coral Bay or both, and then spend some time snorkeling.

As a bit of background: we are both fairly inexperienced divers (about 50 dives). Since we live in Europe, Ningaloo isn't somewhere we can easily visit again, so we hope to make the most of it!

 

[DeputyDan]

A member here from that area is Alcina.
You might try sending her a PM.
That being said she has not posted in a couple of months.

 

[Wingy]

Most of the tours are focused towards whale sharks, mantas and aimed at snorkelers. Pier is by far the best dive unless you have a private boat and can get out to the outer reef. This contact should give you up to date info - Exmouth Visitor Centre - Diving

 

[MA]

Exmouth dive centre used to be very focused on the diving! Give them a call!

 

[WetPup]

The whale shark trips aren't dive trips. Noone there offers whale shark diving. You go out on a boat and snorkel with them. I did it a couple of times when I lived in Perth, and while it was interesting, I found the whole experience to be overly micromanaged and didn't particularly enjoy it. The operators hire a spotter plane and that tells the boats where the whale sharks are. The boats then converge. The general policy is more or less "no more than 10 people in the water at a time". Now there'll be 3-4 boats there, each with 20+ people on board, having to split that time with the whale sharks due to restrictions on the number of people who can be in the water at one time.

If this is likely to be your only chance to see them, then go for it. But be aware that depending on tourist numbers on the dates you're there can dictate exactly how much time you actually get to spend in the water with them.

Diving wise, I'd say try and dive the Exmouth Navy Pier. I know diving got suspended for a while due to damage done during a cyclone, and I'm not sure if it's reopened yet. It does require a permit to dive, so try getting in contact with Ningaloo whaleshark-n-dive to see what the current siutation is. They're a good operator in general in my experience, and can help you with planning a whale shark trip as well as any scuba diving. You might get exceedingly lucky and see a whale shark on a dive by sheer luck, but I never did.

 

[mattia_v]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I know the whale shark trips are commercialized and snorkel only, but it is one of the few chances I think we'll have in the near future to see those animals.

I'll give the operators a few calls I think.

 

[Dive Repairs]

Contact Ed and Hayley at Migration Media. They are based over there and will be able to help you out - Contact | Migration Media - Underwater Imaging