Ningaloo Reef & Muiron Islands in Western Australia is one of our favorite parts of Australia trip. In my last post about this Coastal World Heritage Area, I told you about the Exmouth environment. We spent lots of time on the water; we did two days of boat dives. I promised to share a glimpse of the fantastic underwater environment, our dive experience, so here are the photos…
On Land in Exmouth
Exmouth Diving Centre shop
The small town of Exmouth has few commercial establishments, and tour operators who specialize in snorkel trips to see the whales. We only found 2 dive operations between Ningaloo and Exmouth that do both. We chose Exmouth Diving Centre, the original dive operation in the area. They are friendly, attentive, organized and professional.
Ningaloo Reef & Muiron Islands – Getting Ready to Dive
Exmouth Diving Centre shop interior
After reading so much about the great diving from Exmouth, and coming off of a great whale shark snorkel day with Exmouth Diving Centre, we were looking forward to diving with them. Meeting at the shop for a 7:30 check in, we assembled our gear and the dive masters drove us to the marina.
While we were given a discount by Exmouth Diving Centre, this is a totally independent and honest review based on our experience.
At the Marina in Exmouth
Our Dive Boat
After the divemasters loaded the boat, we boarded.
The equipment ready for boarding
Heading Out
Boarding the Exmouth Diving Centre’s boat
We were off to the Muiron Islands. I was quite excited about going there, as everything I read touted its abundance of coral gardens – hard and soft, many dive sites, manta rays, turtles, sharks, nudibranchs, and much more.
Our day on the water started with a 45 minute boat ride out to the dive sites at the Muiron Islands.
Cruising to the Muiron Islands
Exmouth to Muiron Islands, Western Australia
We were entertained by the sea life.
Dolphin off Ningaloo Reef
Diving Ningaloo Reef + Muiron Islands
What is most spectacular, unlike anything we have ever seen, is the multitude of fish. Swimming through many fish schools is amazing. We watched large schools of yellow juvenile barracuda.
Reef Fish School
The huge beds of live staghorn corals filled with sea life all around are like an amazing jungle beneath the sea.
Staghorn Coral
The the hard and soft corals are so beautiful!
Reef Coral and Fish
Fish life everywhere – living in the corals!
Adult and Juvenile Clownfish and Anemone
The plentiful and gigantic anemones with adult and baby clown fish!
Starfish
And the Mantas!
Spiny Lobsters (or crayfish as the locals call them)
Exquisite Giant Clam
Blue Spotted Stingray
Ohh! And the Colorful Nuibranchs!
Puffer
So many more …
And the caves – I did not go in. This is me swimming around while the rest of the divers went in.
Exmouth Diving Centre provided knowledgeable dive masters, lunch, snacks, drinks and lots of information about the underwater environment.
We had 2 great days of diving! We were sad to leave. For more about the Exmouth area, see my last post.
Conclusion
The land environment is more natural; you can swim and snorkel from the beaches without risk of crocodiles like at Great Barrier Reef. The corals, big fish and small creatures are plentiful and beautiful at Exmouth’s Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area. Exmouth is the best spot in Australia to see the gorgeous underwater living environment, spectacular beaches, and animals in nature. I highly recommend Exmouth, which is far away from hotels, bars, nightlife, stores, and crowds. If you are looking for a great company to take you diving or snorkeling, Exmouth Diving Centre gets my vote.
That’s an amazing dive. I have done a few but your pictures are truly amazing. Loved the one with Manta Rays the most. The corals seem pretty rich too and the reef fish school snap is nice!
Diving at Ningaloo looks amazing. I love your pics. How amazing to see Mantas and that blue spotted Stingray looks so cool. I have never even heard of Nuibranchs but the colors would have made me explore them forever.
The underwater world is so unique to me. What an amazing planet we live on.
This is really very nice and informative article.
Thanks for sharing this and keep posting amazing article like this.
Oh boy!! This destination has been added to my diving list just now!! We recently spotted blue-spotted sting ray at Perhentian Islands, Malaysia about 2 weeks ago. It’s always refreshing to go on diving tips.. and the hangover is so bad – you just want to go back again and again…! Cheers!!
Glad you added it; it was our favorite dive destination in Australia/ New Zealand. Check out Exmouth Diving Centre when you go.
This Very Nice and attractive Article…
Thankyou For Sharing This Information…
And also give to me important knowledge.
This looks like quite an experience! While the photos are just awesome, I’d really like to see the ones from the cave. It appears to me that you have to be an experienced diver to dive in.
The caves on this dive only require the first level of dive certification, open water diver. They are actually swim-throughs.
This is a great article! My dad used to always keep a saltwater aquarium with coral and would often take us to the Aquarium downtown. Reading your post takes me back to those days and makes me want to go snorkeling to see all this wildlife in its natural habitat!
This is a true bucket list destination for us and hopefully we will be able to achieve it in 2018. Great post
Hope you do! If you get to Exmouth Diving Centre, say hello for me.
Thanks for the great shots and making it easy for us non-divers to enjoy the reef!
This is a really nice choice for diving enthusiasts! Beautiful photos too. Hope to visit one day.
This looks amazing – lovely photos – and interesting that you prefer it to the Great Barrier Reef. I’ll definitely add Exmouth this to my ‘Australia’ list!
Your pictures inspired me to start diving as soon as possible. The underwater world is so picturesque and stunning!
It’s an amazing world! I started diving in my forties.
Cool photos. I cannot bring myself to scuba dive so I am just content with snorkeling. Love the scenes, though.
I love snorkeling and really want to learn how to dive – because it looks amazing! Great, tropical photos.
You should definitely learn to dive then!
Your photos are unreal!!!!! Especially the schools of yellow juvenile barracuda, that is something I have only seen in movies. I am going to share this with my husband as another reasons we should learn how to dive! It sounds and definitely looks like y’all had an amazing experience.
The underwater environment is a whole world, different than anything we see! If you love nature and being in the water, diving is an added dimension!
Wow, the reef is just beautiful! Also, great capture on the dolphin – they are just such beautiful creatures! I can’t wait to visit here myself 🙂
I have never scuba dived, I don’t even like snorkeling. Something about the mask feels really confining. But your pictures are stunning and make me want to try it. Thanks for the inspiration.
See if you can rent a good quality mask for snorkeling to see if your discomfort dissipates. You don’t have to dive to see the beautiful world under the sea. Comfortable equipment is key! I had some difficulty in rental equipment before I bought my own.
oh wow this looks incredible. I’ve been doing some research on the best places for beginner divers. Do you think this is a good option?
Yes, definitely! The water is so clear, and we did not experience any difficult currents, like some other places. It is cal, clear water for diving!
Thanks for the pictures and the recommendation. My diving experience has only been opportunistic–trained for the day, not licensed. Want to do more, and the Muiron Islands look great.
Whoa! Those schools of fish look amazing!! What an awesome thing to see underwater. This looks incredible!
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