Ningaloo Coast & Montebello Islands
The Northern Ningaloo Coast, experienced in a way few people will ever see it
A reefs you snorkel over straight off the back of the boat, bays with no road in and local captains who plan the whole voyage and deliver it with expert crew.
What is the Northern Ningaloo Coast and Montebello Islands?
The Ningaloo Coast runs along the north-west edge of Western Australia, where the desert meets the Indian Ocean and a fringing reef sits close enough to shore that in some places, you can swim out to it. Most people know it for one thing: the whale sharks that gather here around Exmouth. But there’s a whole lot more to it.
North of Exmouth, the coastline opens into a pristine and quiet stretch of turquoise bays, low sandy islands and reef systems with almost no one on them. The further north you go, toward the Mackerel Islands and the waters off Dampier, the more it becomes a place you can only really see from the water.
This is where the magic of cruising on the Eclipse comes in. Because she draws so little water under her keel, she manoeuvres into shallow bays and reef-fringed anchorages that larger vessels have to stay well clear of and reaches beaches with no road to them and no other boat in sight. You wake up in the quiet corners of this coast, with a week ahead to explore the parts few visitors ever see.
Why see Northern Ningaloo coast by boat?
From land, you can see some parts of the Ningaloo coast. From the water, you reach places that are largely untouched. Eclipse anchors in a different bay most evenings, invites you to snorkel straight off the back in gear we provide and peacefully moves on to the next stretch of reef while you have lunch. You’re often the only boat at anchor, and the coast looks different every morning.
A day tour gives you a few hours at one spot before the run back to shore. A week on board gives you the slow version: time to fish the gulf, drift over the coral, take the tender into somewhere new and still be at anchor for sunset.
The reef and who you'll share it with
The water here is calm and clear most of the year, warm enough to stay in and teeming with marine life to admire the moment you dive in.
The reef
Manta rays, year round
Turtles, dolphins and dugongs
The places you'll drop anchor
A cruise up this coast takes you through bays, islands and reef systems most people never reach. A few of the stops that stay with people:
The Bay Of Rest
A calm, remote corner of the Exmouth Gulf, set behind broad tidal flats, mangrove islands and winding creeks. It’s long been regarded as one of Western Australia’s best wilderness fishing grounds, with bluewater species offshore and creek dwellers in close and regular sightings of dugongs, turtles, manta rays and dolphins. Oyster-covered rocks, quiet beaches and almost no one else around make it a gentle, timeless place to start.
Thevenard and The Mackerel Islands
Ten low islands and coral atolls sitting off the coast in clear water, with barely a footprint on them. Thevenard is the one you’ll get to know best: easy to explore on foot, ringed by reef and good for snorkelling over coral, rays, sea turtles and tropical crayfish. The beaches are quiet, the headlands sheltered and with no development to speak of, the night skies are some of the darkest you’ll see.
Varanus Island
Rugged outcrops surrounded by deep blue and turquoise water. The sea floor drops away into a kind of underwater amphitheatre, where golden trevally circle in the blue and rays glide past, while the shallows closer to shore stay bright and sunlit. Coral bommies, sandy flats and shifting schools of fish make for some of the most absorbing snorkelling on the voyage.
Hermite Island
The largest of the Montebello group, edged with mangroves, sheltered lagoons and tidal channels. At its heart is Willy Nilly Lagoon, a marine sanctuary where you can cruise on the tide past mud crabs, gliding rays and birdlife. The island also carries a piece of WA history: cultured pearl farming began here in the early 1900s and the old shell pool from those first experiments can still be seen.
Alpha Island
Small, central and easy to love, ringed by calm, sheltered water with snorkelling sites and quiet beaches on every side. The western reefs are a short hop away, with coral shelves full of crayfish. Alpha also holds a striking moment of history: it was the site of Britain’s atomic weapon tests in 1956, and the remains of that era can still be seen safely on the island today.
When is the best time to visit the Ningaloo Coast?
The short answer is that the water here is good most of the year, calm, clear and warm, so it comes down to what you most want to see.
Autumn, around March and April, is the liveliest window underwater. The coral spawns a week or so after the full moon, which draws in the manta rays and starts the whale shark season, and the turtle hatchlings are making their way to the sea. Spring, around October and November, is quieter and beautifully still, with reef snorkelling at its clearest and turtles returning to nest on the beaches. Through the winter months in between, humpback whales pass close to the coast on their migration.
Departure dates vary across the season, so the simplest way to match a voyage to what you’d like to see is to ask us. We’ll talk you through what’s about when you’d travel.
A boat run by the people who own it
You’ll have met Ryan and Jacko by name already. On board, you’ll get to know them properly. Mates since they were kids in WA, they captain every voyage themselves and keep the group small enough that by the end of the week, you feel less like a guest and more like part of the crew. The crew stays season to season, so the people who greet you on the dock are the ones who know exactly where the manta rays have been gathering that week.
The boat matches the feel of it. Spacious and airy, with living space across three levels: the cabins below, an open entertaining deck in the middle and the star deck up top for a drink under some of the clearest night skies in the country.
See it from the water
The Ningaloo Coast Voyager sails one way from Exmouth to Dampier, a slow week along the reef and out to the islands. Have a look at the route and the dates and tell us what you’d love to see.
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