Ningaloo Reef and Cape Range National Park

Once again, we drove 500 km westward, then we reached Exmouth on the west coast of Australia. Here too, there is a large coral reef (250 km long), which is mostly very close to the coast, so you can snorkel it from many spots right off the beach. Additionally, a significant whale migration occurs here every year: Tens of thousands of humpback whales come from Antarctica during the (southern hemisphere) winter and remain north of Australia before heading back in the (southern hemisphere) spring.

We had already had the opportunity to swim with whale sharks in the region (in Coral Bay). Meanwhile, something similar is now offered with humpback whales, which was on our activity plan. We treated ourselves to two chances and had booked corresponding tours in advance (absolutely necessary: the next available tour would have been in two weeks). The first tour was simply fantastic: We were dropped into the water 4 times and saw 0, 1, 3, and 2 humpback whales swim past us. In contrast to swimming with whale sharks, during our encounters with humpback whales, we had to remain static and were not allowed to swim along, dive, or do similar activities. Each encounter lasts only a few seconds, yet it is very impressive. Before the whale crosses a magical 30-meter distance, we are always guided by an observation plane to position ourselves precisely in the swimming direction of the whales, which can mean swimming until exhaustion...
Tour 2 was somewhat less impressive, primarily due to the secondary criteria - the boat and crew. We were also placed in the water here 4 times and saw 0, 3, 2, and 1 humpback whale. Additionally, we saw many humpback whales swimming by from the boat, with some breaching as well. It is an incredible sight when these ton-heavy giants lift completely out of the water and float in the air ('Full Breach') - unfortunately, this lasts only a few fractions of a second and is difficult for us to capture on film.

We also had an unplanned day here at Ningaloo Reef. We spent it in Cape Range National Park. We did two hikes here (on one we saw a snake, even though the female M didn't freak out) and also snorkeled twice. On our day of departure, we went in the water one last time - in Coral Bay, 150 km further south, early in the morning in quite chilly conditions. Unfortunately, the reef here was pretty dead, while it looked quite good further north.

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Once again, we drove 300 miles westward, until we reached Exmouth and the western coast of Australia. As on the eastern side, also here exists a pretty big coral reef (150 miles long) which is usually close to the coast, so that you can snorkel it right from the beaches. Along this coast line, there is yearly a big migration - ten thousands of humpback whales come here during the antarctic winter, and move back in (southern) spring.

Earlier (in 2017), we had the privilege to swim with whale sharks on this coast. But recently, the Aussies started to offer such experience also with humpback whales, and this was on our list for the time here. We had pre-booked 2 tours (which was good, as the next open space was in 2 weeks time). The first trip was already very successful and exciting: We were put into water 4 times and saw 0, 1, 3 and 2 humpies. 'Swimming with humpies' is not the same as with whale sharks - at the time the whale is close to you, you don't move anymore ... so usually this is a quite short moment but nevertheless very impressive. But, before the whale does reach a magical 30m distance from you, you are directed by a plane to adjust your position to be in the exact direction of the whale - which includes hard swimming, feels a bit like Olympic Games ...
Our 2nd trip was not that fantastic than the 1st one, however, we were again 4 times in the water and saw 0, 3, 2 and 1 humpbacks. When not in water, we saw a lot of other whales passing by, some of them really playful with fin slapping, tail slapping and breaching - an incredible view to see tons of whale flying through the air.

We had also a spare day here at the Ningaloo Reef, we visited the Cape Range National Park and did 2 hikes (we saw a snake on our track but Marion managed to stay calm), and went also snorkeling on two beaches. On our day of departure from here, we did another snorkel 100 miles to the south in Coral Bay, it was early on the day and the water was f...ing cold, unfortunately the corals here - at least the ones close to the shore - had all been dead, but still, there were some fish to meet.