Unusual discoveries on Ningaloo Reef

On our most recent trip, once again we were privy to a very special find. This time it was not one of Nature’s secret little gems rather a more unusual find which has led to the following notice being placed around Coral Bay.

Lost & Found

Recently found – 1 Makita cordless drill set, comes with 2 batteries, charger and miscellaneous drill bits.


Found 3m underwater at Sail Ningaloo’s snorkeling site, “The Minefield”.

Slightly salty but with only a small amount of algae & other marine growth indicates drill set was misplaced only recently, more than likely within the last month.


If owner does not come forward within 7 days drill set will be given away for free on a first come first served basis.

Will suit qualified electrician with magical skills in repairing salt and water damage, or someone with a lot of patience and very optimistic hoping that it will some day work in the future. Also suitable to anyone involved in underwater film making as it could be a great prop.

Manta Ray Research Expeditions

Manta Rays Manta Rays Manta Rays

That's what we have on our mind this year, well one of the things on our mind anyway!

We're launching our new Manta Ray Research expeditions where we will be working alongside Ningaloo researcher Frazer McGregor to get out and spend more time searching for and understanding how manta rays use the area surrounding Coral Bay and the Ningaloo reef.
We have our first scheduled departure on the 30th March and we will be heading out for 5 days and 5 nights to try and encounter as many of these graceful giants as possible. One of the key activities that will be undertaken will be to get in the water, swim alongside these amazing creatures and also use digital photography to try and identify the Mantas that are visiting the various areas of the reef.

We'll spend each morning searching for manta rays and look forward to seeing them being cleaned, feeding and you never know if we might see some frisky mating chain action. Depending on weather conditions and the number of Manta Rays, afternoons could be spent exploring any number of Sail Ningaloo's remote and exclusive snorkel and dive sites.

We've picked the end of March and the beginning of April to get out there and start these unique trips in Western Australia as it is quite often when there is a lot of action going on and plenty of Manta Rays kicking about! It will be a lot of fun and a great way to learn more about these majestic creatures. Spaces are limited to 8 guests on board so don't miss out!

See our website to get more information about this unique opportunity on the Ningaloo Reef.

2011 Ningaloo Reef specials

There is plenty going on out of Coral Bay this year and to make sure you can spend more time on board Shore Thing and explore more of the Ningaloo Reef we are offering a free night on board with all our overnight tours. You board on the afternoon before the current scheduled date and enjoy a snorkel, or sunset sail along with some tasty snacks before settling down for the evening meal. All additional meals are included and this special deal and it is great value for money.

Therefore our tours are now as follows;

3 day Coral Garden Spectacular tour now departs for 3 days and 3 nights !

5 day Ningaloo Escape tour now departs for 5 days and 5 nights !

9 day Ultimate Ningaloo tour now departs for 3 days and 3 nights !

We also have some great group rates available now so please check out our special online deals.

Welcome 2011

Welcome to 2011.

Sail Ningaloo, Shore Thing and all the crew look forward to keeping you up to date with everything that goes on up at the Ningaloo Reef this year.
We've got plenty of things planned for 2011 including some Manta ray expeditions, dive live-aboards and some special guests coming to see what all the fuss is about.

So stay tuned and keep up to date with everything that is happening this year.

September School Holidays

The September school holidays can be a bit of a hassle trying to get accommodation in Coral Bay and Exmouth but not anymore with Shore Thing offering the only true accommodation on the water in and around Coral Bay on the Ningaloo Reef. Our tours are all inclusive and take you to the best places to snorkel and dive at Ningaloo.

We’ve just come back from another great 5 days out exploring the reef on Shore Thing with a family from Perth up for a Ningaloo Escape tour which heads all the way up to Norwegian Bay and host to a historic whaling station (half way between Coral Bay and Exmouth).



Leaving late in the afternoon gave us enough time to jump in for a snorkel and freshen up after the flight from Perth and make sure all our gear was working well in preparation for the next 5 days. A beautiful sunset sail through Batemans Bay before sitting down for a gorgeous meal of locally caught fish sealed our first evening on board as everyone tucked in for an early night in preparation for the days ahead.



As the sun rose on the new day Luke decided to see if he could track down any Manta Rays to swim with around the Point Maud area. Returning to the vessel with news of 6-10 Manta Rays feeding at the surface got everyone excited and before too long we were off to swim with a couple of the largest rays in the ocean. We managed to swim with 4 different manta rays, at times there were two at a time, and having identified one of the Mantas as a local resident named “Elle”, and another also in the Coral Bay Manta Ray catalogue but unnamed, it was decided to leave the Mantas and return to Shore Thing. It was an impressive effort considering Luke was the only one out of the 7 in the water that had seen a Manta before and everyone managed to keep up the whole time, even the littlest of the group Jolie at 8 years old!

The sails were hoisted and we headed north in search of more adventure and more snorkeling.

Stopping in at the “North Reef Nursery” for lunch saw Juno see her first ever sharks and before the day was out everyone had seen a Turtle after a snorkel in the “Bungles”.



After such a bright start to the previous day the pressure was on to deliver more of the same again. Kayaks departed the main vessel at 730am and rendezvoused some 40mins later at “the fish bowl” for a pre breakfast snorkel. Once again there were no disappointments with 4 different species of shark sighted along with two turtles and more fish than you could poke a stick at. The girls were doing really well picking up the names of all the fish and had even sighted a couple of stichopus and grubfish!



The sails were hoisted and we were off towards Point Cloates and Norwegian Bay. Arriving in good time following great sailing conditions, we ventured onto the beach at Jane’s Bay to see if we could find any evidence of turtles nesting. Its very early in the season but to our delight we managed to locate a nest with positive signs of a successful laying of eggs. A couple of eagles rays were witnessed close to shore before a large Manta cruised by the beach as well. A glorious sight on a beautiful spring day.

Cruising on past Point Cloates with favorable tides we discovered a new snorkel site, “Turtle Ridge”. Unlike any other site we have come across on the reef this area almost completely devoid of coral life, but forms an amazing underwater landscape of smooth rounded stone covered in green algae and thousands of small molluscs. The turtles we tracked down there all seemed to really enjoy the green algae and positioned themselves with ease in the current.



Day 3 saw us really explore the best of Norwegian Bay and Point Cloates, with an early morning kayak and then some exploring on the sand dunes near the Point Cloates lighthouse, followed by our first landing on what remains of the only island in the Ningaloo Reef, Frazer Island.

We followed that up with a snorkel on the “Finn” shipwreck. Our day was rounded out exploring the remains of the historic Norwegian Bay whaling station, which in years gone by was the largest of its kind. 

Day 4 was highlighted by a snorkel at Point Cloates where Remi captured a great image of a resting Green turtle, and also a great snorkel at another new site called “The Minefield” as we headed back south towards Coral Bay.

On our final day we hopped in the water and tracked down no less than 10 different turtles at “The Turtle Pond”, Mira this time showing great talent with the camera capturing some great images of anemone fish at Oyster Bridge and then ticked off one final box as we watched a mother and calf humpback whale resting in Bateman Bay.



All in all yet another successful trip where we snorkeled no less than 10 different sites, saw Manta Rays, Turtles, Whales and 5 different species of sharks, and hoisted the sails for some great sails through the pristine waters of the Ningaloo Reef.



We are coming towards the end of our season on Ningaloo, but we’ll still be out and about in the next few weeks before the heading down towards Perth for some summer sailing around Rottnest Island and Fremantle.

If you can’t make it up to Coral Bay then stay in touch with this blog or catch us for a day tour or overnight sailing trip from Perth.


Check out our calendar and make a booking enquiry for 2011.
Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment!

Ningaloo Reef Dive Liveaboard

At the end of August, Shore Thing departed for its first all out dive expedition with a group of eager divers from Perth. The group had arrived on Friday for a long weekend getaway but we managed to see and do more than you would expect was possible in a week. We checked all the boxes, Manta Rays, Whales, Sharks, Turtles, sting rays, fishing, scuba diving, and there was even time to chill out and relax!

Too fit everything we wanted to do in to just 3 days there was no rest for the adventurous. An early start, following our overnight anchorage and dive, saw Shore Thing weave its way through the large coral fields that give Coral Bay its name, whilst our guests feasted on freshly cooked breakfast. Dive number two saw us break on out behind the main reef crest and dive “The Elbow”. Excellent visibility was accompanied by all things great and small, from Nudibranchs and Pipefish to Wobbegong Sharks, large stingrays and Grey Reef sharks. Unfortunately though what we were after, Manta Rays, evaded us so our search would continue.

Once all divers were back on board we headed north. It was a perfect winter day out on the Ningaloo Reef (hard to believe with the temperature creeping towards 30c!), dolphins were sighted from the bow. A couple of fishing lines were in the water as we cruised on the outside of the reef and it before too long we had a nice Spanish mackeral on board that would go down well as some fresh sashimi and satisfy this group of divers for the evening meal. Before that though we were in the water another two times for a dive being serenaded by passing humpback whales and an eye opening snorkel at Luke’s favourite spot “The Fishbowl”.

Eye opening was an understatement for the afternoon snorkel at the fishbowl with a good chance to see some reef sharks and maybe a turtle, everyone was blown away by the in your face snorkel which threw up a staggering 6 tawny nurse reef sharks plus another 4 or 5 other reef sharks and 3 turtles. Fish life was everywhere! so much so that some of the marine life, including one poor old Tawny Nurse reef shark, didn’t know where to go at times. With only half the group joining us on that snorkel, once the stories were heard and pictures were showed off back on Shore Thing there was an early morning snorkel planned for the next day which did not disappoint.

Following that early morning snorkel we headed outside the reef again and towards one of our most recent discoveries, “The Coliseum”. After a slight distraction on the way out to the site, (that being a shark eating what we had hoped would be lunch!) the group descended into the calming blue to surface some 40 mins later with stories of Giant Trevally, anemone fish and yet more sharks. Before we even had the chance to pick up the anchor, humpback whales were sighted breaching not far off, so we were off for the next activity….whale watching.

As we headed towards one group of whales that were putting on a show, we didn’t notice another couple of large adults creep up on us and surprise us with their equivalent of a great big boo! That being the sound of the blow of an unexpected whale only 15m away, these 2 whales were quite inquisitive and came back 2 or 3 times for a closer inspection much to the delight of the group observing from the bow. Wow, what a morning and it was only half way through Day 2!

Before the day was out we made sure everyone was going to sleep well that night with two more dives, the first being at “The Labyrinth” followed by another night dive at “The Porites”.

Our final day started off with an early morning snorkel at “Oyster Bridge”, not even a stone’s throw from picturesque sand dunes that make up the shoreline of this remote part of the world. Following that the search was really on for Manta Rays as we cruised through Batemans Bay, probably the most reliable area to swim with manta rays on the entire Ningaloo Reef and possibly all of Australia. And did we succeed or did we succeed! We swam with not one, not two, but over 8 different Manta Rays!

We starting off with just the one Manta Ray that was gliding just below the surface when it was joined by a 3m Hammerhead Shark. It was a surreal moment, as the shark swam right below us and then right under the Manta, the manta didn’t react and I’d be lying if I said our hearts didn’t skip a beat but before we knew it our focus had switched from the Manta to the shark as it started doing figure of eight patterns on the bottom of the bay churning up the sand. Our Manta action wasn’t done with yet though, as we came across another Manta surface feeding. It was an all black manta, often referred to as a vadar manta in other parts of the world. One of our guests, Simon, mentioned how rare he thought this was from his experiences in other parts of the world but I reassured him that at Ningaloo, although not as common as the normal manta rays (white underside), we were quite lucky with a number of resident black Mantas, including “Elle” and “Whoopy”, regularly sighted and often in a pregnant state.

We weren’t done with yet though and before we knew it we found ourselves in just 4 metres of crystal clear water, being buzzed by up to 6 different Manta Rays all surface feeding. A few of us jumped in the water but these guys were moving fast, it was a lot of fun but I think some of the group who stayed on board had just a good experience observing everything from above the water as we did in the water.

Once again after a very active morning we put some more fuel back in our engines with a gourmet lunch. As some of us were letting our food settle and prepare for the final dive, some of the group went for a short snorkel to visit a new site we call, “Whale Bones”. This is the remaining skeleton of a humpback whale that died earlier in the year and washed in over the reef. It makes for a very interesting snorkel. And finally our trip was almost over… I said almost!

We still had one more dive planned at the very popular Coral Bay Shark Cleaning station, and I don’t think anyone was disappointed. The hard coral coverage at this site is amazing with some great formations, but what we were after was sharks, Grey Reef Sharks, and we were not disappointed. With over 10 sharks seen, at times 3 or more cruising in a tight formation through larges schools of Trevally and barracuda, the adrenalin was pumping. Ranging from 1m up to 2.5m in length these sharks come to this part of the reef to be removed of parasites and other unwanted matter. Staying still and relaxing is the key to observing these sleek animals and when doing so they at times come to within a few meters, almost touching distance. It certainly gets the heart pumping a little quicker and it was an amazing way to cap off an amazing 3 days on the Ningaloo Reef.

All the group had a great time and the crew of Shore Thing had an amazing time too showing off this beautiful part of the world that still remains untouched and in pristine condition, and we can’t wait to welcome back another group from Perth Scuba next year. Hopefully they can join us for 5 days next year and I can’t even begin too think how much we’ll track down and see if it is anything like this year.

If you’re interested in scuba diving or snorkeling why not come and let us show you the best that Ningaloo has to offer. Check out our calendar and make a booking enquiry for 2011.

Places are limited so book early to avoid disappointment.

I’ll post some more information on the Manta Rays of Ningaloo and Coral Bay in another post soon.

Wedding Bells

August saw yet another first for Sail Ningaloo with Shore Thing hosting it's very first Wedding ceremony and reception.The weather leading up to the big day was anything but perfect however, on the day someone upstairs must have been smiling down on our soon-to-be newly weds. The clouds parted and the glorious blue skies that we are so use to here at Coral Bay came through, the wind dropped and the seas were calm, it was the perfect afternoon for a wedding on the Ningaloo Reef.

The guests that journeyed from all over the country boarded early in the afternoon, and with the bride already aboard and hiding away with her maid of honor and a bottle of champagne to settle any last minute nerves, it was only a short cruise out to one of Coral Bay’s finest lagoons for the big event.


After a small and intimate ceremony the champagne was flowing with cheers for the newly weds. Some freshly prepared canapés were first out of the galley and in no time at all empty plates were heading back in! There was a constant supply of tasty treats and no one went hungry, or thirsty for that matter. The sails were hoisted and we were off for a sail as the sun began to dip towards the horizon.

The festivities continued well into the night before it was finally time to leave the newly weds as they enjoyed an exclusive night on Shore Thing all to themselves.

The festivities weren’t over though as bright and early the next day everyone was back on board to explore the many wonders of the Ningaloo Reef. After a couple of snorkels and some of the best coral they’d ever seen, along with turtles, rays and reef sharks (yep we are on to something as we tracked down that school of 50 juvenile reef sharks again!), a feast was once again presented and a few cold drinks enjoyed.

The day was finished off with some whale watching and a relaxing sail back in towards Coral Bay. What a way to celebrate a wedding!