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.