Australia and New Zealand Magazine

The largest fish in the ocean – the mighty whale sharks – have made an early appearance last week at Ningaloo Reef on Western Australia’s Coral Coast.

These extraordinary marine creatures, which can grow up to 18 metres long, usually visit the pristine waters of Ningaloo Reef between April and July each year following the mass spawning of coral in the area. With mouths stretching to 1.5 metres in diameter, swimming with whale sharks conjures images of a Jonah-and-the-Whale experience, but the ghostly behemoths are completely harmless.

Easily accessible from shore, Ningaloo Reef is the largest fringing reef in the world, stretching 260km along the coast, and one of the most the biodiverse. The reef is part of a marine ecosystem that ranks seventh on the world’s list of coral reef biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and is second in terms of the number of species to be found within a limited range. Its unique attributes have attracted national and world-wide attention including a recent nomination for World Heritage listing.

The Ningaloo coast is one of the few regions in the world where whale sharks congregate regularly and is widely considered to be one of the best places to swim with them – due to the clarity of the water and the experience of the whale shark tour operators.

Visitors can swim with these harmless gentle giants by joining one of the specialist whale shark tour boats that operate out of the small coastal towns of Exmouth and Coral Bay. Swimmers can also encounter graceful manta rays, dolphins, schools of brightly coloured fish or the new species of stingray recently discovered by scientists in the area.

Very little is still known about the mysterious whale shark, from how long they live to their breeding habits, or their migratory routes. However, tourists can now assist with crucial scientific research by sending their holiday snaps of the whale sharks they encounter at Ningaloo to www.whaleshark.org.  The Ecocean Join the Dots campaign, uses software similar to fingerprint-matching technology, to compare the shark’s spot patterns to see if it has previously been photographed or is a new find.

Those that don’t want to get their feet wet can opt to take a ride in one of the glass bottom boat tours or explore the rugged Cape Range National Park by 4WD.

But it is not just the awesome whale shark which you can encounter at Ningaloo. Whales, dolphins, turtles and over 500 species of tropical fish all swim in these warm waters, but perhaps the most graceful of them all is the manta ray. Watching these other-worldly creatures perform synchronised somersaults as they feed is a magical experience you can see all year round.

Ningaloo Reef differs from other famous reefs as it is a fringing reef, meaning visitors can snorkel over corals and exotic sea life just metres from the shore.

For your chance to win your own special swim with the whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, enter to become a passenger on The Extraordinary Taxi Ride – an epic nine week odyssey around Western Australia. For more details visit www.westernaustralia.com

Visit Ningaloo to swim with the world’ biggest fish, the whale shark, from late March

The Ningaloo Coast in Western Australia has been nominated for World Heritage listing due to the area’s outstanding natural beauty, biological richness and international geological significance.

The Ningaloo Coast is home to a virtually untouched fringing reef stretching 260km on the north-west cape, an area that includes Coral Bay and Exmouth. It is home to more than 500 species of tropical fish and 220 varieties of coral, as well as the largest fish in the world, the whale shark which visits Ningaloo between late March and early June each year.

Currently 224,000-hectares of the coast form a protected marine park but if the United Nations agrees to World Heritage listing then more than 700,000 hectares of the oceanic wilderness will get special protection.

WA’s Environment Minister Donna Faragher said, “The reef is part of a marine ecosystem that ranks seventh on the world’s list of coral reef biodiversity ‘hotspots’ and is second in terms of the number of species to be found within a limited range,” she said.

“The Cape Range peninsula is an evolutionary laboratory that emerged from the sea over 26 million years, built from the skeletons of ancient marine creatures.

“The Ningaloo Coast represents the best opportunity in the world to encounter whale sharks, the world’s largest fish, together with globally significant populations of manta rays, dugongs, marine turtles, humpbacks, other cetaceans, rays and sharks.”

The heritage listing could boost tourism to the area, which has enjoyed growth as a destination for snorkellers and divers over the last few years thanks to its diversity of sea life and the opening of eco-luxury camp Sal Salis and the Ningaloo Novotel at Exmouth.

Ningaloo Reef and the adjoining Cape Range National Park currently attract more than 100,000 visitors a year, injecting approximately $127million into the local economy.

“World Heritage listing is the highest global recognition of a site’s importance and if listed, Ningaloo Coast will be recognised with the greatest of the world’s heritage sites such as the Grand Canyon, Egypt’s Pyramids, Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Stonehenge,” she said.

Ningaloo Reef differs from Australia’s other famous reef, the Great Barrier Reef, as it is a fringing reef, meaning visitors can snorkel over corals and exotic sea life just metres from the shore.

The nomination will be assessed during the next 18 months. Western Australia already has two World Heritage listed areas, the Shark Bay area most famous for its wild dolphins at Monkey Mia and Purnululu National Park, home to the beehive Bungle Bungle Range.